Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand
October 28, 2020 – Sporting legends Sonny Bill Williams and Craig Foster call on the Australian Government to accept NZ’s offer to resettle refugees still stuck offshore for more than seven years
All Black and NRL superstar, Sonny Bill Williams, and former Socceroo, Craig Foster, have joined forces to call on the Australian Government to finally accept the offer made by New Zealand in 2013 to resettle refugees stuck on Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
As more than 65,000 signatures from the #GameOver campaign to get refugees stuck offshore to safety were handed over to two Parliamentarians, Craig Foster said: “We’ve come to Canberra to call on the Australian Government to finally accept the New Zealand offer to resettle 150 refugees a year. There are still just under 300 people stranded on PNG and Nauru and as the deal with the US is about to come to an end, it is more urgent than ever we get these refugees to safety as soon as possible.
“Australians across the country have been asking for this for many years. The mental and physical anguish these people have suffered has been terrible and it’s time for the Australian Government to do the right thing and accept the New Zealand offer.”
Sonny Bill Williams said: “New Zealand has a proud resettlement history. Since the Second World War it has resettled over 35,000 refugees. This is not about politics, this is about a few hundred refugees who have suffered for too long and who are in need of a solution. New Zealand has offered to provide that solution, Australia should accept.”
