About

The Refugee Rights Action Network (RRAN) UWA is comprised of a group of students who feel strongly about the treatment of refugees who seek asylum in Australia. Our objectives are to end mandatory detention, correct myths, raise awareness, promote discussion and, eventually, create change.

As a group, we realise that policy can only be changed if public opinion changes, and we hope to start that change at the heart of the future of Australia – the youth, specifically, at UWA – and hopefully to spread this to the wider community.

Few people know that being a refugee is not illegal, and that, contrary to media spin, the number of refugees coming to Australia each year is actually quite low – in fact, the number is far superseded by the number of holidayers who illegally overstay their visas. Few people know that there is a detention centre at Perth Airport, right next to the domestic terminal. Few people know that the price of detaining refugees is far greater than the benefit that is created by allowing them to enter, and contribute to, society.

These are just a few of the misconceptions that we hope to rectify, and also real and current issues that we aim to change.