Weekly media wrap - 9 May 2016

On Nauru, a second incident of self-immolation occurred. The young Somali refugee woman remains in a critical condition and is being treated in a Nauru hospital. In the wake of the incident, Minister Dutton criticised both the media and advocacy groups for encouraging asylum seekers and refugees to ‘behave in a certain way’ and for raising hope and expectation that through resistance, they may be able to come to Australia. 

A PNG representative appeared before the United Nations Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review process, stating that the government accepts the recent court decision and is working to make arrangements for the men held within the detention facility. Australian officials met with Papua New Guinea (PNG) counterparts to put in place arrangements to comply with the Supreme Court ruling.  

In Australia, an application was lodged in the high court for over 750 refugees and asylum seekers currently held in offshore detention. The case will seek an urgent injunction to prevent this group being sent to Nauru following the expected closure of the Manus Island detention centre.                  

Elsewhere in the courts, the Federal Court of Australia found that the Minister for Immigration, Peter Dutton, exposed an asylum seeker to serious medical and legal risk by flying the woman from Nauru to PNG to terminate her pregnancy, despite this procedure being illegal in PNG. The asylum seeker became pregnant after being raped while in detention. The Federal Court also found that Australia owed a duty of care to the asylum seeker, a finding that may have broad ramifications for offshore detention.

The Australian Government released a statement offering regret for the use of unsubstantiated allegations that led to the sacking of ten Save the Children staff working on Nauru. It was alleged that the workers were coaching people held in detention to self-harm. The Australian Government will provide compensation to Save the Children. However Scott Morrison, then immigration minister, has indicated he would not make an apology to the organisation for the incident. 

A boat carrying 12 asylum seekers was intercepted off the shores of Australia’s Cocos Islands. The group of asylum seekers were flown to Colombo, Sri Lanka and have been arrested and taken into police custody in Colombo. The Australian Government has not made any comment on this incident, identifying it as an operational matter.  

As part of 2016-17 federal budget announcements, Minister Dutton announced to parliament that 17 onshore detention facilities will be closed. 

Weekly media wrap - 31 August 2015

The Senate inquiry examining abuse at the Nauru detention centre released its final report. The report’s recommendations include the removal of children from the Nauru detention centre as soon as possible (Recommendation 11); greater transparency and accountability mechanisms; and new laws on requiring reporting of sexual and violent allegations (Recommendation 15). The committee's findings were supported by Labor and the Greens, but opposed by government senators who put forward a dissenting report (Chapter 5).

On the same day as the Senate inquiry report was released, reports emerged that Transfield received a new five-year contract to provide expanded services on Nauru and Manus Island from November 2015. Transfield will replace Save the Children in providing welfare services in the offshore centres.

The Australian government's plan to resettle asylum seekers from Nauru to Cambodia is in doubt.  With four refugees resettled so far, Cambodian Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak stated ‘we don't have any plans to import more refugees from Nauru to Cambodia’.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) announced a joint operation with Victoria Police to conduct random visa checks in Melbourne's CBD.  Don Smith, Victorian and Tasmanian commander of ABF, said "ABF officers will be positioned at various locations around the CBD speaking with any individual we cross paths with".  The operation, codenamed "Operation Fortitude", received widespread public condemnation and, following protests in central Melbourne, was cancelled the same day it was announced. 

Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, criticised the operation as "catastrophically silly", while Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, called for the powers of the ABF to be clarified.  Hugh de Kretser, executive director of the Human Rights Law Centre, argued that the incident reinforced concerns around the militarisation of immigration officials.  The government confirmed that the office of immigration minister Peter Dutton received a copy of the media release, while Prime Minister Toby Abbott stated that he had no prior knowledge of the operation.

On Nauru, the convictions of two asylum seekers jailed over riots at the detention centre on Nauru were overruled by the Nauruan Court of Appeal.  The court identified flaws in both the original trial and initial investigation, conducted by Wilson Security.

