Weekly media wrap - 2 May 2016

Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court ruled the detention of 850 asylum seekers on Manus Island unconstitutional, however the PNG government will not shut down the detention centre immediately. Following the decision, lawyer Ben Lomai outlined his intention to ask for compensation from the Australian and Papua New Guinea governments on behalf of men illegally detained.

Immigration minister Peter Dutton said the men are PNG’s responsibility and that Australia will help resolve the issue, suggesting an open centre arrangement or transfer to Nauru. Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull restated the Government’s position that the approximately 900 men there will not be resettled in Australia. New Zealand Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse reiterated New Zealand’s offer to take 150 refugees from offshore detention centres.

Omid, an Iranian refugee on Nauru self-immolated in protest in front of visiting United Nations representatives. He suffered third degree burns to 80% of his body, was transferred to Brisbane and later passed away.

Four Labor MPs called for the asylum seekers on Manus Island to be processed and settled in Australia. Labor’s policy to support offshore processing was agreed upon at the party’s annual conference in 2015.

Young Liberty for Law Reform released a report recommending that section 6 of the Australian Border Force Act – the secrecy provisions – be repealed. The report included testimony from detention centre workers whose careers and personal lives had been damaged through speaking out about the centres’ conditions. 

Weekly media wrap - 29 February 2016

The mother of asylum seeker baby Asha was accused of intentionally burning her baby in order to facilitate their transfer to Australia for medical treatment. Queensland Police confirmed that they had completed an investigation into the matter and dismissed the accusations. Meanwhile, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton, said that while the family had been released into community detention for now, they would eventually be returned to Nauru.

In a first for asylum seekers detained on Nauru or Manus Island, two refugees who spent three years living on Nauru, including two years in detention, have been relocated to Canada to be reunited with their family.

Following a meeting last week between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his New Zealand counterpart, John Key, Peter Dutton this week rejected an offer from New Zealand to resettle 150 refugees now on Nauru, on the basis that it would provide an incentive to asylum seekers to travel to Australia by boat. Mr Dutton also confirmed that Australian border protection authorities recently turned an asylum seeker boat back to Sri Lanka.

Amnesty International released its annual report. Highlighting the ‘harsh conditions’ faced by millions of asylum seekers across the Asia-Pacific region, the report stated that Australia’s asylum seeker policies violated international law by ‘forcibly returning people to countries where they would face a real risk of serious violations’.

The UNHCR issued a statement saying that on average two children have drowned every day trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea since September 2015. The news comes as countries across Europe adopt more restrictive policies, including border closures.

Weekly media wrap - 23 February 2016

Asha, a 12 month-old asylum seeker, was released into community detention after doctors at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital refused to discharge her until a ‘suitable home environment’ was identified’. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said that once Asha and her family’s claims are finalised, they will be sent back to Nauru, their home country, or a third country.

At an Australian Medical Association forum in Sydney doctors proposed to boycott working in Australia’s immigration detention system and to defy legal restrictions on speaking about conditions.

Malcolm Turnbull met with New Zealand prime minister John Key but did not commit to reviving a deal negotiated by former prime minister Julia Gillard for New Zealand to accept 150 asylum seekers annually from Australian detention.

Peter Dutton defended Australia’s rate of resettlement  of Syrian refugees, emphasising that national security is the ‘first and foremost’ priority and that faster processing would increase risk to the public. Twenty-six Syrians have been processed in Australia, five months after the government announced a special intake of 12,000. Canada has resettled over 20,000 refugees in the same period.

Weekly media wrap - 18 January 2016

The crew of an asylum seeker boat who were allegedly paid by an Australian official to return to Indonesia were jailed on people smuggling charges.  The six crew members were each sentenced to over five years in prison and ordered to pay fines between $50,000 and $70,000.  The sentencing followed an Indonesian police investigation which found that the Australian Navy had paid the crew $US32,000 to return the asylum seekers to Indonesia.  An Australian Senate inquiry, due to report in March, will assess the legality of payments made to the crew members.

An independent report found that Save the Children workers sacked on Nauru in 2014 are entitled to compensation from the Australian government.  The dismissals were found to be politically motivated and based on ‘no evidence or reliable information’.  Save the Children CEO Paul Ronalds welcomed the report and urged the Australian government to end the practice of mandatory detention of children.

Twenty-eight refugees living in Nauru wrote to New Zealand’s Prime Minister, John Key, requesting permanent resettlement.  Despite a deal negotiated between Australia and New Zealand in 2013, in which New Zealand agreed to accept 150 refugees per year from Australia’s offshore detention facilities, no resettlements have been granted.  New Zealand’s immigration minister, Michael Woodhouse, responded to the letter, stating that ‘it is for Australia to take up the offer to utilise the… 150 places’.  Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull argued that resettlement in New Zealand could ‘result in creating incentives for people smugglers to get back into business’. 

In Papua New Guinea, Benham Satah, the key witness in Reza Barati’s murder trial, requested to be transferred to a different compound at the Manus Island detention centre, where he has been detained for over two years.  Satah, who was offered protection before giving evidence against two local men accused of killing Barati, said he is being targeted by guards and fears for his life at the centre.  A public petition requesting that Satah “be brought immediately to Australia and settled in the community” drew more than 16,000 signatures.

