To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives assembled in Parliament:

The petition of certain citizens of Australia draws the attention of the House to the fact that the current policy of repatriating asylum seekers whose applications for asylum have been rejected by the Australian Government does not guarantee the security of asylum seekers on their return to their homeland; and that such a policy is not in accord with Catholic Social Teaching which holds that it is: `the right of refugees to a dignified and secure return to their homeland, together with the commitment of the international community to promote respect for fundamental human rights in their country of origin and the solution of the political, social, religious and environmental questions that impede return' [Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Jubilee Charter of Rights of Displaced People, 1 June 2000]

Your petitioners therefore request the House as a matter of urgency to introduce legislation that guarantees the right of asylum seekers to be repatriated only when it is safe for them to return to their homeland.