Weekly media wrap - 20 October 2014

Asylum seeker advocates claim the Australian government’s proposed bill to reintroduce temporary protection visas contains controversial hidden laws. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the bill ‘reinforces the Government’s powers to undertake maritime turnbacks and introduces rapid processing and streamlined review arrangements’. Critics claim that hidden laws would limit scrutiny of the Government’s actions and may reinterpret Australia’s obligations under the UN Refugee Convention.

The High Court considered the matter of 157 asylum seekers who were detained on the high seas earlier this year. Lawyers for the defendants produced evidence to show the asylum seekers were given no opportunity to claim asylum during their detention.

In a separate case, the Federal Circuit Court found that infants born to detained asylum-seekers do not have the right to an Australian visa.

A group of 50 Vietnamese asylum seekers will be released to live in the Western Australian community. The group, who are predominantly catholic, fled religious persecution in Vietnam.

In an interview with Fairfax, incoming Indonesian president Joko Widodo said that it is unacceptable for the Australian navy to enter Indonesian waters uninvited while turning back asylum seeker boats.

The Italian government operation to rescue asylum seekers at sea concludes in two weeks. The operation has rescued 140,000 asylum seekers in the past year. Critics are concerned that the closure of the operation will lead to more asylum seeker deaths at sea.

Weekly media wrap - 13 October 2014

The Australian government will investigate reports that Zainullah Naseri, an Afghan Hazara asylum seeker, was kidnapped and tortured by the Taliban after he was deported from Australia in August. The Saturday Paper last week reported that Naseri was kidnapped by the Taliban at a roadside checkpoint and tortured for two days before escaping.

The High Court of Australia is hearing an appeal from a 51-year-old Hazara man who was told by the Refugee Review Tribunal in 2013 that he could return to Kabul and avoid persecution if he changed his occupation from truck driver to jeweller.

The Australian Federal Police will investigate claims that staff of Immigration Minister Scott Morrison leaked part of a confidential security report from the Nauru detention centre that included allegations staff from the charity Save the Children were encouraging asylum seekers to self-harm.

A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia found more than 80 per cent of 139 pediatricians believe the mandatory detention of asylum seeker children amounts to "child abuse". 

A representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees praised Germany for agreeing to take 20,000 Syrian refugees, while criticizing other European countries for not accepting more.

Weekly media wrap - 6 October 2014

The UNHCR appealed for the rethink of global humanitarian financing, as worldwide displacement numbers reach 51.2 million. Since the beginning of 2014, the number of asylum seekers in industrialised countries has increased by one quarter, to 330,700.

The UNHCR and international human rights organisations criticised Australia’s deal with Cambodia, which provides refugees on Nauru the option to resettle there.

The Australian government will launch an inquiry into misuse of official information by Save the Children workers on Nauru. CEO Paul Ronalds has denied the claims, while Greens Senator Sarah Hansen-Young has suggested the inquiry is intended to distract attention from investigation of claims of sexual abuse of children by guards. Data from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection shows that of the 1102 asylum seekers currently held in detention on Christmas Island, 128 children self-harmed between January 2013 and March 2014, while 89 adults did the same.

Outgoing administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean territories, Jon Stanhope, heavily criticised the government’s asylum policy. Former WA Liberal Party MP Barry Haase will replace Stanhope when his term ends next week.

Two asylum seekers alleged they were tortured after being returned to Sri Lanka by Australia. The Sri Lankan high commissioner to Australia rejected these, and other similar claims.

Expansion of the Manus Island detention centre has stopped amidst unrest among the local population in relation to its impact on the community.

Weekly media wrap - 29 September 2014

In his ‘State of the World’ address this week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon warned of ‘turbulence’ ahead: ‘Not since the end of the Second World War have there been so many refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers’.

Asylum seekers on Nauru found to be refugees will now have the option of resettlement in Cambodia, after an agreement was reached with the Australian government. A memorandum of understanding outlined that the initial duration of the arrangement will be four years, for which Cambodia will receive $40 million in assistance from the Australian government. 

Advocates and refugees in Nauru reported that news of the Cambodia deal resulted in seven children and teenagers attempting self-harm. The reports come amid an announcement by the government of Nauru that health, legal and other services may no longer be delivered to detained asylum seekers due to the country’s dire financial situation.

The Australian government will seek to reintroduce three-year temporary protection visas (TPVs) after a deal was struck between Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and Clive Palmer. Also negotiated in the deal was a five-year ‘safe haven enterprise visa’, which will require asylum seekers to work in designated regional areas for a period of time.

