Weekly media wrap - 31 March 2019

It was revealed by the Sydney Morning Herald this week that as immigration minister in 2014, Scott Morrison proposed a multibillion-dollar program to build new mass detention facilities in Australia for asylum seekers who were living in the community on bridging visas. The proposal, according to multiple sources, was to operate alongside Operation Sovereign Borders, and serve as a deterrent to asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat. A spokesperson for Mr Morrison said he had no recollection of such a proposal.

A Guardian Australia investigation into Australia’s onshore detention centres found serious concerns about the transparency and accountability of the operator Serco. The Guardian received a number of secret recordings, and found that guards allegedly discouraged detainees from pursuing complaints. The investigation also found allegations of abuse and mistreatment of detainees, arbitrary transfers, and claims of ‘prison-like’ conditions and rising tensions within the centres. Following these revelations, the centres are expected to be a focus of the Senate’s budget estimates hearings next month. 

The federal court criticised federal circuit court judge Alexander ‘Sandy’ Street, after he did not publish reasons for a decision in time for an asylum seeker to make an appeal. Judge Street took 75 days to publish written reasons for a judgment he delivered orally in July, in which he dismissed an application by an Iranian asylum seeker for a review of a visa rejection. However, the man had only 21 days to submit an appeal. Street has been criticised previously for this same failure.

The Queensland state government committed $3.5 million over two years to support asylum seekers to find work and access public transport. Communify Queensland, a community support organisation, will receive the funding to provide this support, as part of Queensland’s asylum seeker and refugee assistance program.

A Turkish tanker was hijacked by migrants it had rescued near the Libyan border, to avoid being returned to Libya. Five men who allegedly led the hijacking were arrested in Malta following the Armed Forces of Malta taking control of the vessel. The five men were among 108 asylum seekers rescued by the tanker. The tanker was ordered by Libyan authorities to take the migrants to Tripoli, but they allegedly forced the vessel to sail north towards Europe.

Weekly media wrap - 24 March 2019

Refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and other countries were among the victims of the Christchurch terrorist attacks last week. Khaled and Hamza Mustafa, a Syrian father and son, were the first to be buried this week. Abdul Aziz, a former refugee from Afghanistan, was hailed as a hero for chasing off the gunman at Linwood mosque. Meanwhile, Australian Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds linked the Christchurch terrorist attacks with parliament’s passing of the medevac bill.

Doctors signed off on the first applications for medical transfer under the new medevac bill. The applications were expected to be put to Department of Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo and Immigration Minister David Coleman by the end of the week.

Refugees living on Nauru were exposed to potentially deadly asbestos after local workers left it next to the Fly Camp settlement. Documents leaked to the ABC say refugees have been ‘using the asbestos to build sheds’. 

Sprent Dabwido, former President of Nauru, called for an end to the offshore processing of refugees and said he regrets agreeing to reopen Australia’s offshore detention centre on the island. Mr Dabwido has applied for asylum in Australia after being classified as an ‘enemy of the state’ by current Nauruan President Baron Waqa.

SBS News reported that a backlog in citizenship applications is taking a toll on refugees living in Australia who, among other things, cannot apply for passports until citizenship is conferred.

Weekly media wrap - 19 March 2019

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and members of the Coalition have continued to claim that refugees transferred to Australia for medical treatment under the medevac arrangements will equate to Australians losing out on medical services. In response, a number of health care associations and hospitals stated that the Australian system has the capacity to provide medical treatment to asylum seekers and refugees without impacting Australians. 

Hakeem Al-Araibi, Bahraini-born refugee and footballer, became an Australian citizen at a ceremony in Melbourne alongside over 200 new citizens. Following his two-and-a-half-month ordeal in a Thai prison from late 2018 where he was detained due to Bahrain’s extradition request, he returned to Australia in February and completed the citizenship test. 

The United Nations voiced its concern over a plan to relocate 23,000 Rohingya refugees currently in Bangladesh to a remote island. Bangladesh proposed the relocation due to the chronic overcrowding at Cox’s Bazar where approximately 730,000 Rohingya are currently taking shelter. Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee stated that the island of the proposed relocation may not even be habitable, and fears relocation could create a ‘new crisis’. 

Weekly media wrap - 11 March 2019

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited Christmas Island following his announcement that the government will reopen its immigration detention facility in the remote external Australian territory. The government budgeted approximately $1.4 billion over the next four years to reopen the centre. 

