Weekly media wrap - 21 September 2015

Malcolm Turnbull replaced Tony Abbot as Prime Minister after a leadership ballot. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton retained his position in the cabinet reshuffle despite earlier in the week having offered to resign. The Indonesian government welcomed the leadership change, suggesting an opportunity to improve diplomatic relations with the new government.

The Turnbull Government consulted with the Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council on the mechanics of settling 12,000 Syrian refugees expected to arrive in Australia between now and the end of the year.  The majority of the extra refugees are expected to be resettled in Sydney and Melbourne, where the bulk of Australia's Syrian community lives.

The federal court found that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s investigation in to a data breach which published the details of almost 10,000 asylum seekers, was designed to fail.  The court said the immigration department responded to the data in a way that was ‘unfair to a significant degree’ and had not provided procedural fairness to asylum seekers affected.

An Afghan refugee who had his visa cancelled due to child pornography convictions set himself alight at a West Australian immigration detention centre after previous bids to end his own life.

The refugee crisis in Europe continues as Hungary closed the border between Serbia and Hungary. The UNHCR has again called for European Union member states to reach agreement on a plan to relocate up to 120,000 refugees.

Read the Kaldor Centre’s Weekly News Roundup.

Weekly media wrap - 14 September 2015

Tony Abbott announced that Australia would permanently resettle 12,000 refugees from Iraq and Syria. The government will also provide $44m in aid for refugee agencies. Opposition leader Bill Shorten (who had called for an extra 10,000 refugees to be accepted) and NSW Premier Mike Baird welcomed the decision.

The announcement comes shortly after the government pledged to respond to the current crisis by prioritising refugees from Iraq and Syria from the overall annual intake.

The European Union is in the process of negotiating with member states on fixed intake quotas. UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farrage supported Prime Minister David Cameron’s refusal to sign up to the quota. In Germany, locals greeted refugees and migrants fleeing the conflict in the Middle East with ‘welcome’ signs.

In Cambodia, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton met with Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss a 2014 agreement to provide $40 million in exchange for the provision of resettlement services.

Read the Kaldor Centre’s Weekly News Roundup.

Weekly media wrap – 7 September 2015

Images of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, whose body washed up on a Turkish beach, led to a shift in the European mood surrounding the Syrian refugee crisis. British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his nation would take thousands more Syrian refugees. The Prime Minister of Finland offered his country home as a refuge for asylum seekers.

These events have placed renewed pressure on the Australian Government to increase its refugee intake. Several prominent members of the Australian Liberal party – including Agricultural Minister Barnaby Joyce and NSW Premier Mike Baird – have come out in favour of increased resettlement of Syrian refugees.

The Opposition are calling for a one-off boost of 10,000 permanent refugee places to deal with the Syrian humanitarian crisis. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the government will accommodate more Syrian refugees within the current quota of 13,750. 

The New York Times published an editorial criticising Australia’s asylum seeker boat turn-back and offshore detention policies. The article labeled these policies as ‘unconsciounable’, ‘inhumane’ and ‘of dubious legality’. Immigration minister Peter Dutton responded by calling the government’s actions lawful and effective.

Robert Cornall, who authored the inquiry into Reza Barati’s death, will review the status of more than 30 asylum seekers with adverse ASIO security assessments currently in detention in Australia.

Read the Kaldor Centre’s Weekly News Roundup. 

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 - 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 wrap - 17 August 2015

In Australia, a 21-year-old Afghan asylum seeker is expected to be deported to Afghanistan. His two younger brothers have been killed and father has gone missing in Afghanistan. The Afghan government has sought to curb the flow of forced returns from Australia and other countries, recently blocking the return of the asylum seeker.  

At the parliamentary inquiry examining abuse at the Nauru detention centre, a Wilson Security guard claimed that asylum seekers in the island’s detention centre were being subjected to torture techniques including water-boarding. Both Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton have rejected these claims, stating that they were unsubstantiated.

