Gillian Triggs to Deakin forum: Society must 'stand up' for refugees

The former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Emeritus Professor Triggs is part of an impressive line-up of speakers from across the world at The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) conference at Deakin's Burwood campus from today to Thursday 22 November.

Up to 450 social science academics, policy analysts, social researchers and post graduates will attend the annual conference's diverse program, with a postgraduate day and public keynote lecture by Professor Nira Yuval-Davis from University of East London kicking off activities.

Professor Triggs will take part in a plenary panel via video-link on Wednesday afternoon, joining human rights lawyer and Refugee Legal Executive Director David Manne, along with lawyer, writer and activist Fadak Alfayadh.

The panellists will examine asylum seeker and refugee rights advocacy in Australia. Dr Amy Nethery, senior lecturer in politics and policy at Deakin University, will chair the panel.

Professor Triggs said the position of asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru deserved strong attention, but society should not forget the plight of about 25,000 people living in Australia whose claim to refugee status was not fully determined.

"While we concentrate on the offshore process we've forgotten about the thousands of people in the legal twilight zone living in utter despair in Australia," Professor Triggs said.

"These people are in a dark place, and they're going nowhere. Australian civil society has to stand up and insist we meet our obligations."

Conference convenor Grazyna Zajdow, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Deakin University, said the conference was a strong reminder of the importance of sociology and social science in today's world.

"The point of sociology is to ask difficult questions and present our evidence," Associate Professor Zajdow said.

"We critique the social world, which includes governments, and that's really important."

Associate Professor Zajdow said interested members of the public could register for conference events and were welcome to attend.

The annual conference's theme is "Precarity, Rights and Resistance", and it is coordinated by the Deakin Faculty of Arts and Education's School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation.

WHAT: The Australian Sociological Association's annual conference 2018, with theme "Precarity, Rights and Resistance". Keynote addresses and plenary panels will be streamed live on TASA's Facebook page

WHERE: Deakin University Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood.

WHEN: Monday 19 to Thursday 22 November 2018.