Morrison announced that asylum seekers currently on Manus Island or Nauru who are deemed a risk to Australia will be sent to Christmas Island’s North West Point facility if they apply for medical transfer under the newly passed medical evacuation bill. This cohort includes 57 men, including those allegedly charged with murder, sexual and violent assaults and terrorist activities.

Government health contractor IHMS will employ an additional 60 medical practitioners on Christmas Island, including a general surgeon, an anaesthetist and 35 mental health professionals. The expanded team is designed to eliminate the need for any transfers to the Australian mainland.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton warned that asylum seekers brought to the mainland under the so-called medevac bill would likely go on to become Australian citizens, an outcome he argues is against the wishes of the Australian community. Morrison supported that assertion, further warning that these asylum seekers would need to be housed through their claims, resulting in Australian citizens missing out on public housing. 

UNHCR’s Catherine Stubberfield criticised the reopening of the Christmas Island facility, arguing that ill asylum seekers are ‘unlikely to recover in a remote, formal detention environment’.

Weekly media wrap - 2 March 2019

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton claimed that the newly passed medical transfer legislation would result in Australians missing out on healthcare as a result of the arrival of refugees in Australia for medical care. This claim received criticism, including from independent MP Kerryn Phelps, who said that about 70 people were likely to need emergency transfer. The so-called medevac bill was passed by Parliament earlier this month and given royal assent this week.

The Nauru government passed a new law that will ban telemedicine for residents of the island nation, which has led Médecins Sans Frontières to suspend its psychological services. Under the new law, overseas medical transfers will not be approved ‘on the recommendation of an overseas health practitioner by telemedicine examination or diagnosis’. Refugee advocates said that these new laws could effectively block medical evacuations at the request of Australia.

A list of jobs has been advertised on Christmas Island by International Medical Health Services (contracted by the Australian Government to provide care for people in immigration detention) in anticipation that a number of people will be transferred from offshore processing to Australia for medical reasons. The roles advertised include a mental health nurse, psychologist, clinical psychologist and nurse radiographer.

The last four refugee children departed Nauru this week, having been transferred to the US amongst a total of 19 people for resettlement. Another 22 men from Manus Island were also transferred to the US to be resettled under the arrangement made by former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. 

An inquest was held this week into the death of the Iranian refugee Omid Masoumali, who was detained on Nauru for almost three years. The coroner, Terry Ryan, has been examining the health and medical evacuation services provided, and what could have been done to prevent the death.

Local employees of Paladin Security, contracted by the Australian Government for services to offshore processing centres on Manus Island, reportedly walked off the job this week over low pay and poor working conditions. The Guardian Australia was told that employees of the contracted health clinic for asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island, Pacific International Hospital, as well as cleaning staff and bus drivers, also walked off the job because they had no security.

Weekly media wrap - 25 February 2019

Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo revealed during Senate estimates that sick refugees and asylum seekers in offshore detention will be sent to Christmas Island, not the mainland, under new medevac laws. Shire of Christmas Island CEO David Price said the island is not equipped to deal with people sent there in poor health. Lawyers representing refugee advocacy organisations said they will launch legal challenges on medical transfers to the island. Meanwhile, the Nauruan government responded to the medevac laws by banning residents of Nauru from being granted medical transfers if the referral is based on online consultations. 

The federal government faced ongoing scrutiny for its decision to award contracts to provide security at the Manus Island detention centre, worth up to $423 million, to inexperienced contractor Paladin through a non-competitive tender process. The opposition asked the Auditor General to examine the contract, and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neil, said he would welcome an investigation into the affair. Paladin Director Ian Stewart defended the company’s record and disputed claims of corruption.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reiterated her offer to resettle refugees from Nauru and Manus Island, including single men, during a visit by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to the country. Mr Morrison again rejected the offer. Opposition immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said Labor will accept the offer if elected.

During Senate estimates, Australian Federal Police commissioner Andrew Colvin blamed a lack of information sharing from the Department of Home Affairs for the detention of refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi in Thailand.

Two sisters from Saudi Arabia who are trying to seek asylum in Australia said they have been stuck in Hong Kong for more than six months. The two women said they were prevented from boarding a connecting flight to Australia and were intercepted at the airport by diplomats from Saudi Arabia. The case is the second high-profile example this year of Saudi women seeking to escape their country.

