In the media
In Court
A man, who forced a refugee to work in slave like conditions, was sentenced to more than 3 years in prison. Three High Court cases were abandoned after the government dropped the requirement for the plaintiffs to wear ankle bracelets.
In Nauru and PNG
A businesswoman with links to Australia’s offshore refugee program in PNG faced court on drug smuggling charges. A number of the people who were transferred from Australia to Nauru in September 2023 have returned to their countries of origin.
In Gaza
Confirmation that UNRWA had terminated the contracts of staff who were allegedly involved in the Hamas attack on Israel caused a number of countries, including Australia, to pause funding to the UN agency.
In Indonesia
The Australian Federal Court ordered the government to pay compensation to Indonesian people who were charged with people smuggling and jailed as adults on the basis of a flawed age testing technique. Acehnese people have become increasingly hostile to the arrival of Rohingya people as the government has adopted a hard-line approach to dealing with their plight.
In policy
Legal experts have raised doubts about the need for the Preventative Detention legislation that was rushed through parliament in December. Human Rights Watch criticised Australia’s treatment of people seeking asylum and the conditions under which Australia detains them. Guardian Australia profiled the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot CRISP and some of the families who have settled in Australia through this pathway.
In research
The UNSW Kaldor Centre has commenced a 5-year research program into ‘Evacuations in International Law: Disasters, Conflict and Humanitarian Crises,' including the creation of Laureate Postdoctoral Fellowships.
New releases
Prosecuting Evil, a documentary on the last surviving prosecutor of the Nuremberg trials, available on ABC iview.
Australian Epic: The Tampa, a re-telling of the events that unfolded when the MV Tampa rescued refugees at sea, available on ABC iview.
Back Roads Naracoorte, a program on the small South Australian community that has embraced refugees, available on ABC iview.