Legal proceedings began this week against the Commonwealth Government over the alleged negligence of a five-year-old Iranian asylum seeker at the Nauru detention centre. The young girl’s lawyer told the Northern Territory Supreme Court that she suffered significant mental injuries caused by a year spent in detention.

The family of a female Iranian asylum seeker, who was allegedly raped three months ago in Nauru, say the Federal Government has refused to allow her to be treated in Australia. A spokesperson for the Immigration Minister indicated that the woman concerned is receiving appropriate medical and mental health support and care in Nauru.

A whistleblower claimed Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young was filmed and photographed while on a visit to Nauru in 2013. Greens leader Richard DeNatale demanded Wilson Security be excluded from future contract tenders, and called for a federal policy investigation into the incident.

On Manus Island, Guardian Australia reported that refugees are being encouraged to resettle in Papua New Guinea, and are being told that if they do not cooperate they may be moved to Port Moresby and held in custody where conditions are worse.

In Europe, UNHCR expressed concern over the living conditions of an estimated 3000 refugees and migrants living in makeshift sites in Calais, on the northern coast of France. UNHCR highlighted the rising death toll among refugees and migrants attempting to cross the Channel into the United Kingdom.

Italy arrested five men accused of multiple murders and human trafficking following a shipwreck in early August, which left more than 200 people feared drowned. The vessel was believed to have had over 600 migrants onboard when it began the journey. 

Read the Kaldor Centre's Weekly News Roundup.

Weekly media wrap 10 August 2015

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton announced 20 boats carrying more than 630 asylum seekers have been turned back since December 2013, with the most recent incident being the confirmed return of 46 asylum seekers to Vietnam last month.

A statement from the commander of Operation Sovereign Borders indicated that border officials had assisted asylum seekers in May 2015 when they had turned back a distressed boat whose crew was allegedly paid to return to Indonesia.  The statement was provided to a parliamentary committee investigating whether cash or other inducements were paid for boat turn-backs.

The Australian government has reportedly removed an undisclosed number of Iranian asylum seekers on bridging visas from their communities and returned them to detention facilities. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection said it was working to resolve cases of ‘failed asylum seekers’ currently living in communities.

The Papua New Guinea government has ordered a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to alcohol and drugs among staff at the Manus Island immigration detention centre, including regular substance testing. This comes after the alleged rape of a local woman who worked at the centre. The Australian immigration department has maintained that the Australian operator of the centre upholds strict drug and alcohol policy.

The Australian Government is expected to soon make a decision on a five-year contract for running detention centres on both Nauru and Manus Island, the ABC reports Transfield and Serco are being considered.

In an interim report released this week, the Australian Law Reform Commission suggested that a range of federal laws be reviewed in light of their potential interference with “traditional freedoms”. This has included law that extend the Australian government’s powers over asylum seekers who arrive by boat. 

UNHCR officials visited Greece this week to assess the refugee crisis. The number of refugees and migrants arriving by sea has risen by 750% in one year in this country, with 50,000 new arrivals having been reported in the month of July 2015. 

Read the Kaldor Centre's Weekly News Roundup.

Weekly media wrap 3 August 2015

A male Afghan asylum seeker died in a West Australian detention centre during the week. The circumstances of his death are unclear. A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said there was no indication of suspicious circumstances, though a fellow detainee said the man had been denied medical care.

A group of 46 Vietnamese asylum seekers were reportedly flown back to Vietnam. The asylum seekers reached the West Australian coast on 20 July 2015. The Australian Government refused to confirm the transfer or provide any information.

Asylum seekers on Manus Island whose claims have been rejected face imminent deportation according to documents obtained by the ABC. Australian authorities have not yet returned three former Manus Island Detention Centre workers to Papua New Guinea to face accusations of rape. Local police did not follow through on a threat to storm the detention centre and arrest its management if the men were not returned by Thursday evening.

