In the media
Election day text messages
An investigation into the LNP’s election-day announcement that asylum seekers had been intercepted at sea, revealed that the Prime Minister’s office had instructed Australian Border Force to make the information public. It also found that the information had been leaked to journalists before it had been uploaded to ABF’s website.
In court
The lawfulness of Australia’s use of alternative places of detention has been challenged in court. During the case the government sought to suppress detention locations and it was revealed that the detention of ex-offshore refugees in hotels cost up to $3 million per month.
In detention
A man who has been assessed as a refugee is into his tenth year in onshore detention despite a court order that he should have been moved to a residence and his deteriorating mental health.
In the community
ABC news featured the success of a Shepparton school where newly arrived Afghan children are thriving. SBS News profiled a Victorian government program that employs refugees, with relevant expertise, on major infrastructure projects. Two Saudi sisters who were found dead in their Sydney apartment had asylum claims in process.
International
Investigations revealed that sex traffickers have preyed on women fleeing Ukraine. Some of the people who were scheduled for transfer from the UK to Rwanda have been found to be victims of trafficking. A psychology institute in northern Iraq, that provides psychotherapy to Yazidi refugees, has trained 58 people to become psychotherapists in an effort to normalise talking therapy in the country. Italian authorities began relocating refugees off Lampedusa to ease overcrowding concerns.
In policy
The UN Subcommittee on Torture advised that it will conduct inspections of Australia’s detention centres in the coming months. Independent MP Andrew Wilkie reintroduced the Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Detention Bill 2022 in Parliament. Protestors called for an overhaul of how Australia treats people who have sought asylum. Administrative Appeals Tribunal documents revealed that Coalition appointed tribunal members refused asylum cases at twice the rate of their peers. The Comparative Network on the Externalisation of Refugee Policies (CONREP) released a policy paper on the health impacts of Australia’s immigration detention. The temporary humanitarian visa program that enabled Ukranians in Australia to work, study and access Medicare ended on 31 July 2022. Despite the Australian government’s insistence that it is not responsible for the 104 people who are left in Papua New Guinea, it continues to fund their living expenses.
In research
Research into Australian attitudes towards asylum policy found that highlighting how the policy breaches international law was more effective at changing opinion than highlighting moral or reputational concerns.
New releases
My tears will calm the sun, a book of illustrated poetry written by Jalal Mahamede
Behrouz, a film produced by a Simon V Kurian
First Port of Asylum, a History Listen episode produced by Federal MP Dai Le
No words, a novel by Maryam Master, published by Pan Macmillan Australia.