The Guardian obtained six letters written by gay asylum seekers on Manus Island, describing their fears of being resettled in Papua New Guinea, where homosexuality is illegal. Meanwhile, Greens Leader Kim Booth called for a billion dollar asylum seeker centre to be built in Tasmania to boost the economy and address human rights issues.

Weekly media wrap - 22 September 2014

The Australian Government released a report one year after the launch of Operation Sovereign Borders, confirming that 12 asylum seeker boats have been turned back under the policy. These boats carried a total of 383 asylum seekers. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison referenced the release to reaffirm the success of the policy.

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney renewed calls to increase the humanitarian refugee intake from 13,750 to 20,000, given the lower number of boat arrivals to Australia. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said that the Labor party would consider the policy.

The United Nations called upon Egypt and other North African and European nations to investigate the allegations that people smugglers deliberately sank an asylum seeker boat in the Mediterranean. It emerged that two other asylum seeker vessels also sank during the week while attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The International Organization for Migration estimated that 700 people died in these incidents. 

Weekly media wrap - 15 September 2014

The High Court of Australia ruled that asylum seekers cannot be prevented from applying for a permanent protection visa if they have already accepted a temporary visa. The Court judgment set further limits on the circumstances in which the Australian government can detain asylum seekers. In other detention-related news, a Guardian Australia investigation revealed that asylum seekers were placed in solitary confinement for days on end at Villawood detention centre.

Asylum seekers who arrived after 19 July 2013 could be offered temporary protection visas (TPVs) and be allowed to live in the Australian community. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison is in negotiation with crossbenches to allow the use of such TPVs. Fairfax media described the policy announcement as a ‘backflip’ as the Minister previously said all asylum seekers arriving by boat after 19 July 2013 ‘will not return to live in Australia’.

Mr Morrison declared the asylum seeker policy debate ‘over’, saying Operation Sovereign Borders has achieved ‘extraordinary results’ by effectively stopping the boats. Meanwhile, Fairfax media reported that ‘scores’ of asylum seekers continue to arrive in Jakarta each week.

In Geneva, incoming United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, criticised Australia’s asylum policy for ‘leading to a chain of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention and possible torture following return to home countries’. Mr Morrison rejected the criticism.

Weekly media wrap - 8 September 2014

The Manus Island detention centre is being ‘wound down’ as it emerged Immigration Minister Scott Morrison ordered asylum seekers be sent to the Republic of Nauru instead. Leaked reports from the island described increasing self-harm, fighting, and the use of isolation rooms, although government accounts state the centre returned to normal following the death of Iranian man Reza Barati during violence in February. This week, Hamid Kehazaei, a 24-year-old asylum seeker from Iran, died in a Brisbane hospital after a cut to his foot suffered at the Manus Island detention centre became infected.

The Australian Red Cross told staff that 500 jobs will be cut as the immigration department reduces client numbers in its asylum seeker assistance scheme and community assistance support programs from 12,000 to 5000 by June. Security firm Serco retained preferred bidder status for the contract to operate Australia’s onshore immigration detention facilities. Prime Minister Tony Abbott appointed Immigration Secretary Martin Bowles to head the Department of Health for the next five years.

 Mr Morrison announced 412 asylum seekers had returned to their countries through voluntary return packages last month, including one person from Syria, six Iraqis and 48 Iranians. 

The former chief of the Australian Defence Force, Admiral Chris Barrie, criticised Australia’s immigration system, likening detention centres to jails and saying that the government’s policies were a ‘mess that reflect badly on all of us’. The Russian activist rock band Pussy Riot also compared detention centres to modern-day Russian gulags.

Internationally, a court in Sri Lanka found the government did have the right to deport 60 Pakistani refugees despite the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees arguing this breached the principle of non-refoulement. The UNHCR reported more than one million people have been displaced by the conflict in Ukraine, including 814,000 Ukrainians now in Russia. And Uruguay became the first Latin American country to offer full resettlement to Syrian refugees, accepting 120 people from camps in Lebanon who will start arriving at the end of the month.

Weekly media wrap - 1 September 2014

The Abbott Government will attempt to win the support of Senate crossbenchers to reintroduce Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs). Labor and the Greens do not support the change in policy. 

In Papua New Guinea, a 24 year-old asylum seeker was transferred from Manus Island to Port Moresby with in a serious infection. Meanwhile, an asylum seeker lost his legal battle to prevent deportation back to Afghanistan. He will fly back to his home region of Jaghori on Tuesday.

