In the media
Court
Former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton won his defamation case against a refugee advocate. In Brisbane a trial commenced against a man accused of being a people smuggler involved in the SIEV-X tragedy.
Detention
The Saturday Paper published a piece on the situation inside the Melbourne detention hotel where a number of refugees have contracted COVID-19.
Nauru
The cost of Australia’s operations in Nauru have increased ten-fold to $4.3 million per person currently held there. It was revealed that the Australian company that operates Australia’s program in Nauru was worth $8 at the time they were awarded their first contract. The coroner found that a delay in transferring Omid Masoumali to an Australian hospital almost certainly led to his death and that Nauruan hospital capability was inferior to that of regional Australia. An editorial detailed the abuse that female and underage asylum seekers were exposed to in Nauru.
International
The UNHCR published its inaugural Global Compact on Refugees indicator report and also commenced the evacuation of vulnerable asylum seekers from Libya to Italy. New Zealand launched a new visa category whereby local people can sponsor refugees to settle there. The situation of refugees stuck at Poland’s border worsened with accusations that Belarus was using them for political purposes. Refugee activists who helped to rescue people stranded at sea faced a Greek court on people smuggling and espionage charges. Around 27 refugees and migrants drowned after their boat capsized in the worst incident to date in the English Channel. The UK has adopted many features of Australia’s policy on people who attempt entry by boat. Despite reopening its international borders, the USA extended its entry ban on asylum seekers on the Mexican border due to their crowded living conditions and the consequent risk of COVID-19. An investigation into the conflict in Ethiopia has revealed violations of humanitarian law which may amount to war crimes committed by both sides.
Afghanistan
The Immigration Minister allowed the humanitarian visas of Afghans who remain stranded in-country to expire. As the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has intensified, one family resorted to selling their baby in order to feed their other children. Refugees who were evacuated to Canberra have been taken to caravan parks where they feel unsafe.
In policy
People who hold humanitarian and refugee visas were included in the list of people who can enter Australia without an exemption from 1 December 2021. A private members bill for a legal framework to end indefinite immigration detention was referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration who will accept public submissions until 28 January 2022. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s annual report detailed the growing backlog in asylum cases due to insufficient funding. The Immigration Minister used his discretionary powers to release more ex-offshore refugees from immigration detention in Melbourne and Brisbane. SBS published a feature on the invisibility experienced by those asylum seekers in Australia who struggle with English. A refugee with a disability claimed that a lack of government support has caused him to become homeless.
In research
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre published research into the lack of medical care provided to people who were medically transferred to Australia from Nauru and PNG. The University of Sydney published a guide to assist employers to recruit people from refugee backgrounds. A systematic review of studies into the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among people in immigration detention indicated detention is an independent adverse contributor. A University of London study showed that people were less likely to feel empathy for refugees when they viewed imagery of them in large groups. This reaction was less apparent for imagery of large groups of people fleeing natural disasters.
New releases
The Naked Don’t Fear the Water by Matthieu Aikins, published by Harper Collins.
The Refugee in International Law by Guy Goodwin Gill with Emma Dunlop, published by Oxford University Press.
Seeking Asylum: Our Stories by Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, published by Black Inc.