The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) called for greater government investment in organisations supporting asylum seekers.  RCOA toured Australia gathering information about the challenges facing these support centres, and will make recommendations to the Australian Government in February.

Weekly media wrap - 26 October 2015

The return to Nauru of pregnant 23 year-old Somali refugee, Abyan (pseudonym), received international media attention.  Abyan, who was allegedly raped on Nauru, released a statement through her lawyers declaring that while in Australia she did not say no to an abortion, nor did she receive counselling or see a doctor.  Immigration Minister Peter Dutton maintained the government position that Abyan had declined treatment.

In response to the lack of transparency surrounding Abyan’s case, Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs called for independent monitoring of Australia’s offshore detention facilities.  Peter Dutton rejected the call, stating that current support was sufficient. 

In a challenge to the Labor party’s support of offshore processing, Labor MP Melissa Parke moved a motion to Caucus. Ms Parke is calling on the party to demand improved independent oversight or close the centres on Manus Island and Nauru.

In Victoria, Afghan asylum seeker Khodayar Amini, 30, died due to self-immolation. Mr Amini came to Australia by boat in September 2012 and was living in the community on a bridging visa. He reportedly feared being returned to detention.

On Nauru, police officers conducted a second raid on Save the Children staff at the detention centre.  Operating under a search warrant, police seized laptops and computers, in an alleged effort to locate whistle-blowers.

On Manus Island, asylum seeker Mohammed Albederee, who has been on a hunger strike for over six months, filmed a plea for help from the detention facility.

Diplomatic tension rose between Australia and New Zealand following the detention of 40 New Zealanders on Christmas Island.  The detainees, who have previously served prison sentences of 12 months or more, threatened to riot in response to their treatment.

Internationally, Google launched ‘Crisis Info Hub’, a site aimed to support asylum seekers in their search for transport and accommodation worldwide.

Read the Kaldor Centre’s weekly news roundup.

Weekly media wrap - 24 August 2015

Inquiries into the Nauru detention centre dominated the week. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton continued to dismiss as “nonsense” allegations by an Australian whistleblower and ex-guard that a detainee at the Nauru detention centre was waterboarded, stating that he was ‘aware that there is legal action between Wilson and... a disgruntled employee and all these matters need to be put into context’.  

At a Senate committee hearing into allegations of abuse on Nauru, the whistleblower conceded that he had never seen the torture taking place. UNHCR regional representative Thomas Albrecht said that it was difficult to verify the claims because of the secrecy surrounding the centre's operations.

The Wilson Security guard who ordered up to eight guards at the Nauru detention center to spy on Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young while she was visiting the island has been called to appear before the Senate inquiry.

An asylum seeker allegedly raped at the Nauru detention centre was sent to Australia for treatment, three months after the alleged incident. Separately, an investigation undertaken by The Saturday Paper revealed a number of unreported incidents on Nauru, including the alleged rape and assault of refugees who have been resettled on the island.

On Manus Island, an asylum seeker on was forcibly returned to Iran notwithstanding an ongoing case challenging his detention in the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court.

A New Zealand parliamentary committee called for an increase to the country's refugee intake. New Zealand's current quota is 750 refugees per year, accepted through the UNHCR resettlement program.

Meanwhile, the UNHCR reported that the number of refugees and migrants who arrived in Greece last month was greater than the number for the whole of 2014. The influx has led to a stalemate at the Greek-Macedonian border, where over 2000 refugees are stranded after being stopped by police.

Read the Kaldor Centre's Weekly News Roundup.

Weekly media round-up No. 39

More than 20 refugees became the first people released on Nauru and Manus Island under the Coalition Government’s policy whereby no asylum seekers arriving by boat can be resettled in Australia. Thirteen people left the detention centre on Nauru, while a further 11 were resettled on Manus Island on temporary visas, including with the right to work. Seven asylum seekers had their claim for refugee status rejected and remain in detention.

The federal government announced plans to introduce legislation during Parliament’s winter session to speed up the processing of refugee claims from nearly 24,000 asylum seekers who have arrived by boat. The Australian reported the aim of the reforms would be to lower the success rate of applications for refugee status. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said ‘the Coalition will not resile from our clear policy position and permanent visas will not be given to illegal maritime ­arrivals on our watch’.

A court in Perth released a photo of what conditions were like aboard a boat carrying asylum seekers, which sank in June 2012, causing 102 of the 210 passengers to drown. Two men are charged with assisting a group of five or more unlawful non-citizens into Australia in a way that gave rise to danger of death or serious injury. The court heard the boat was overcrowded and carrying too few life jackets when it left Indonesia.

A group of 50 asylum seekers were discovered and prevented from attempting to travel from Indonesia to New Zealand by boat. The distance to Christmas Island is 440 kilometres, but with Australia now refusing to resettle any asylum seekers arriving by boat, Fairfax Media reported the group were willing to pay up to $7000 each to a smuggler for the 8000 kilometre journey to New Zealand.