'See the devastation': Craig Foster pleads for medevac to be preserved
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Version 0 of 1. Former Socceroos captain’s appeal comes as new poll suggests majority of voters in Tasmania oppose Morrison government’s plans to scrap medevac Former Socceroos captain and sports broadcaster Craig Foster has launched an impassioned plea to preserve the medevac regime, declaring people in Nauru and Manus Island are now “long past any threshold of torment a human should suffer”. Foster’s strongly worded intervention comes as a new poll suggests a majority of voters in Tasmania are opposed to the Morrison government’s plan to scrap the medevac procedures. Peter Dutton wants to repeal the medical transfer procedures for unwell asylum seekers passed by the parliament while the Coalition governed in minority in 2018. But the government will not be able to proceed with that plan unless the Tasmanian independent senator Jacqui Lambie agrees, and votes to scrap the regime. With only two parliamentary sitting weeks remaining before the summer break, the UComms poll of 1,136 Tasmanian voters, funded by progressive thinktank the Australia Institute, suggests there is majority support in the state for keeping the current medevac policy, with 63% in favour and 27% backing repeal. The survey says 10% are unsure of how to proceed. Foster, who intervened forcefully earlier this year to assist the Australian refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi after he was arrested at Bangkok airport, told Guardian Australia he had met refugees in Port Moresby recently and found people who had suffered horribly. “The physical and psychological torment from almost seven years of detention is difficult for most of us to truly understand,” Foster said. “I implore anyone involved to uphold the basic right of humans to access adequate care.” He said parliamentarians needed to understand firsthand the harm that was being inflicted before they moved to wind back protections. “Anyone ruling on the lives of detainees should, at a minimum, travel to PNG and Nauru to meet them and see the devastation first hand. “I invite all MPs to come with me to meet those directly affected by our decisions – there are real people at the end of each clause, flesh and blood resting on every vote.” It was expected the repeal vote would be brought on last week, when the Senate sat in Canberra, but the government, while trying to build the public case for repeal, has so far not forced the vote. Lambie has previously warned the government against launching pre-emptive action. The final sitting weeks for 2019 begin next Monday. The medevac laws allow for Australian-based doctors to recommend a refugee or asylum seeker offshore be transferred to Australia for care. The minister can refuse if he disagrees with the clinical assessment – in which case it goes to the independent medical panel for review – or on security or criminal grounds. The panel cannot override vetoes based on security or criminal concerns. Labor, the Greens, key crossbenchers and most relevant stakeholders, including the medical profession, have opposed a repeal of the laws. There has been concern among refugee advocates that the medical transfer process has been slowed as the Morrison government has counted down the weeks until it can attempt to repeal the medevac regime. The doctors overseeing the transfer of asylum seekers to Australia for medical treatment have also raised concerns about delays in their advice being presented to Dutton, in the latest official snapshot of activity under the medevac regime. As well as the complaint that advice isn’t getting to Dutton quickly enough, the Independent Health Advice Panel (IHAP) has also flagged concerns about the lack of in-person interpreters available for transferees – “especially those with mental health issues” – and about “lack of movement from Nauru when the panel has recommended transfer to Australia”. The latest report from the medical panel, tabled in the Senate last week, documents that 57 medevac cases were considered between July and September 2019, and the home affairs minister approved transfers to Australia for medical treatment in 12 cases. Dutton denied transfers on medical grounds in 45 cases. Contrary to an impression the minister has created that the government has been “forced” to bring people to Australia under the medevac system, including people of “bad character”, the IHAP upheld the minister’s decision in all cases. |