Weekly media wrap - 15 February 2016

This week saw escalating ‘Let Them Stay’ protests, following the High Court’s decision allowing Australia to detain asylum seekers offshore. Six state and territory leaders offered to resettle the 267 asylum seekers affected by the decision, however, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has yet to respond to the political and community pressure. 

Doctors at a Brisbane hospital declined to discharge a baby in an effort to prevent her return to Nauru. One-year-old ‘Asha’ was treated for accidental burns injuries at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, where a spokesperson said she would be released only once ‘a suitable home environment is identified’. The case has attracted the backing of hundreds of protesters, who have camped outside the hospital in support of the doctors’ actions. 

The ABC apologised for confusing two cases of alleged child abuse on Nauru. ABC News Director Gaven Morris acknowledged the error in reporting the testimony of a paediatrician that a five-year-old was raped on the island and was being sent back to face his attacker. The paediatrician’s statement in fact referred to an older child, whom the paediatrician, Karen Zwi, maintains was raped. The five-year-old at the centre of the claims was allegedly sexually assaulted.

The immigration department confirmed paying Nauru $29m in visa fees to keep asylum seekers in detention. The cost of a visa for a single asylum seeker in Nauru has risen to $1,000 per month since the centre was reopened in 2012, in addition to the fees Australia pays to contractors running the facility.

The refugee crisis continues to escalate in Europe, with the Austrian government confirming it will reduce the number of asylum applications received in 2016, while Turkey has for the first time shut entry to Syrian refugees, claiming the country has reached its limit. The news comes as NATO entered the crisis for the first time, promising to deploy ships in the Aegean Sea to deter people smugglers. The move was criticised by some international aid groups.     

Weekly media wrap - 8 February 2016

In a majority decision, the High Court rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of Australia’s offshore processing system brought against by a Bangladeshi refugee. The decision upholds the government’s policy of returning 267 refugees to Nauru. Reporting pointed to changes to the Migration Act in June 2015 which undermined the challenge, and more recently, the Nauruan government’s decision to create an open centre.

In response to the court decision, a series of protests under the banner ‘Let Them Stay’ were held. Churches offered sanctuary to those who may be transferred offshore. Sanctuary is a common law principle yet to be tested under the Australian judicial system, which would provide protection against civil authorities. 

A medical team led by the Australian Human Rights Commission found that 95 per cent of children detained at Nauru are at risk of developing post traumatic stress disorder and recommended that children not be sent back to Nauru.

A government document prepared by the National Security Committee planning reforms of Australia’s immigration policy was leaked. The document showed plans to ‘create stronger controls over access to permanent residency and citizenship’.

The UNCHR estimated that 62,000 refugees crossed the Mediterranean in January 2016, sixteen times more than the 5,500 recorded in January 2015. Meanwhile, the EU called on Turkey to re-open its borders to Syrians fleeing fighting in Aleppo. It is estimated that 35,000 asylum seekers are currently trapped at the border.

Weeky media wrap - 18 May

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton confirmed that the first group of refugees is in the process of being transferred from Nauru for resettlement in Cambodia. The transfers follow the announcement in September 2014 of a deal under which asylum seekers in detention on Nauru can volunteer to be resettled in Cambodia.

As part of the 2015 Federal Budget, the Abbott government allocated $400 million to the creation of a dedicated new border enforcement agency called Australian Border Force. Up to 6000 officers will be hired by the Australian Border Force within two years.

The Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme will also receive $21 million over the coming financial year. The funding will be partially offset by not renewing the grant funding of $140,000 per year to the Refugee Council of Australia. The budget also allocated $39.9 million to ‘anti-people smuggling strategic communications campaigns’.

A three-member panel was established by the Australian government to provide advice on child protection inside Australian detention centres on both the mainland and in offshore facilities. The establishment of the panel follows the final report released by the Moss Review, which found evidence of rape and sexual assault of minors.

A group of ten asylum seekers initiated proceedings in the High Court of Australia, challenging the legality of offshore detention. The Human Rights Law Centre represents the group.

Around 6,000 Rohingya asylum seekers and Bangladeshi migrants are adrift in boats in the Andaman Sea. The Rohingya are a Muslim minority in Myanmar who face statelessness and discrimination. Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia refused to accept the boats, though some migrants have been rescued in  Aceh. The United Nations warned the situation may become a 'massive humanitarian crisis'. The United States urged regional countries to refrain from pushbacks. Australian prime minister Tony Abbott said he was 'in no way critical' of regional countries turning back boats.

