A 12-year-old asylum seeker girl on Nauru was taken to hospital after trying to set herself on fire, another 17-year-old girl was being treated after refusing to eat, drink or receive medical care, and a 12-year-old boy on hunger strike for 20 days was flown by air ambulance to Australia with his family for medical treatment. The Australian Border Force had initially refused to allow the boy's family to accompany him.
Human rights groups launched a ‘Kids off Nauru’ campaign, setting the federal government a three-month deadline to get all refugee and asylum seeker children off the island. Meanwhile New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she wanted to meet with asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru during the Pacific Islands Forum in September.
Ministerial responsibility for immigration policy is currently unclear following a leadership spill within the Liberal Party. Prime Minister-elect Scott Morrison is expected to settle his new Cabinet over the weekend. Former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton resigned from the position on Wednesday after mounting an unsuccessful leadership challenge.
A former outlaw motorcycle gang insider became the first known Australian to gain refugee status, after winning a landmark asylum claim in Canada.
In international news, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini commended Australia's ‘No Way’ border control policy on Italian radio, leading to a flurry of analysis of Australia’s Sovereign Borders operation in the Italian media.