Coalition government backbencher Andrew Broad came out in support of work rights for asylum seekers, while Western Downs mayor Ray Brown thanked a group of Tamil asylum seekers (who arrived before 2012) for taking jobs that locals were unwilling to fill, including cleaning up garbage dumps and rubbish from roadsides.

A Fairfax investigation claimed that the government’s failed attempt to return 157 asylum seekers to India cost the taxpayer over $12 million dollars, including the running cost of HMAS Perth, chartered flights from Cocos Islands, and costs associated with the legal challenge. Human Rights Watch described the cost as ‘outrageous and unnecessary’.

Law firm Maurice Blackburn launched a class action against the government on behalf of detainees injured while detained on Christmas Island over the past three years. A pop up ‘embassy’ highlighting the lack of diplomatic representation for refugees and asylum seekers appeared outside the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Weekly media round-up No. 52

Papa New Guinean police charged two men with murder for the death of Reza Barati on Manus Island, with the search continuing for three more people believed to be involved. Two of the suspects who have not yet been located are said to be expatriates, however the Australian Federal Police indicated they have not received any requests from their PNG counterparts to investigate.

Immigration minister Scott Morrison claimed that detaining asylum seeker children was a ‘consequence’ of offshore processing policy at the Australian Human Right Commission’s inquiry into children in detention. Mr Morrison stated at the inquiry that children in detention who arrived after 19 July 2013 could not be released into the community without a temporary protection visa. This follows the government’s announcement children under ten and their families will be released into the community on bridging visas.

The Age reported a mental health ‘crisis’ at the Christmas Island detention centre, with one staff member attempting suicide and another a risk of self-harm. The Guardian Australia revealed strategies employed by the immigration department to return asylum seekers from Syria back to the country.

Refugee advocates challenged the legality of the government’s month-long detention of 157 Tamil asylum seekers on a customs vessel, with a court hearing set for October, possibly including United Nations involvement. Meanwhile, the Cambodian opposition leader disclosed the Australian Government’s plan to resettle refugees on a remote island off the coast of Cambodia.

A boat carrying 200 migrants sank off the coast of Libya, with majority of the passengers feared dead.

Weekly media round-up No. 51

Earlier this week the High Court held a hearing regarding the 157 Tamil asylum seekers held for several weeks in an Australian customs vessel in July. A High Court judge said the case would determine the Australian Government’s power to detain asylum seekers on the high seas.

The Australian Government set aside 4400 places within the existing refugee program for Syrian and Iraqi refugees. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the success of Operation Sovereign Borders ‘allowed more places to be returned to our humanitarian program.’

Fairfax media reported that Australia will enter into an agreement with Cambodia to the resettle asylum seekers currently held in offshore detention. A Cambodian official said Mr Morrison would visit Phnom Penh to discuss the agreement within days.

A group of anonymous Save the Children workers from Nauru submitted a report to a national inquiry into children in detention. The report described systematic human rights violations and incidents of physical, sexual and verbal abuse. Mr Morrison will give evidence at the inquiry later this week.

Weekly media round-up No. 50

Psychiatrists, bioethicists, human rights lawyers, novelists, priests and refugee advocates published a collective document accusing the Australian government of inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and demanding an end to mandatory detention and offshore processing.

Dr Peter Young, former director of mental health for International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) and chief psychiatrist responsible for the care of asylum seekers in detention for the past three years, accused the immigration department of deliberately inflicting harm on vulnerable people in an extended interview with The Guardian. He received support from peak medical bodies for speaking publically.

One hundred and fifty-seven Tamil asylum seekers transferred to Nauru in late July were allegedly offered lifeboats and instructed to row themselves back to India. Immigration minister Scott Morrison explained the decision to return them to Nauru was due to the asylums seekers’ refusal to speak with Indian consulates.  A spokesman for the Indian high commission said India never agreed to accept the return of any of the Tamil asylum seekers who were not Indian citizens.

Five Save the Children employees working in the detention centre for families on Nauru were suspended for encouraging or engaging asylum seekers who were peacefully protesting.

Mr Morrison called for a reinterpretation of the Refugee Convention which would require asylum seekers to change their behaviour or employment to avoid persecution. The matter will be considered by the High Court.

The Department of Defence released its report into the allegations that asylum seekers suffered burnt hands on board a boat as it was turned back to Indonesia in January. The defence report found no evidence supporting the claim.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance obtained documents from the immigration department which shows that since coming into power the Abbott Government has spent more than $3 million to encourage approximately 1110 asylum seekers to return to the country from which they fled.

