linksunten Archiv

An unprecedented movement for people seeking asylum in Australia is working, claims the online campaigning platform, GetUp. For the first time in fifteen years, public opinion is shifting and the political consensus that supports Australia's cruel system of mandatory detention is breaking apart. In this situation a Spanish corporate giant, Ferrovial, is trying to buy the contract to manage the abusive refugee camps on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru island in the Pacific. GetUp! is running a campaign opposing the deal.

My name is Mohammad Ali Baqiri. I'm a law and business student who spent three years detained on Nauru as a child, and I'm writing to ask your help.

Last November I asked the Chairperson of Broadspectrum, the corporation paid billions to run Australia's abusive offshore detention camps, a simple question – "Do you think that reputable organisations...will continue to do business with this company if it continues to do business in abuse?"

It turns out they won't. In just three months, four local councils, including Sydney, have refused to do business with Broadspectrum or any company profiting from detention.¹

But now a Spanish corporate giant, Ferrovial, is trying to buy Broadspectrum. The deal is on a knife-edge, as Ferrovial considers whether to raise the stakes to acquire the company,² and with it the contract to manage the cruel camps on Manus and Nauru.

We need to get on the front foot and demand Ferrovial commit to walking away from Manus and Nauru should the takeover be successful. The company is huge, and right now we can't get a look in. But if enough of us call on them to meet with me it'll make us impossible to ignore.

Will you ask Ferrovial to meet with me this week? Click here to send them an email.

We're in the middle of an unprecedented movement for people seeking asylum. And it's working. For the first time in fifteen years, public opinion is shifting and the political consensus that supports Australia's cruel system of mandatory detention is breaking apart.

At the same time, the deal between the government and the corporations that run the abusive offshore camps is looking increasingly shaky. Just as #LetThemStay began filling up front pages, the Government announced Broadspectrum were only granted a one-year extension of the current contract to run the camps, instead of the widely expected five-year deal.³

This is huge. Even Broadspectrum have admitted that "activist campaigns" have caused a drop in the company's share price.⁴ It turns out profiting from abuse isn't just cruel, it’s really bad for business.

Ferrovial need to know that they have a simple choice ahead if they acquire Broadspectrum – walk away from Manus and Nauru, or face a relentless campaign targeting the company's client base.

Click here to help me demand that Ferrovial commit to ending business in abuse: http://www.getup.org.au/email-ferrovial

No Business in Abuse, together with the Human Rights Law Centre, have engaged with Ferrovial's investors and already asked the company for a meeting.⁵ Ferrovial has refused – twice. That's why I'm lending my voice to ensure this company can no longer look the other way.

I've already emailed Ferrovial directly, and, yesterday, published an opinion piece in the Guardian outlining what I'll tell them if we meet.

But can you imagine what will happen when the company receives messages from thousands of our community, demanding that they meet with me the very same week they consider upping the stakes in their company's bid for Broadspectrum?

Can you email Ferrovial, asking them to meet with me this week?

In the past few months we've seen what can happen when our community comes together to stand against the government's cruel detention policies – and it's beautiful. So let's build on that momentum and keep the pressure on the corporations that stand poised to profit from those same policies.

Thanks for doing your part to end business in abuse,

Mohammad and the GetUp team


References
[1] "Companies Involved In Offshore Detention Frozen Out By City Of Sydney", Max Chalmers, New Matilda, 15 December 2015.
[2] "Broadspectrum shares jump on oil price rebound, hopes of higher Ferrovial bid", Jenny Wiggins, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 March 2016.
[3] "Broadspectrum faces competition for Nauru, Manus contract", Kylar Loussikian, The Australian, 9 February 2016.
[4] Target Statement, Broadspectrum, 21 January 2016
[5] "Broadspectrum shares jump on oil price rebound, hopes of higher Ferrovial bid", Jenny Wiggins, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 March 2016.