Weekly media wrap 27 July 2015

At the Australian Labor Party (ALP) conference, a motion to prohibit asylum seeker boat turnbacks was defeated. Despite support for the motion from several senior Labor members, including deputy leader Tanya Plibersek, Labor will turn back boats to transit countries ‘where it is safe to do so’. A second motion, calling for the closure of offshore detention facilities that don't meet ‘humane and safe conditions’ was also defeated.

The ALP conference saw the announcement of Labor's new immigration policy, which includes the following elements: the abolishment of Temporary Protection Visas; the reinstatement of references to the UN Refugee Convention in the Migration Act; an increase of humanitarian visa places to 27,000 by 2025; a contribution of $450 million to UNHCR over three years; the implementation of independent oversight of detention facilities on Manus Island and Nauru; and the introduction of a children's monitor.

An ongoing senate inquiry investigating conditions at the detention centre on Nauru heard that, despite 30 child abuse allegations against detention staff, no charges have been laid. In a submission from Save the Children case workers, the inquiry heard that female detainees were denied easy access to sanitary products and women and children were often provided with ill-fitting clothing. 

A boatload of Vietnamese asylum seekers was intercepted and is being held off the coast of Western Australia. Vietnamese community leaders in Australia and asylum seeker advocates argued that the asylum seekers would risk imprisonment if returned to their home country. The federal government refused to comment.

Guardian Australia continued its investigation into International Health and Medical Services (IHMS), Australia's healthcare provider for asylum seekers in detention.  The Guardian cited leaked documents that highlight tension between the company's required standard of professional clinical care and its commercial interests.

Weekly media wrap 20 July 2015

Protests against the Border Force Act continued this week. In Sydney, doctors and other health professionals rallied on the steps of the Town Hall to protest against the secrecy provisions contained in the Act.

Information released by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to a Senate inquiry shows that asylum seekers are being held in Australian detention centres alongside non-asylum seeker detainees who have been convicted of serious criminal offences. Refugee advocates called for such detainees to be separated from those without convictions.

A report into conditions at the Manus Island detention centre released by Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Law Centre said that "Australia's experiment in offshore detention has been a disaster." The report found that since the former Labor government announced that asylum seekers who arrived by boat would be resettled in Papua New Guinea after refugee status assessment on Manus Island in 2013, no asylum seekers have been resettled. However, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that Papua New Guinea is "on track" to resettle asylum seekers whose refugee status has been confirmed.

UNHCR reported that over 10,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Yemen since March 2015. A representative from UNHCR Yemen said that many of these asylum seekers "are tricked into making the journey by people smugglers who tell them that the conflict is over and all is safe in Yemen."

Weekly media wrap 13 July 2015

Humanitarian groups and the opposition are urging the Abbott government to increase its ­intake of refugees from Syria, amid warnings of the worst human crisis for almost a quarter of a century. Department documents reveal the federal government stopped adding UN approved refugees to its resettlement waiting list for four months last year.

Refugees living in the community on Manus Island can expect the right to work in the coming months – they currently have to work rights and are subject to a 6pm curfew.

A new wave of arrivals in Turkey has pushed the total number of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries to over four million people. An additional 7.6 million are displaced within Syria. A UNHCR report predicted the number of asylum seekers arriving in Europe will double before the end of the year. Over one third of these arrivals are from Syria. The Greek financial crisis is putting at risk the ability to pay for humanitarian supplies.

Read the Kaldor Centre's Weekly Media Roundup

Weekly media wrap 6 July 2015

This week the Border Force Act came into effect. The new legislation has been criticised for new rules providing that people working in the detention system can be jailed for two years for disclosing ‘protected information’. Over 40 doctors, teachers and humanitarian workers wrote an open letter challenging the Abbott Government to prosecute them for publicly discussing conditions in immigration detention centres. The World Medical Association also condemned the new laws. 

Roman Quaedvlieg was sworn in as Commissioner of the new Australian Border Force authority, the agency that merges frontline functions of the customs and immigration departments.  The Commissioner confirmed that detail on ‘operational matters’ of the agency would not be discussed publicly, but indicated that the laws would not override existing whistleblower protections.

