Wednesday 19 July marked the fourth anniversary of Kevin Rudd’s announcement of a refugee deal with Papua New Guinea that would mean that ‘any asylum seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia’. Rudd tweeted on Wednesday night that this deal was only intended to last 12 months and that refugees should have been resettled in Australia by the Coalition Government three years ago. To mark the anniversary, refugee advocates organised 57 vigils around Australia urging the need to ‘evacuate [the detention centres] now’. Around 2000 people remain in offshore detention centres under the program.
Immigration minister Peter Dutton expressed disappointment that US resettlement for asylum seekers in offshore processing centres had not begun this month as hoped, due to the US already having filled its refugee quota of 50,000 for the financial year. Dutton stated his hope that the eligible asylum seekers would be moved by 21 October, when the processing centre on Manus Island is scheduled to close.
Refugee advocates reported a six-fold increase in workload as they attempt to file protection claims for asylum seekers by 1 October. This is the deadline for asylum seekers living in Australia to make a claim for protection or risk losing government payments and being deported. An unnamed asylum seeker told SBS News that the uncertainty is causing depression and anxiety for those affected.