Peter Dutton, Minister for Home Affairs, stated that Australia will not sign a major United Nations agreement on migration in its current form, even though Australia was involved in negotiating the deal. The Global Compact for Migration (GCM) aims to address all aspects of international migration and increase cooperation internationally. Minister Dutton does not agree with large parts of the GCM including that migration detention should be a measure of last resort and that immigration detention should not be promoted as a deterrent.
The cases of up to 1600 asylum seekers may need to be revisited following a court judgement finding that Australia’s attempted excision of Ashmore Reef was invalid. Over many years, Australian customs ships intercepted numerous asylum seeker boats and sailed them through Ashmore Reef so that the asylum seekers were considered ‘offshore arrivals’ who the government could then legally send to offshore detention centres for processing. The government is now seeking to retrospectively legitimise the excision through legislation currently under consideration.
The Australian Government stated that since Operation Sovereign Borders began in 2013, over 600 people smugglers have been arrested, and attempts to smuggle 2500 asylum seekers were stopped with 33 boats turned back. The information was revealed as part of a lifting of secrecy surrounding Operation Sovereign Borders.
A Tamil asylum seeker known as Kavi was deported to Sri Lanka, despite protection concerns including the recent murder of his father and reported disappearance of his mother and sister in Sri Lanka. Kavi’s bridging visa was cancelled before the reported disappearance of his mother and sister, and his claim for protection was subsequently denied. The Department of Home Affairs stated that the Minister will not consider protection claims from someone who does not hold a current visa.
A group of asylum seekers currently on Nauru wrote to New Zealand’s Prime Minister seeking to be settled in New Zealand. The group stated that they do not want to use New Zealand as a means to get to Australia. The Australian Government has previously rejected New Zealand’s offer to resettle asylum seekers, citing concerns that this may be used by people smugglers as a propaganda tool.
Refugee support agencies and health services claimed that demand for mental health services for asylum seekers will continue to increase due to the government’s scheduled August cut in income support for thousands living in the community awaiting decisions on their protection claims. A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs stated that ‘Individuals on a bridging visa with work rights, and who have the capacity to work, are expected to support themselves while their immigration status is being resolved’.