To the Honourable President and members of the Senate in Parliament Clerk of the Sen. assembled:

The petition of the undersigned shows:

That the South Sudanese community of Western Australia is being denied the right to vote in their January 9 referendum, which will determine whether South Sudan becomes an independent country.

Centers have been established in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne for South Sudanese nationals to register to vote between 15 November and 1 December 2010. However, due to distance and financial capacity this means the thousand of South Sudanese who live in Western Australia will be unable to register to vote, and therefore unable to vote in the referendum.

Your petitioners ask/request that the Senate:

Make favourable representations to the South Sudanese Referendum Commission to establish a registration and voting center in Perth Western Australia and ensure that the South Sudanese community in Western Australia is not excluded from this critical vote in their nation’s history.