Weekly media round-up No. 3

With an asylum seeker boat carrying 88 people arriving hours in the wake of last weekend’s election victory, Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott is going about shaping the architecture of the Coalition government’s hardline asylum policy, Operation Sovereign Borders.

Two reporters arrived on Christmas Island after three days at sea on an asylum seeker boat. After speaking with the Australian Federal Police, the pair were processed and free to go. In closed detention, a group of Vietnamese asylum seekers staged a 24-hour hunger strike.

ASIO is reviewing the adverse security assessments of four refugees held in indefinite detention on the advice of independent reviewer Margaret Stone. Outgoing Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus urged the Coalition to reconsider its election promise to abolish the review.

Internationally, Tony Abbott began talks with the Papua New Guinea government, hoping to maintain the arrangements that the Labor government put in place. Indonesia foreign minister Marty Natalegawa rejected the Coalition’s asylum policies ahead of Mr Abbott’s visit to Jakarta.

Weekly media round-up No. 2

The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) has released a summary to help you understand where the parties contesting Saturday’s federal election stand on refugee issues.

The Coalition announced that it would no longer be funding legal appeals by refugees as part of its regional deterrence framework this week. In a last-minute announcement before the federal election tomorrow, Shadow Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the move will save taxpayers $100 million dollars over four years.

Scott Morrison has urged for the police to be notified before asylum seekers are released from detention into the community. Liberal candidate for the seat of Lindsay, Fiona Scott, has linked asylum seekers to traffic jams and hospital queues.

The Greens have noted an increase in party support as a result of voters being alienated by the stances of the major parties on asylum issues.

After the attempted suicide of a Somali teenager on Christmas Island, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship has denied access to the Somali community endeavouring to provide the boy with support.

As a response to the long and violent conflict in Syria, Sweden has announced that it will grant asylum to all Syrian refugees who apply. Tobias Billstroem, Sweden's Migration Minister has called for other countries to acknowledge the plight of the Syrian people.

Weekly media round-up No. 1

Tensions between the Australian and PNG governments are increasing, as  disagreements on the implementation of the Rudd government’s PNG solution continue to grow.

Less than a week–and-a-half out from the federal election, absence of questions on asylum issues was notable in the leaders’ debate on Wednesday night, as Scott Morrison released additional details on the Coalition’s regional deterrence model a few days prior.

Clive Palmer’s claim that asylum seekers receive more financial support from the government than old age pensioners has been shown to be false. A UN Human Rights Committee review has criticised the government’s indefinite detention of 46 refugees that have received negative ASIO assessments. While Australia is not bound by findings the review, the legal framework under which asylum seekers are managed will be tested in three different cases in the High Court next week.