In the media
Detention
A detained refugee brought a test case against the Australian Government, arguing that the widespread handcuffing of detainees for offsite appointments is unlawful.
A group of the most recent medical transferees were moved into the community. While this is standard practice and has been applied to more than 1,200 ex-offshore detainees, it was significant because none of the men who were transferred under the so-called ‘medevac legislation’ have been moved out of locked detention. One of the detained men was denied permission to visit his wife in hospital.
Community
A Sri Lankan family received deportation orders following their father’s death (the primary visa holder), despite awaiting an outcome on their asylum claim. The local community has rallied to demand the family is given permission to stay.
International
The number of refugees resettled globally in 2020 hit an historic low. Greece faces legal action for allegedly returning Syrians to Turkey and was slammed by an EU committee for the conditions in its migrant centres. More than 110 people drowned in three days trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea and the Mayor of Paris expressed horror at the brutal way in which police dismantled a migrant camp there. The British Home Office forced volunteers to sign confidentiality agreements prohibiting the disclosure of information about operations in an asylum seeker facility. The election of Joe Biden in the USA offers positive prospects for the country’s refugee policies.
In policy
An annual review of the best and worst legislation in 2019 (by right and left-leaning think tanks) found the repeal of the so-called ‘medevac law’ ranked amongst the lowest in terms of justification and need. As Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers was slammed by former federal Labor MP Barry Jones and labelled by actor Cate Blanchett as ‘not our finest hour’, 60 organisations launched the Time for a Home campaign demanding the resettlement of detained refugees and asylum seekers (onshore and offshore) by World Refugee Day, 21 June 2021.
Following their 2020 virtual conference, the Kaldor Centre released Temporary; an online exhibition of the cohort of asylum seekers who are ineligible for permanent residence due to Australian immigration policy. Refugee Action Collective (RAC) Sydney held a virtual forum on refugees and the media.
In research
In a new book, University of Queensland researchers argue there is no credible evidence of a link between asylum seekers and terrorism.