Meanwhile in Europe, the European Commission unveiled a plan to bring 20,000 refugees to Europe in the next two years.

Weekly media wrap - 23 February

The Federal Government announced that four Sri Lankan asylum seekers were handed over to Sri Lankan authorities earlier this month. The men were determined not to be refugees after their boat was intercepted off the coast of the Cocos Islands. This interception is the first occurrence of on-water processing and transfer since the High Court ruled in January that offshore operations such as this are legal. Critics expressed concern about interceptions at sea and the quality of screening processes being undertaken when on water.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton visited Nauru to reaffirm the Australian Government’s bilateral agreement with the island nation to resettle Australian-bound refugees. Formal visit proceedings were disrupted by refugees protesting Australian asylum policy. Minister Dutton announced an open centre arrangement where selected asylum seekers would have more flexibility in coming and going from the Nauru detention centre within agreed times. Minister Dutton confirmed that 512 asylum seekers have been granted refugee status and 400 had been resettled in Nauru.

The anniversary of the death of Iranian Reza Barati was acknowledged and remembered on social media by thousands. Barati was killed one year ago on Manus Island during the rioting in the immigration detention centre.

An open letter to the Prime Minister Tony Abbott, signed by 50 prominent Australians, expressed support for the Human Rights Commission’s Forgotten Children report and concern about the personal attacks on the Commission's President Gillian Triggs.

More than 2,100 migrants were rescued 160kms off the coast of Italian island Lampedusa by Italian and Maltese rescue vessels. 

Weekly media wrap - 9 February

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres responded to the High Court’s judgment of the Tamil asylum seeker known as  ‘CPCF’, decided on 28 January 2015.  Despite the judgement that Australian authorities acted lawfully according to Australian law, UNHCR urged Australia to recognise its international legal obligations.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser criticised the government for its attacks on the Australian Human Rights Commission in the lead up to the 2014 release of the Commission's report from the Inquiry into Children in Detention.

Senate Estimate documents showed that during the last financial year the Federal Government spent over $1.2 billion on the operation of detention centres on Manus Island, Nauru and Christmas Island.

Human rights lawyer Julian Burnside QC announced that he will represent an Iranian asylum seeker in an appeal after his application for refugee status was rejected.  The 33 year old detainee of Wickham Point detention centre has been on a hunger strike since his appeal was rejected late last year.

In international news, Guterres urged the European Union to grant asylum to more refugees, with 50 million people currently displaced globally, creating the largest refugee crisis worldwide since World War II.

Weekly media wrap – 1 February

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton announced that a total of 15 boats containing 429 asylum seekers have been turned back since the commencement of Operation Sovereign Borders.

A group of eight former Australians of the Year used Australia Day celebrations to call for the immediate release of all refugee and asylum seeker children from immigration detention. On the same day, further arrests were made in detention compounds on Manus Island as protests continued.

The High Court handed down a judgment that Australian authorities acted legally when they intercepted a boat from India carrying 157 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers in June 2014. The asylum seekers were detained on an Australian customs vessel for 29 days until they were brought to the Australian mainland and then transferred to Nauru. The Court found that Australian authorities had acted within the bounds of the Maritime Powers Act.

Minister Dutton said that the ruling ‘has vindicated the Government's position’. However, others have written that the decision raises concerns about the rights of asylum seekers who are detained at sea.

In international news, Kuwaiti philanthropist Shaikha Rima Al Sabah has been appointed as the UNHCR’s newest Goodwill Ambassador, while Angelina Jolie, special envoy for the UNHCR, appealed for urgent funding to assist more than 3 million displaced Iraqis and Syrians living in northern Iraq.

Weekly media wrap - 20 October 2014

Asylum seeker advocates claim the Australian government’s proposed bill to reintroduce temporary protection visas contains controversial hidden laws. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the bill ‘reinforces the Government’s powers to undertake maritime turnbacks and introduces rapid processing and streamlined review arrangements’. Critics claim that hidden laws would limit scrutiny of the Government’s actions and may reinterpret Australia’s obligations under the UN Refugee Convention.

The High Court considered the matter of 157 asylum seekers who were detained on the high seas earlier this year. Lawyers for the defendants produced evidence to show the asylum seekers were given no opportunity to claim asylum during their detention.