In Papua New Guinea, the supreme court intervened to halt the forced removal of asylum seekers to their countries of origin. Following the deportation of two Iranian detainees from the Manus Island detention facility, the court ordered an interim injunction to stop forcible removals.

Read the Kaldor Centre’s Weekly News Roundup.

Weekly media wrap 15 June

Allegations have emerged that Australian immigration and border protection officials paid people smugglers to turn back boats from Indonesia carrying asylum seekers. The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, and the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, denied the allegations, however Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to deny them.

A senate inquiry into conditions in immigration detention on Nauru heard from former International Health and Medical Services mental health director, Peter Young, that the immigration department regularly interfered with medical assessments of asylum seekers. The inquiry also received written submissions from former Save the Children employee, Viktoria Vibhakar, detailing cases of sexual and physical abuse of asylum seekers’ children as young as two.

Meanwhile, the immigration department has confirmed Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young was spied on during her visit to Nauru by at least one Wilson Security officer.

In international news, the UNHCR has reported that the number of refugee and migrant arrivals to Europe across the Mediterranean in 2015 has reached more than 100,000.

Weekly media wrap - 30 March

Discussion surrounding the Moss Review into conditions at the Regional Processing Centre on Nauru continued. Among other things, leaked interview transcripts showed evidence used to remove 10 Save the Children staff from Nauru was not conclusive.

New laws passed the Senate under which asylum seekers will have to prove their identity to secure protection visas.

International aid agencies in Cambodia refused to participate in the Government’s planned deal to provide $40 million in development aid in exchange for a refugee resettlement deal. It came as the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to guide resettlement of refugees in Cambodia.

Fifteen asylum seekers – including nine with UNHCR letters stating their refugee status – said they spent three days on Christmas Island before being told to sail back to Indonesia on their fishing boats by Australian authorities.

The winning design for Immigration Place in Canberra was announced – an undulating public artwork reminiscent of waves on the ocean.

Weekly media wrap - 23 March

The Moss Review, established in October 2014 by the then Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, was released on Friday. The review, by former Integrity Commissioner Philip Moss, investigated two separate claims relating to the Regional Processing Centre in Nauru. The review heard evidence of rape and sexual assault, finding that many detainees on Nauru were concerned about their safety and privacy in the centre. The review also found no evidence to substantiate the allegations that Save the Children employees had encouraged protests or acts of self-harm.

The Moss Review published 19 recommendations, including a review of the dismissal of the Save the Children employees. The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton stated that the department had accepted and responded to all 19 recommendations. Save the Children CEO, Paul Ronalds, responded by agreeing to work with the government on a review of the dismissal.  He also called on the government to immediately end its practice of mandatory and prolonged detention.  Prime Minister Tony Abbott was criticised for his response to the Moss Review, following an interview on talkback radio station 2GB.

Former Nauru Chief Justice Geoffrey Eames criticised the Nauruan government, expressing concern about the health and safety of asylum seekers and refugees on the island  

Refugees who have been settled on Nauru spoke out about their lives on the island.  In a series of covert interviews, the refugees, who have been settled on five year visas, reported mental health problems and sexual and physical violence.

 The Italian home affairs ministry released a planning paper, suggesting that Egyptian and Tunisian naval units play a role in rescuing asylum boats off the coast of Libya.  According to this plan, Egyptian and Tunisian operations should be supported, technically and financially, by the European Union.  

Weekly media wrap - 6 October 2014

The UNHCR appealed for the rethink of global humanitarian financing, as worldwide displacement numbers reach 51.2 million. Since the beginning of 2014, the number of asylum seekers in industrialised countries has increased by one quarter, to 330,700.

The UNHCR and international human rights organisations criticised Australia’s deal with Cambodia, which provides refugees on Nauru the option to resettle there.

The Australian government will launch an inquiry into misuse of official information by Save the Children workers on Nauru. CEO Paul Ronalds has denied the claims, while Greens Senator Sarah Hansen-Young has suggested the inquiry is intended to distract attention from investigation of claims of sexual abuse of children by guards. Data from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection shows that of the 1102 asylum seekers currently held in detention on Christmas Island, 128 children self-harmed between January 2013 and March 2014, while 89 adults did the same.