Weekly media wrap - 16 February 2019

The medical evacuation bill passed through both houses of Parliament. This amendment to the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) will give doctors greater powers in deciding whether asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island and Nauru should be transferred to Australia for medical treatment. Ministerial discretion still applies to an extent. The passing of this bill, with the support of Labor, the Greens and various independents, was the first time a federal government has lost a vote on its own legislation in almost 80 years.

While the bill was being debated in the Senate, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced plans to reopen the Christmas Island detention centre and strengthen Operation Sovereign Borders. The Prime Minister claimed that these contingency measures are necessary due to what he predicts will be an increase in asylum seeker boats. Since the passing of the bill, The Guardian Australia and SBS News have provided information on how it may affect the situation for ill asylum seekers and refugees currently in offshore detention. 

Bahraini refugee Hakeem al-Araibi returned to Australia following his release from a Thai prison. The 25-year-old Australian football star was detained on his honeymoon in November 2018 by Thai authorities acting on the advice of an Interpol red notice and an extradition request from Bahrain. The extradition case was subsequently dropped by Thai authorities after Bahrain abandoned its request.

Abdul Aziz Muhamat, a Sudanese refugee detained on Manus Island, received a prestigious international human rights award in Geneva. The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders recognises people who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to human rights despite huge risks. Mr Muhamat received the award for his advocacy and awareness-raising of the dire conditions for detained refugees on Manus Island, including sending over 3500 mobile phone messages to a journalist to create a podcast. Mr Muhamat was granted a visa by Switzerland to fly to Geneva to accept the award, and will be returned to PNG promptly.

The High Court of Australia rejected a stateless man’s challenge to Australia’s indefinite detention system. Lawyers for the stateless man, who has spent over nine years in immigration detention in Australia, attempted to reopen the 2004 Al-Kateb v Godwin ruling, which effectively enabled indefinite detention in Australia.

Weekly media wrap - 14 February 2019

Independent MP Dr Kerryn Phelps put forward a bill proposing an amendment to the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) that establishes an independent medical advice panel for the transfer of asylum seekers and refugees from Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Government ministers oppose the Bill, saying that its passing would result in the transfer of one thousand people within weeks. The Bill is due for a vote next week.

The ABC’s Four Corners reported that a number of Saudi women have been prevented from reaching Australia by airline liaison officers (ALOs) stationed in airports in transit countries. The investigation followed the high-profile case of Rahaf Al-Qunun, a Saudi woman stranded in Bangkok and given protection in Canada. ALOs advise governments and airlines on whether to allow a person to board, in some cases refusing embarkation when they suspect a person will apply for asylum upon arrival in Australia.

Refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi appeared at an extradition hearing in Bangkok. Mr al-Araibi is a Bahrainian national granted refugee protection in Australia. Bahrain has requested his extradition from Thai authorities after he was arrested on holiday there.

Weekly media wrap - 2 February 2019

Kurdish asylum seeker Behrouz Boochani won the prestigious Victorian Prize for Literature for his book No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison. Boochani has been kept on Manus Island since 2013. He wrote the book in Farsi using WhatsApp; it was translated by Omid Tofighian.

The Weekend Australian reported that a boat carrying asylum seekers is believed to have left India this month with Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian nationals on board. It is reported that the boat could be travelling to New Zealand. Estimates of numbers onboard vary between 80 and 200 people.

UNHCR’s Indonesian chief said that turning back asylum boats at sea puts lives at risk. Ahead of the upcoming Australian federal election, the UNHCR is expected to continue to lobby to end the practice of boat turnbacks and for Canberra to lift its restrictions on refugee resettlements out of Indonesia.

The Asian Football Confederation claimed the detention of refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi in Thailand is not the responsibility of the AFC’s president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, because he was recused from overseeing the region 18 months ago out of conflict-of-interest concerns. Salman has been criticised for his inaction over the matter.

The UNHCR reported that six lives were lost on average every day in 2018 attempting to reach Europe crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The UNHCR released the latest Desperate Journeys report, which describes shifts in policy by some European states that saw numerous incidents where large numbers of people were left stranded at sea.

Weekly media wrap - 26 January 2019

A male detainee at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, believed to be in his thirties and from Sierra Leone, died on Friday evening. Police said initial investigations suggest the death is not suspicious. The death allegedly triggered chaos in the centre.

Thailand's ambassador to Australia asked for patience in the case of detained refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi and stressed the independence of Thailand's judiciary. Meanwhile, a number of  Australian sportspeople signed an open letter to the Prime Minister, asking him to directly engage with Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha regarding al-Araibi's case.

