Jacqui Lambie released a statement this week that outlined her position on the medevac repeal bill, saying she will support the repeal only if the government meets one undisclosed condition. This condition was not revealed on national security grounds. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported that Lambie canvassed with the government a potential third-country resettlement deal for those still on Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
Sri Lankan asylum seeker Shaminda Kanapathi, who is in Port Moresby, made a last-minute appeal to Senator Lambie, saying to media that the repeal would have severe consequences. Meanwhile, 5040 doctors have signed an open letter to the Australian Parliament, advocating for the medevac legislation to remain in place.
The Guardian reports that there was no written record of the advice provided by the Australian Border Force commissioner that led to a family of Tamil asylum seekers from Biloela being kept in detention on Christmas Island while waiting for a court date. The court is expected to decide if the government properly considered whether the youngest child is owed protection. The rest of the family have had their claims rejected. The four asylum seekers are the only residents of the Christmas Island detention centre.
Wilson Security settled out of court with a refugee who alleges she was raped while being held in detention on Nauru. The Australian Government contracted Wilson Security to operate security at the Manus Island and Nauru regional processing centres. The case was scheduled to begin in the Victorian supreme court, but the parties reached a settlement the day it was due to begin. This settlement ends a five year legal battle.
The Scanlon Foundation’s 2019 national Mapping Social Cohesion survey report was released this week. The survey found that 61% of Australians disapprove of asylum seekers making their way here by boat, and 47% have little or no concern about the treatment of asylum seekers in PNG and Nauru.