A boat carrying 8 people was intercepted and returned to Indonesia in mid-January 2020. Home Affairs Minister reported that the people were ‘potential illegal immigrants’ and the boat was intercepted around 240km north of Broome. Minister Dutton reported that all onboard were safe.
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald were given permission to release a suicide note left by a former security guard who was working on Manus Island during the riots of 2014 and subsequently suffered from PTSD. Diane Parker, ended her life in July 2019 before her claim for compensation reached the court. Her children and the executors of her will gave the media permission to release the note, which is understood to have not been sent to Mr Morrison. It has been reported that a compensation settlement was reached with another security guard in similar circumstances and a further 18 claims have been lodged or are being prepared for lodgement.
The Sunshine Coast Daily published an in-depth story on how a teacher secretly documented the conditions of refugees held offshore in Nauru using spy glasses. Gabby Sutherland risked jail time to capture images and video of the hardship faced by people and families while she was based there in 2014/15. Many of her revelations were included in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Forgotten Children Report and were used to campaign to get refugees off Nauru. An exhibition of her work, titled Woven Secrets, has started a national tour.
The conversation published a snapshot into a 5-year study of forced relocations of people across Australia’s immigration detention network. The study, by Michelle Peterie, comprised more than 70 interviews with regular detention centre visitors. These interviews highlighted the harsh nature of relocations and the negative outcome in terms of cutting people off from support networks, lawyers and connections they have with communities.