One hundred and seventeen people drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean last weekend and nearly 400 rescued migrants were returned to Libya. Two hundred people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year.

The Trump administration's ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, which returns asylum seekers to Mexico to wait while their cases progress through US courts, took effect on Friday. Meanwhile, Mexico has struggled to process an influx of Central Americans applying for its new humanitarian visa.

Weekly media wrap - 19 January 2019

Said Imasi, a stateless man who has been in immigration detention in Villawood for nine years, filed a High Court challenge to the landmark immigration case, Al-Kateb v Godwin (2004). In the case, the majority of the High Court ruled that a person could remain within administrative detention for as long as was required to resolve the individual’s case. Imasi does not know where he was born and has no country that will claim him. Lawyers for Imasi have said that they hope this challenge will open a process to end arbitrary ongoing detention in Australia.  

Doctor Nick Martin, a former senior medical officer working with asylum seekers on Nauru, won the 2019 Blueprint for Free Speech prize for his medical attention and advocacy speaking out against offshore detention. Martin consistently voiced his concerns that Australia’s offshore detention regime was deliberately neglecting and harming refugees and asylum seekers and ignoring medical recommendations.

Independent MP Cathy McGowan sought the views of her constituents as to whether she should support a bill which would allow fast-track transfers for urgent medical treatments for refugees on Manus Island and Nauru. The bill, which has the proclaimed support of most cross-benchers, Labor and the Greens, is likely to come before Parliament in February 2019.

The World Report 2019, Human Rights Watch’s annual assessment of human rights around the globe, condemned Australia’s offshore detention regime, labelling it ‘draconian’.

Weekly media wrap - 14 January 2019

Rahaf al-Qunun, an 18-year-old Saudi refugee, was accepted for resettlement in Canada. The young woman was stopped by Thai authorities in Bangkok on her way to Australia, which had granted her a three-month tourist visa. She intended to seek asylum in Australia on the basis of a fear of persecution for her renunciation of Islam. After locking herself in her hotel room and pleas on social media, UNHCR was given access to al-Qunun and quickly declared her a refugee. UNHCR referred al-Qunun for resettlement to Australia. Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said she would receive ‘no special treatment’, with the Labor party encouraging the government to resettle her. However, she ultimately accepted resettlement in Canada, flying from Bangkok to Toronto.

Malta agreed to allow two boats carrying 49 people rescued at sea to disembark after 18 days at sea. The two vessels, sailing under the German flag, had been denied access to European ports since December.

Weekly media wrap - 24 December 2018

An appeal to stop the deportation of a family of Tamil asylum seekers was dismissed by the Federal Court. The family, including two Australian-born children, lived for many years in the small Queensland town of Biloela prior to their detention in March 2018. They have been campaigning against their deportation for much of this year through various court proceedings, receiving significant community support including a petition with over 140,000 signatures calling on Peter Dutton to intervene. In dismissing the appeal, the judge ordered that the family not be deported until February 2019.

A former worker in the Manus Island detention centre filed a case in Victoria’s Supreme Court suing the security company G4S and the Australian Government for unsafe and harmful working conditions at the centre. The former worker stated that the job description and working conditions presented to him upon applying for the job were misleading. He said that he actually experienced inadequate security to protect staff from violence, no training for emergency procedures or security briefings, inadequate facilitates to treat detainees, and insufficient water, hygiene and power.

An Afghan Hazara refugee who was transferred from Nauru to Australia for medical treatment over six weeks ago has not yet seen a doctor in Australia. Specialist medical reports state that without immediate treatment, the woman, Narges, is at risk of permanent hearing loss and developing fatal infections. Narges was recently taken to a medical appointment from the Villawood detention centre, but the appointment was cancelled.

The Australian Labor Party quashed a push to overhaul their current asylum seeker policy platform at their national conference. There had been proposals by some within the party to end offshore detention, cease boat turnbacks, and improve regional processing. The party will, however, likely increase their refugee intake commitment by up to 4000.

Weekly media wrap - 20 December 2018

Parallel class action cases in the High Court of Australia claim that around 1200 asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru and Papua New Guinea have been subjected to crimes against humanity and torture. The claims seek injunctions to transfer the class action participants to Australia and damages for harm while in the offshore centres. The claims are being brought under the civil law of negligence, which requires the Commonwealth of Australia to meet a certain duty of care to people within its jurisdiction.

