List do Premiera Australii i Pani Minister Spraw Zagranicznych Australii

To the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, Prime Minister of Australia and the Hon Julie Bishop, Minister for Foreign Affairs

Dear Prime Minister and Minister,

We are writing with regard to the visit of the Polish President, Andrzej Duda to Australia, and your official meeting with him. On behalf of the Polish community in Australia and tens of thousands of Polish protesters who have, in recent months, been bravely defending their democracy, the independence of their courts, and freedom of speech and assembly in Poland, we would like to express our deepest concern about the current political situation in Poland and ask that senior government officials in Australia who will be meeting with Mr Duda raise the issues with him.

On 26th of July 2018, the Polish President signed an unconstitutional bill that grants the ruling party more power over Supreme Court appointments. This is another step taken by the ruling party to fully control the Polish justice system. Taking control over the Supreme Court means that there will be no independent judiciary system to decide on election results in Poland. The end of the independence of the judicial system means, in fact, the end of democracy in Poland.

Dramatic reforms of the judiciary system have been conducted without any pretence of maintaining the separation of powers, and are intended to consolidate the ruling party control over the judiciary.

The European Union has launched an unprecedented punitive procedure against the Polish government over the changes to the Polish judicial system.
The Polish President has not only failed to defend democracy by relinquishing the opportunity to veto this unconstitutional legislation, but he also perseveres in his push to change the Polish Constitution to grant more power to the Polish President, as well as to give more rights to selected groups, potentially discriminating against religious and other minorities in Poland.

We are asking you to express your concerns regarding the dramatic current situation in Poland during your meeting with Mr Duda.

Australia has long democratic traditions underpinned by democratic principles, including separation of powers stemming from the Australian Constitution. As Australians, we pledged to share Australia’s democratic beliefs and to respect the rights and liberties of the people of Australia. As citizens of the world, we cannot stay indifferent however, when the rights and liberties of our Polish friends are being taken away from them. With over 200,000 Australians either born in Poland or claiming Polish heritage, we urge you to support us in our fight to protect democracy, the independence of the courts and adherence to the constitution in Poland.

Sincerely yours,

The Polish Community in Australia
@polish_in