In the media
Refugee Week
The Refugee Council of Australia published a list of events that will occur during and around Refugee Week. The University Technology Sydney will host a webinar on the role of universities in assisting refugees. Many local councils have planned events to mark the week.
In Nauru and PNG
The government forecast that the Nauru centre will continue to cost $350 million per year even if no refugees are present on the island. It was revealed that the former government paid $17.5million to a company owned by a convicted criminal. Two women shared their experience of sexual assault while they were under Australia’s care in Nauru. A man in PNG doused himself in petrol in the offices of the support services provider, after his support payments were suspended. Guardian Australia commemorated its 10 year anniversary with a behind the scenes look at how they dealt with the Nauru files leak.
In Detention
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture named Australia and the UK as outliers due to the absence of time limits on immigration detention. She stated that detaining someone beyond 3 months with no timeframe on release could be classified as a form of torture. Australia is on track to become the first OECD country to be placed on the non-compliance list under the OPCAT treaty. A stateless man was freed after more than 13 years in detention.
In Regional Australia
Ezidi people reflected on their sense of belonging in Armidale, which is home to around 650 Ezidi people.
International
Japan passed a controversial law that enables a person who makes multiple applications for asylum, to be deported. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty warned that stateless Rohingya people face the same level of extreme poverty as Palestinian people. Following an inspection visit to Rakhine state, a delegation of Rohingya people insisted they would only return if they were given full citizenship and were guaranteed security and freedom of movement. The German federal government promised €1 billion to local states that have experienced a sharp increase in the number of refugees requiring housing and social support. The commitment was part of negotiations between the levels of government about how support expenses should be funded. As the USA ended the pandemic-induced Title 42 law on people seeking asylum, Guardian Australia published an explainer on what this means for people seeking entry from Mexico.
In policy
Despite a promised boost in the annual refugee in-take, the government did not allocate additional funding for resettlement in the budget. The Refugee Council of Australia and the UNSW Kaldor Centre published analyses of the federal budget from the perspective of people seeking asylum. Sudanese people, who were in Australia when the violence erupted in their homeland, shared their worries about their visas expiring with no prospect of a safe return home. The UNSW Kaldor Centre reported that the AAT updated how it interprets ‘well-founded fear of persecution'
In research
Academics from Murdoch University and the University of South Australia published research that found that protracted visa uncertainty causes significant psychological harm for people.