On Nauru, a school within the detention centre is expected to close, with children aged seven to 17 to move to local schools. Concern has been raised about the child protection framework utilised by Nauruan schools and the risk of the children’s exposure to corporal punishment. 

An asylum seeker accused of sexually assaulting four girls at the Nauru detention centre has been moved into isolation along with his wife eight year-old daughter and, raising concern for the welfare of the child. The accused has been charged with sexual assault.

Across the detention network, workplace and safety incident documentation obtained by Fairfax media showed there were 449 incidents recorded between July 2013 and June 2014 for asylum seekers in detention centres as well as immigration workers and contractors in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

UNHCR reported 137,000 refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean in the first six months of 2015, compared with 75,000 in the same period in 2014. The majority of those taking the sea journey to Europe are refugees.

Read the Kaldor Centre's Weekly News Roundup

Weekly media wrap 29 June

The Australian government amended the Migration Act to fortify the legislation against an upcoming High Court challenge to offshore detention. The amendments passed with the support of the Labor Party.

Opposition MP Joel Fitzgibbon suggested the Labor Party should consider support for boat turn-backs. Following the suggestion, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton urged opposition leader Bill Shorten to clarify the Labor Party’s position. Asylum seeker policy is anticipated to be a significant discussion point at the Labor Party’s national conference in July. 

NSW Premier Mike Baird announced public transport travel concessions for asylum seekers, referring to them as ‘the most vulnerable (group) in our society.’

Several parties challenged the legitimacy of offshore detention during the week. The United Nations said that Papua New Guinea is breaking international law by restricting individuals’ freedom of movement. In a separate matter, several hundred detainees joined an existing legal challenge to their detention under the Papuan constitution. The Australian government reportedly transferred an infant from mainland detention to Nauru. If accurate, this would be the second infant transferred to Nauru this year. 

European Union leaders agreed to resettle 40,000 North African and Middle Eastern refugees. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi criticised fellow leaders for a lack of regional solidarity. Over 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year.

Read the Kaldor Centre's Weekly News Roundup

Weekly media wrap 22 June

The Australian government continued to refuse to confirm or deny allegations that immigration and border protection officials paid people smugglers to return asylum seekers to Indonesia. Despite suggestions that this alleged payment to people smugglers may have broken Australian and international law, Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated that he is ‘absolutely confident that at all times Australian agencies have acted within the law’.

Following an Indonesian police investigation, with reports that more than US$30,000 was paid to the smugglers, foreign minister Retno Marsudi requested clarification from the Australian government, stating that ‘in the context we cannot be blamed for believing that there was an illicit payment made on this issue’.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Tanya Plibersek, called for the government to provide a full explanation to Indonesia, arguing that ‘it is absolutely vital… to get this relationship back on track.  A Greens motion in the Senate to compel the government to hand over documents relating to these allegations was rejected on the grounds of national security.

Australia's peak health professional bodies released a joint statement calling for urgent amendments to the Australian Border Force Act 2015. The statement criticised the Act's secrecy provisions, which threaten up to two years imprisonment for sharing information about conditions at immigration detention centres. The statement says that the Act ‘actively restricts health professionals from fulfilling their duty to advocate for the best possible patient care’. 

The senate inquiry investigating conditions at the detention centre on Nauru heard from a former Save the Children case manager. The submission included reports of sexual assault and alleged that sexual encounters ‘had been filmed and circulated’ among security staff at the centre.

The UNHCR released an annual Global Trends Report: World at War, stating that displacement was at its highest level in recorded history, with 59.5 million people forcibly displaced at the end of 2014.

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 8 June

Cambodia received four asylum seekers from Australia transferred from Nauru as part of a Memorandum of Understanding that will see Cambodia receive $40 million over the next four years. Human Rights Watch said the deal will ‘have a harshly negative impact on protection of refugees throughout the region.’

