Representatives of Muslims Australia – AFIC, and some of its State Councils, were invited to attend a proposed Round Table meeting with the Prime Minister this week.

We wrote to the Prime Minister on November 12, after he deferred a meeting that had been previously scheduled, with a number of issues and concerns on behalf of the Muslim community and we note that he has not responded to that correspondence in any way. Further, we note that the now proposed meeting does not appear to address any of those issues either.

We do not believe that the proposed meeting is appropriate for a number of reasons, including the following:

• The lack of response to out previous correspondence.
• The objective of the proposed meeting disregards many of the points that our community had raised in the past week and which we believe need to be discussed in a frank and honest manner prior to any discussion about solutions.
• The stated objective of the meeting is not achievable in the time frame set and so any outcomes are unlikely to be sophisticated or of any real value.
• No agenda of the meeting has been provided.
• This meeting has been called in haste and is unlikely to deliver sustainable outcomes.
• These issues are of too much importance to be responded to on the run in this manner. They should be well considered and the appropriate time invested in them to achieve genuine outcomes.

We have written to the Prime Minister inviting him to respond to our letter of 12 November and to reschedule the meeting to discuss the matters that we have raised plus a framework for future consultation that is meaningful and effective.

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils

Islamic Council of Victoria

Islamic Council of Queensland

Islamic Council of SA

Islamic Council of Tas

Islamic Council of Christmas Island

United Muslims NSW

Islamic Council of WA

Islamic Council of NT

Islamic Council of ACT