Palm Sunday Rally
Sunday 29 March 2026 from 1 PM – 2:30 PM at Civic Square, London Circuit, Canberra
Harmony Week (16-22 March) is a celebration of diversity. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone who has come to make their home in Australia. This celebration is a good occasion to step back and reflect for a moment on the mission of CRS and its wider significance in the light of some troubling developments both within Australia and overseas that relate to the way we treat refugees and migrants.
Over the past 25 years CRS has displayed a commitment to diversity and demonstrated a willingness to welcome refugees and asylum seekers to Canberra and to enable them to be confident about belonging here and building a life that contributes to our community. In doing that we have received substantial support from the broader Canberra community. We have been doing harmony week, every week of the year!
Sadly, there are signs in the national political debate that the ideals of Harmony Week, not to mention CRS, are under challenge. While debate over the appropriate level of immigration is appropriate, the debate about immigration has taken on a tone and displayed a vocabulary that rejects diversity and employs a vocabulary that sees the strangers arriving on our shores as different and dangerous.
In response to this development and in the spirit of Harmony Week, the CRS committee has agreed to support the Palm Sunday Rally, organised by the The Refugee Council of Australia, with its theme of “Refugees and Migrants Welcome Here”. The Rally will be held on Sunday 29 March 2026 from 1 PM – 2:30 PM at Civic Square, London Circuit, Canberra (Outside of the ACT Legislative Assembly). Speakers include Senator David Pocock, Reverend Belinda Groves and Amnesty International’s Zaki Haidari.
The drift of local political debate is not the only issue of concern for those of us involved in supporting refugees and asylum seekers. There have been a number of developments overseas in the past year, including the effective withdrawal of the United States from refugee settlement.
CRS is currently working on organising a seminar on the future refugee settlement and its implications for agencies such as CRS. We are planning to bring together experts on refugee issues along with our partner agencies and members of CRS for an informed conversation on future challenges. This will be held later in the year. I will let you know as soon as we have details finalised.
In the meantime, thanks to all of you for your commitment to supporting refugees and asylum seekers and contributing to the goals of Harmony Week.
Douglas Hynd
President
Canberra Refugee Support