The Nauruan government asked Australia for a specialist medical team to treat and 11-year old refugee with a badly broken arm. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection planned to send the boy to India for treatment. The Commonwealth and Immigration Ombudsman released a report which showed that asylum seekers, are spending nearly five years in Australian immigration detention.

The recently passed Australian Border Force Act provides that doctors and teachers working in immigration detention facilities could face up to two years in prison if they speak out against conditions in the centres or provide information to journalists. The Australian Medical Association, constitutional lawyers and Doctors for Refugees criticised the Act.

Australian authorities allegedly turned back a boat carrying 65 asylum seekers headed for New Zealand after it crashed into a reef in Indonesia. The asylum seekers have since been detained in West Timor, Indonesia.

Weekly media wrap 1 June

Asylum seekers on bridging visas, who arrived to Australia by boat after August 2012, began receiving letters this week offering them to apply for temporary protection visas. The Australian government has lifted a freeze on processing the claims of 'unauthorised maritime arrivals' who arrived from mid-2012, and has begun the use of fast-track processing.

A Senate committee heard that the Australian government spent $2.4 billion over two years maintaining offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.

The family of a five-year-old Iranian girl is suing the Commonwealth of Australia and minister for immigration for negligence, which allegedly led to the child's severe psychiatric symptoms. The family is seeking financial damages and an injunction preventing their return to Nauru. This week the immigration department decided to transfer the family to community detention in Brisbane. Nauruan police are investigating the sexual assault of an Iranian asylum seeker last week.

Five detainees were removed from the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre or placed in solitary arrangements after confronting facility guards. Another group of 23 detainees, including some asylum seekers, have been transferred to Christmas Island from the Maribyrnong centre in Melbourne.

 Victorian Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kaye criticised immigration officials for blocking court ordered access for lawyers representing asylum seekers on Christmas Island. The lawyers were denied access to a group of asylum seekers who are suing the Australian government for neglecting to provide them appropriate medical care. 

The European Union sought a commitment from its member states to admit 40,000 asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrea landing in Italy and Greece. 

Read the Kaldor Centre's Weekly News Roundup

Weekly media wrap 25 May

Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to resettle several thousand Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees. Thus far 3600 refugees have come ashore in the three nations. Naval vessels from Myanmar and Malaysia will be joined by the US navy in the ongoing search for the estimated 3000 refugees who remain at sea. Despite calls for Australia to more robustly address the crisis, Australia remains opposed to providing assistance. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Indonesian officials told her that the refugees are mostly ‘illegal labourers’.

A Senate hearing received testimony that security guards and service providers sexually abused refugees in the Nauru detention centre.

The Cambodia Government approved transfer of four asylum seekers from Nauru. This is the first transfer associated with the $40 million tied aid grant provided to Cambodia last year.

Police discovered several mass graves of suspected migrants near the border of Malaysia and Thailand.  The graves are believed to be linked to human trafficking operations.

An EU plan to distribute migrants across Europe on the basis of national capacity has been criticised by several Western European nations. The plan appears unlikely to gain the support necessary for implementation.

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 - 11 May

Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced there would be a $504 million saving in the coming financial year from Operation Sovereign Borders, which will include the closure of detention centres, reduction in charter flights and logistical and service changes.

Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, confirmed that Australia had worked with the Vietnamese government to return 46 asylum seekers intercepted at sea. Minister Dutton said that the asylum seekers were ‘safely returned to Vietnam after we were assured that they did not have a claim to protection and that we had met our international obligations’. Human rights groups criticised the process of assessing the claims.

Minister Dutton announced that the arrival of refugees from Nauru to Phnom Penh, Cambodia was imminent.

A United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture completed a three-day visit to Nauru, where they inspected the processing centre and local detention facilities. The Subcommittee called for greater transparency on conditions and systems governing the centre.

Prime Minister Abbott suggested that Australia was in talks with European Union officials, who were interested in the country’s asylum policy. However a European Commission spokeswoman, Natasha Bertaud, denied seeking Australia’s advice, stating that the Australian model was not of interest because of its refoulement principle.