In a separate case, the Federal Circuit Court found that infants born to detained asylum-seekers do not have the right to an Australian visa.

A group of 50 Vietnamese asylum seekers will be released to live in the Western Australian community. The group, who are predominantly catholic, fled religious persecution in Vietnam.

In an interview with Fairfax, incoming Indonesian president Joko Widodo said that it is unacceptable for the Australian navy to enter Indonesian waters uninvited while turning back asylum seeker boats.

The Italian government operation to rescue asylum seekers at sea concludes in two weeks. The operation has rescued 140,000 asylum seekers in the past year. Critics are concerned that the closure of the operation will lead to more asylum seeker deaths at sea.

Weekly media wrap - 13 October 2014

The Australian government will investigate reports that Zainullah Naseri, an Afghan Hazara asylum seeker, was kidnapped and tortured by the Taliban after he was deported from Australia in August. The Saturday Paper last week reported that Naseri was kidnapped by the Taliban at a roadside checkpoint and tortured for two days before escaping.

The High Court of Australia is hearing an appeal from a 51-year-old Hazara man who was told by the Refugee Review Tribunal in 2013 that he could return to Kabul and avoid persecution if he changed his occupation from truck driver to jeweller.

The Australian Federal Police will investigate claims that staff of Immigration Minister Scott Morrison leaked part of a confidential security report from the Nauru detention centre that included allegations staff from the charity Save the Children were encouraging asylum seekers to self-harm.

A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia found more than 80 per cent of 139 pediatricians believe the mandatory detention of asylum seeker children amounts to "child abuse". 

A representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees praised Germany for agreeing to take 20,000 Syrian refugees, while criticizing other European countries for not accepting more.

Weekly media round-up No. 48

The 157 Tamils held for almost a month on board an Australian Navy vessel travelled to the Cocos Islands and from there to the Curtin detention centre in Western Australia, making them the first asylum seekers to reach the Australian mainland in six months. Human rights lawyers questioned the legality of the Australian government’s decision to allow officials from India, where the boat originated, to interview the asylum seekers.

 Documents filed in the High Court showed that the National Security Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, decided that the boat’s passengers should not be taken to Australia two days after it was intercepted.

Police in Puducherry, India, arrested two men on charges of renting out the boat they own to Tamils trying to reach Australia.

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison granted a permanent protection visa to a 15-year-old Ethiopian boy, after previously insisting the boy, who reached Australia by stowing away on a ship, would have his application rejected under a new ‘national interest’ test. 

Weekly media round-up No. 47

A document lodged with the High Court revealed that 153 asylum seekers whose boat was intercepted near Christmas Island remain on board an Australian Customs vessel. The document disclosed that the asylum seekers are being denied 'reasonable access' to legal advice and are unhappy about the conditions where they are being held.

At a directions hearing at the High Court in Melbourne, lawyers representing the Commonwealth stated that there were no plans to involuntarily return any asylum seekers to Sri Lanka, however the asylum seekers will remain on the ship until a decision has been made in regard to their processing location.

Papa New Guinean officials have not interviewed any suspects over the murder of Reza Barati, more than five months after his death. Tensions remained high at the Manus Island detention centre, resulting in two asylum seekers being confined by Wilson security staff.

Following reports that 15 asylum seekers absconded from community accommodation in South Australia, a group of school principals asked for more support for young asylum seekers attending school whilst in community detention. The police hunt for the 15 young people was brought to an end, as pressure continues to mount for the Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to account for their welfare.

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who is a Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), accepted an invitation to visit the island of Nauru. A spokesperson for the Nauru Government said that the visit will be a 'wonderful opportunity to showcase the facilities for refugees on Nauru, which we believe are the world's best practice.'

More than 1300 people from Canberra have called for a more 'humane and tolerant' policy to be adopted in relation to asylum seekers in Australia, in a statement that will be heard by federal MPs at Parliament House.

An asylum seeker who pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property was sentenced to an 18-month good behaviour bond.

Weekly media round-up No. 46

On Sunday 6 July the Australian Government returned 41 asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities. The asylum seekers’ claims were assessed at sea using the controversial ‘enhanced screening’ protocol, wherein a determination of possible refugee status is made on the basis of an on-board interview. Sri Lankan authorities said the asylum seekers face criminal charges and will be interrogated by officials from the country’s intelligence department. Australian legal scholars criticised the Australian Government’s handling of the episode.

