A petition signed by 368 refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island was presented to Papua New Guinea’s supreme court, calling for the delivery of a crucial judgement regarding the court’s 2016 ruling that the detention centres on the island are unconstitutional and unlawful. The petition calls for compensation and the opportunity to apply for travel documents, opening possibilities for resettlement in other countries.
The immigration detention centre on Christmas Island officially closed. The more-than 30 detainees who remained on the Island were transferred to mainland immigration facilities. Immigration minister David Coleman stated that the centre will remain ready for operations in case re-opening is necessary.
The Australian Government spent over $320,000 in legal costs in 2017-18, responding to court proceedings and challenging requests for urgent medical transfers of asylum seekers and refugees from Manus Island and Nauru. It is likely that the costs will be far greater this financial year given the increasing number of critically ill asylum seekers and refugees requiring urgent medical attention. Additionally, Australian authorities admitted to cancelling or blocking medical evaluations of asylum seekers from Nauru despite Australian court orders and against medical advice, in order to preserve the relationship between the two governments.
Huyen Tran, a Vietnamese asylum seeker, is awaiting a court decision regarding her potential deportation and separation from her baby daughter. Ms Tran has spent almost one year in immigration detention and gave birth to her daughter whilst in detention. She arrived in Australia by boat in 2011 fleeing religious persecution as a Catholic in Vietnam, and fears she will be killed or jailed if deported.
Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian Kurdish refugee currently on Manus Island, won a prestigious international award for journalism for his documentation of Australia’s offshore detention regime. The Anna Politkovskaya investigative journalism award recognises excellence in investigative reporting and is bestowed each year by the Italian magazine Interzionale.