In 2017-2018, 27,931 people applied for asylum in Australia having arrived by plane, an increase from 18,290 the previous year. Applicants from China, who receive protection at a rate of around 10 per cent, made up one-third of all applications.

An Australian-based footballer of refugee background arrested in Thailand faces extradition to his country of origin, Bahrain. Hakeem al-Araibi, arrested on holiday at Bangkok airport, has previously faced torture in Bahrain and been convicted of vandalism in absentia in the country. The forced return of al-Araibi to Bahrain would amount to refoulement.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton appointed Major General Craig Furini as Operation Sovereign Borders commander, arguing for the retention of offshore regional processing centres, as well as ongoing boat turnbacks.

The Australian Government launched an inquiry into the integration and employment of refugees and other humanitarian entrants in Australia. The review is likely to be completed by February 2019.

In international news, a seven-year-old girl from Guatemala died of dehydration and exhaustion in the custody of United States Customs and Border Protection in New Mexico, having crossed the border from Mexico.

Weekly media wrap - 9 December 2018

The Australian Labor Party agreed to support independent MP Kerryn Phelps’ bill for emergency medical transfers from offshore detention, provided that changes be made to keep a ministerial power to refuse transfers. The minister would also be required to table a statement in parliament if they refuse to transfer someone, and an independent health advice panel would be established.

With support from Labor and independents, the bill was passed through the Senate late on the last day of the final Parliamentary sitting week for 2018, and so was not passed by the House of Representatives. The law could still be passed in February when the House of Representatives resumes. Prime Minister Scott Morrison criticised Labor’s support for the bill and for ‘destroy(ing) the building blocks of border protection that keep Australians safe’.

Protesters rallied outside Parliament House and offices of MPs in support of the bill. Some of Australia’s biggest film and television stars wore blue ribbons to the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards, to call for the government to bring asylum seeker children detained on Nauru to Australia.

A new report was published by Médecins Sans Frontières this week, highlighting new data showing the current mental health crisis on Nauru. The report rated the severity of mental illness using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale, revealing that both its Nauruan and refugee patients showed similar levels of mental illness far worse than other MSF projects around the world.

Hakeem Al-Araibi, a Bahraini refugee, has spent more than ten days in Thai detention, and has been officially arrested for a court to rule on his extradition to Bahrain. Al-Araibi is not expected to be immediately extradited, pending further hearings. Al-Araibi is a permanent resident of Australia after being granted refugee status in 2017.

A full bench of the federal court granted an extension to an Iraqi asylum seeker to lodge a notice of appeal,  overturning a decision by circuit court judge Sandy Street. In May 2018, Street dismissed the Iraqi man’s appeal against a negative refugee assessment, which had been upheld by the Immigration Assessment Authority. He upheld the original decision and gave his reasons in court orally but failed to publish his reasons until after the time limit for the man to appeal had lapsed. The federal court said the cause of the Iraqi man’s failure to file the appeal was ‘wholly outside the responsibility of the appellant’.

Weekly media wrap - 2 December 2018

Crossbench members of parliament introduced a private member’s bill that would require the urgent evacuation of any asylum seeker on Manus Island or Nauru who, on the recommendation of two or more doctors, is ill and unable to be treated offshore. The proposed changes would also require the urgent medical transfer of all asylum seeker children on Nauru.

A related rally at Parliament House earlier in the week delivered a petition of 170,000 signatures urging the government to remove children and their families from indefinite detention on Nauru. Meanwhile, a group of refugee men voluntarily left Manus Island for Nauru hoping for better conditions while they wait for resettlement in a third country.

A Bahraini refugee who has lived in Australia for four and a half years was detained in Thailand and threatened with deportation to Bahrain, where he fears persecution. 

US President Donald Trump defended his country’s use of tear gas at the Mexican border to repel thousands of Central American migrants – the so-called 'migrant caravan'.

Weekly media wrap - 24 November 2018

A new report from Amnesty International and the Refugee Council of Australia revealed the dire mental and physical conditions of the asylum seekers who remain on Manus Island, and that acts of self-harm and suicide attempts have worsened. The report criticises the restricted and understaffed heath and counselling services and the lack of protection for the more than 600 asylum seeker men still on the Island. Since August 2017, there have been three suicides and many more incidences of self-harm and attempted suicide.