In a separate incident, a High Court hearing on Tuesday 8 July confirmed an Australian customs vessel currently holds 153 asylum seekers on the high seas. The Australian Government said the asylum seekers were intercepted outside Australia’s migration zone and as such have no rights under the Australian Migration Act. Lawyers for the asylum seekers argued that repatriation would constitute a violation of Australia’s non-refoulement obligations. The full bench of the High Court will hear the matter within 21 days.

The Australian Government confirmed that ten women – including nine mothers – attempted suicide at Christmas Island. Refugee advocates said the mothers attempted suicide in the hope that their orphaned children would be granted permission to live in Australia. In response, Prime Minister Tony Abbot said the Government would not be held ‘over a moral barrel’. A leaked report showed a six-fold increase of self-harm in detention since the introduction of mandatory offshore resettlement.

The European Asylum Support Office released its annual report. The report said 435,760 persons applied for asylum in the European Union in 2013 - of these, approximately one third were granted refugee status.

Weekly media round-up No. 43

Refugee week activities relating to the theme of ‘Restoring Hope’ raised awareness around issues affecting refugees. In 2013, there were with 51.2 million people displaced worldwide, six million more than in 2012. Over the same period, applications for asylum in Australia dropped by over 50%.

The High Court found that the Minister for Immigration does not have power to limit the number of resettlement visas issued within a specific financial year. In response, the government will seek to reintroduce Temporary Protection Visas, a move that relies on the support of Labor and the Greens in order to be passed in the Senate.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and the Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared that it has been six months since the last irregular maritime arrival. The announcement follows a High Court decision upholding the right of the government to designate another nation to operate as a regional processing country. 

The Labor party debated and ultimately rejected a motion to reverse its support for the offshore processing of asylum seekers.

Following a series of revelations relating to the conditions of child detainees, UNICEF called for an independent body to monitor and report on the treatment of children held in Australian immigration detention.

The average time spent by asylum seekers in detention hit a record high in April 2014. Meanwhile, the ABC reported that the government is offering up to $10,000 as an inducement for asylum seekers to leave offshore processing centres and return to their home nations. The government further refused to provide assurances to Iraqi asylum seekers that they will not be returned to Iraq, despite the ongoing instability in the region.

A second Tamil asylum seeker attempted to self-immolate and was saved by housemates in Melbourne’s east. The man, who arrived in Christmas Island in December 2012, is on a bridging visa awaiting a decision as to his refugee application. The attempt follows the death of asylum seeker Leo Seemanpillai by self-immolation on 31 May.

On Nauru, three pregnant asylum seekers were transferred to Australia requesting abortions due to the harsh conditions inside the detention centre.

Weekly media round-up No. 28

Immigration minister Scott Morrison announced monthly ministerial meetings between Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to coordinate the inquiry into the violence on Manus Island and the resettlement arrangements of asylum seekers

Several accounts were published of the February violence on Manus Island, including from an employee of the G4S security firm and from an asylum seeker inside the detention centre. The Guardian also published images that appear to show the aftermath of the unrest. Former Howard Government immigration minister Amanda Vanstone criticised the media for its coverage of how Mr Morrison handled the death of Reza Berati.

The Senate voted for an inquiry into the Manus Island violence. A spokesman for PNG’s Prime Minister said asylum seekers and workers from the detention centre should be flown to Australia to give evidence. The inquiry is in addition to the Immigration Department’s own inquiry.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for Australia to review its treatment of asylum seekers and its agreement with PNG, to ensure its resettlement arrangements are ‘in accordance with international law’.

The Australian Human Rights Commission visited Christmas Island as part of inquiry into children in immigration detention. The Uniting Church offered to take in orphaned asylum seeker children, however this was dismissed by Mr Morrison.

The Federal Government re-introduced a freeze on granting protection visas to asylum seekers who arrive by boat, saying the freeze would allow them to issue visas to refugees from camps.

The High Court heard a challenge to a regulation denying permanent protection to those who arrive without visas. The challenge comes on behalf of a 15-year-old Ethiopian boy who entered Australia as a stowaway on a ship last year.

Following the withdrawal of ten artists from the festival, the Biennale of Sydney cut ties with Transfield Services, a service provider on Nauru and Manus Island.