Dear friend,

Thank you for signing our petition and helping to sink offshore processing!

It was an amazing moment yesterday when Julia Gillard conceded that offshore processing is off the table for now, and instead, asylum seekers who arrive by boat fleeing war, terror and violence, will be processed in Australia.

Just two days earlier, Amnesty International's Secretary General Salil Shetty delivered your name, along with the names of more than 15,000 other Australians to Immigration Minister Chris Bowen demanding this very result.

Salil also reiterated our position that the only way to fix the onshore processing system was to move asylum seekers out of detention and into the Australian community as soon as possible - and this is exactly what the government has now committed to doing.

This is a not just an excellent result, it is also an excellent opportunity.

We need to ensure that the government follows through on its pledge to expand the onshore, community processing system. We all know that this system is fairer, cheaper and more humane, and is the way to fix the crumbling detention network.

I'd just like to thank you once more for taking action to protect the rights of refugees. Our work is far from over, and we'll be in touch shortly with more updates on the many challenges we face fighting for human rights here in Australia and worldwide.

Alex Pagliaro
Refugee Campaign Coordinator
Amnesty International Australia