Outgoing administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean territories, Jon Stanhope, heavily criticised the government’s asylum policy. Former WA Liberal Party MP Barry Haase will replace Stanhope when his term ends next week.

Two asylum seekers alleged they were tortured after being returned to Sri Lanka by Australia. The Sri Lankan high commissioner to Australia rejected these, and other similar claims.

Expansion of the Manus Island detention centre has stopped amidst unrest among the local population in relation to its impact on the community.

Weekly media round-up No. 50

Psychiatrists, bioethicists, human rights lawyers, novelists, priests and refugee advocates published a collective document accusing the Australian government of inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and demanding an end to mandatory detention and offshore processing.

Dr Peter Young, former director of mental health for International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) and chief psychiatrist responsible for the care of asylum seekers in detention for the past three years, accused the immigration department of deliberately inflicting harm on vulnerable people in an extended interview with The Guardian. He received support from peak medical bodies for speaking publically.

One hundred and fifty-seven Tamil asylum seekers transferred to Nauru in late July were allegedly offered lifeboats and instructed to row themselves back to India. Immigration minister Scott Morrison explained the decision to return them to Nauru was due to the asylums seekers’ refusal to speak with Indian consulates.  A spokesman for the Indian high commission said India never agreed to accept the return of any of the Tamil asylum seekers who were not Indian citizens.

Five Save the Children employees working in the detention centre for families on Nauru were suspended for encouraging or engaging asylum seekers who were peacefully protesting.

Mr Morrison called for a reinterpretation of the Refugee Convention which would require asylum seekers to change their behaviour or employment to avoid persecution. The matter will be considered by the High Court.

The Department of Defence released its report into the allegations that asylum seekers suffered burnt hands on board a boat as it was turned back to Indonesia in January. The defence report found no evidence supporting the claim.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance obtained documents from the immigration department which shows that since coming into power the Abbott Government has spent more than $3 million to encourage approximately 1110 asylum seekers to return to the country from which they fled.

Fairfax Media reported that at least 25 delegates who attended the 20th International AIDS conference in Melbourne in late July intend to seek asylum in Australia.

Weekly media round-up No. 35

Fairfax media reported that Papua New Guinean nationals employed as security guards entered the Manus Island detention centre the day before Reza Berati’s death in February, allegedly enraged by offensive chants from asylum seekers within the centre.

The UN said that Nauru is “breaching its international obligations” as it has failed to meet a February deadline set by the Committee Against Torture to establish an independent body to regularly inspect the detention centre. An unexploded wartime bomb was discovered at the centre, which detains children, pregnant women and families. Guardian Australia published a letter from Save the Children with allegations of “mistreatment and inappropriate behaviour” by guards employed by Wilson Security on Nauru.

At a UNHCR workshop on asylum seekers in Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa called on the region to “share – not shift – responsibility” on asylum seekers, saying the issue “defies national solutions”.

UNHCR regional coordinator James Lynch said Australia’s policy of returning boats to Indonesia or ending boat arrivals to PNG or Nauru is against the Refugees Convention. Mr Lynch said Australia has not responded to questions about boat arrivals and questioned whether Australia was prepared to “honour [its] obligations”. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison dismissed suggestions Australia was breaching international law. He said the “policy is working” and the boats are stopping. Mr Morrison announced that no boats had reached Australia for over four months.

There is ongoing speculation on whether Australia will make a deal with Cambodia to resettle asylum seekers. In an interview with Fairfax, Mr Morrison said the government was encouraging countries that were willing to offer resettlement places to expand "permanent solutions" for people seeking asylum.

A federal circuit court judge reserved his decision on whether a case involving a group of asylum seekers who were named in the Immigration Department’s data-breach in February will continue to a full hearing. He said that the review process is still being developed and it is “premature for the asylum seekers to be seeking injunctions and declarations.”