In the media
In Detention
With COVID outbreaks in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, concerns were raised again about the risk posed to people in immigration detention through overcrowding and lack of access to personal protective equipment and sanitiser. Lawyers for a Tamil man detained onshore for 11 years and undergoing chemotherapy treatment called on the government to grant him a permanent protection visa.
Moreland City Council in Melbourne investigated options to close down hotel detention facilities in their municipality, as the events surrounding the sudden closure of a detention hotel in Brisbane were detailed. The Brisbane-based company Canstruct secured another uncontested contract extension for operations in Nauru, which equates to $3.2 million per person per year for those who remain there. Some of the men now detained onshore resumed a hunger strike to draw attention to their situation.
In Court
The family of Reza Berati, who was killed in the Manus Island detention centre in 2014, launched civil proceedings against the Australian government and security firm G4S over his death. A refugee transferred to Australia under the ‘medevac legislation’ and subsequently detained in hotels for almost 15 months sued the government for unlawful detention.
International
The deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan triggered a surge in border crossings, with many Afghans fleeing the country on foot to neighbouring Tajikistan. The UK proposed legislation to overhaul the asylum system, including criminalising the unauthorised arrival of people and authorising the relocation of asylum seekers offshore. A funding shortfall forced the World Food Program to reduce food aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan. A pilot program launched in the Netherlands that uses algorithms to match newly arrived refugees with locals for friendship and social supports. The program is evaluating the role of local social networks in people’s settlement outcomes.
In policy
19 July marked eight years since the policy to send asylum seekers offshore with no Australian settlement prospects was adopted. Hundreds of men remain stranded in Nauru and PNG. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants criticised Australia’s policy of boat push-backs for causing more deaths than it saves. The Australian government was urged to implement a special evacuation of Afghanistan’s Hazara community, as occurred for Syrian refugees.
In research
Registrations are open for the Peter McMullin Centre’s 2022 Statelessness Intensive Course, to be offered online in February 2022.
New releases
Still Lives, published by Meanjin.
Smuggled: an illegal history of journeys to Australia, published by NewSouth.