The Australian Government stated that it will not sign the United Nation’s migration pact (the Global Compact), claiming it may threaten border protection and risk Australia’s efforts to stop people-smuggling. The USA and several European countries have also rejected the pact, stating that it would weaken border security and undermine existing immigration programs. The Global Compact’s aim is to improve international cooperation on migration and to allow safe, orderly and regular migration.

Teachers across many major Australian cities took part in rallies against offshore detention. The teachers, backed by several major unions to leave their classrooms and attend the rallies, called for asylum seekers and refugees, particularly children, to be released from detention on Manus Island and Nauru. The rallies coincided with Universal Children’s Day. This week five more children were evacuated from Nauru.

Anne Richard, the former US assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, stated that the USA was of the understanding that Australia would do more to assist refugees from outside its region, particularly from Central America, in exchange for the USA resettling refugees from Nauru and Manus Island.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister expressed his concern that New Zealand’s offer to take refugees currently on Manus Island and Nauru may include a potential element to ban them from travelling to Australia. This follows Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s recent statement that he may be more open to a deal with New Zealand if it prescribed that the refugees would be banned from ever coming to Australia.

Weekly media wrap - 19 November 2018

Australia assisted regional countries to stop 10 boats carrying around 300 asylum seekers from leaving in the past 14 months. The operations involve Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers gathering intelligence about planned departures and passing that information on to their counterparts in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Local authorities then stop asylum seekers from departing by boat. Since 2013, Australian government documents obtained under freedom of information requests show 78 operations involving 2525 asylum seekers. 

The Senate refused to extend the fast-track asylum procedure to 108 asylum seekers who arrived in Australia before 2014. The current fast-track procedure provides a limited review process for rejected asylum seekers that raises a risk of errors in the decision-making process.

Former United States immigration official Anne Richard said the US-Australia refugee swap included an understanding that Australia would resettle more refugees from Central America and Africa. Under the informal arrangement, the United States has agreed to resettle up to 1250 refugees from Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

Weekly media wrap - 13 November 2018

Refugee advocates said 27 asylum seeker children remain on Nauru, after eight more children were moved from the island on Monday for medical treatment in Australia. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinean authorities moved more than 20 refugees from Port Moresby to Manus Island, including some who were receiving ongoing medical treatment, ahead of next week's APEC summit. This move coincided with a reported spike in suicide attempts.

The Australian Border Force allegedly prevented a baby who was born and remains in immigration detention from being baptised in a church. Meanwhile, bureaucrats from the Home Affairs Department were accused by lawyers of 'reprehensible' tactics to deny an Iraqi Christian's asylum claim.

The Australian newspaper reported that 13,800 refugees in Indonesia waiting for third country resettlement – some for more than 15 years – are still wary of boat turnbacks, despite news of evacuations of families and children on Nauru.

Figures released in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s annual report revealed that the number of Chinese nationals appealing rejected applications for refugee visas has more than doubled in the last year, from 1200 to 2821.

In the US, the Trump administration announced new measures that would deny asylum to people who enter the country through the US southern border with Mexico.

For anyone seeking help, Lifeline can be reach on 13 11 14, and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Weekly media wrap - 4 November 2018

A number of asylum seeker families held on Nauru were quietly transferred to Adelaide and are receiving medical treatment. While the government initially refused to confirm whether this transfer occurred, Prime Minister Scott Morrison since admitted to working to reduce the number of children on Nauru, claiming that the number has halved in the last nine weeks. High Commissioner to the UK and former Attorney-General George Brandis stated that the Australian Government anticipates that all children on Nauru will be moved by the end of 2019.

Advocates claimed that these transfers signal that the government is conceding to public pressure and increased rhetoric from many areas of the government calling for children to be brought from offshore detention to Australia. There has been a perceivable increase in public concern about this issue, which was this week exemplified by thousands who protested in Sydney and Melbourne and by a recent poll which demonstrated that almost 80 per want asylum seeker children and families transferred off Nauru.  

The Federal Court stalled a federal government attempt to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to hear cases involving refugee transfers, and therefore also the court’s ability to order that refugees be brought to Australia. The matter was based on the government’s claim that a subsection of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) prevents Australian courts other than the High Court from hearing cases on ‘transitory persons’.

A Refugee Council of Australia report found that federal government cuts to asylum seeker support payments have meant that almost 80% of asylum seekers in Australia are now at risk of homelessness and destitution. This issue has resulted in charities and state governments being required to manage the burden, reportedly costing between $80-$120 million a year.