Fairfax Media reported that at least 25 delegates who attended the 20th International AIDS conference in Melbourne in late July intend to seek asylum in Australia.

Weekly media round-up No. 49

An Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry in to the health and wellbeing of children in immigration detention continued this week.

Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection Martin Bowles told the inquiry the number of children in detention has fallen from 1330 in July 2013 to 659 in July 2014. The inquiry heard evidence from Dr Peter Young that the immigration department requested the withdrawal of evidence of mental health concerns among young detainees. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison rejected this claim. The inquiry also heard evidence that the department chose ‘young looking’ detainees for offshore transfer, because of the enhanced deterrent effect on prospective arrivals.

One hundred and fifty-seven Tamil asylum seekers were moved from Curtin detention centre to Nauru. Mr Morrison returned from India after securing an agreement from officials to repatriate Indian nationals, and consider the claims of Sri Lankan nationals. Detainees rejected the offer to be assessed by Indian officials. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young attempted to visit the detainees, but was denied access. Lawyers for the asylum seekers say they were not given adequate access to their clients before their transfer to Nauru. The relocation cuts short a High Court challenge to the processing of asylum seekers at sea.

Fifteen asylum seeker youths in community detention in Adelaide have fled fearing a return to custody. A Church-sponsored report called for the appointment of an independent guardian for children in detention. The position of immigration minister as guardian is untenable, the report argues, given he is ‘also tasked with being their judge and jailer’.

Weekly media round-up No. 48

The 157 Tamils held for almost a month on board an Australian Navy vessel travelled to the Cocos Islands and from there to the Curtin detention centre in Western Australia, making them the first asylum seekers to reach the Australian mainland in six months. Human rights lawyers questioned the legality of the Australian government’s decision to allow officials from India, where the boat originated, to interview the asylum seekers.

 Documents filed in the High Court showed that the National Security Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, decided that the boat’s passengers should not be taken to Australia two days after it was intercepted.

Police in Puducherry, India, arrested two men on charges of renting out the boat they own to Tamils trying to reach Australia.

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison granted a permanent protection visa to a 15-year-old Ethiopian boy, after previously insisting the boy, who reached Australia by stowing away on a ship, would have his application rejected under a new ‘national interest’ test. 

Weekly media round-up No. 47

A document lodged with the High Court revealed that 153 asylum seekers whose boat was intercepted near Christmas Island remain on board an Australian Customs vessel. The document disclosed that the asylum seekers are being denied 'reasonable access' to legal advice and are unhappy about the conditions where they are being held.

At a directions hearing at the High Court in Melbourne, lawyers representing the Commonwealth stated that there were no plans to involuntarily return any asylum seekers to Sri Lanka, however the asylum seekers will remain on the ship until a decision has been made in regard to their processing location.

Papa New Guinean officials have not interviewed any suspects over the murder of Reza Barati, more than five months after his death. Tensions remained high at the Manus Island detention centre, resulting in two asylum seekers being confined by Wilson security staff.

Following reports that 15 asylum seekers absconded from community accommodation in South Australia, a group of school principals asked for more support for young asylum seekers attending school whilst in community detention. The police hunt for the 15 young people was brought to an end, as pressure continues to mount for the Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to account for their welfare.

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who is a Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), accepted an invitation to visit the island of Nauru. A spokesperson for the Nauru Government said that the visit will be a 'wonderful opportunity to showcase the facilities for refugees on Nauru, which we believe are the world's best practice.'

More than 1300 people from Canberra have called for a more 'humane and tolerant' policy to be adopted in relation to asylum seekers in Australia, in a statement that will be heard by federal MPs at Parliament House.

An asylum seeker who pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property was sentenced to an 18-month good behaviour bond.

Weekly media round-up No. 46

On Sunday 6 July the Australian Government returned 41 asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities. The asylum seekers’ claims were assessed at sea using the controversial ‘enhanced screening’ protocol, wherein a determination of possible refugee status is made on the basis of an on-board interview. Sri Lankan authorities said the asylum seekers face criminal charges and will be interrogated by officials from the country’s intelligence department. Australian legal scholars criticised the Australian Government’s handling of the episode.

In a separate incident, a High Court hearing on Tuesday 8 July confirmed an Australian customs vessel currently holds 153 asylum seekers on the high seas. The Australian Government said the asylum seekers were intercepted outside Australia’s migration zone and as such have no rights under the Australian Migration Act. Lawyers for the asylum seekers argued that repatriation would constitute a violation of Australia’s non-refoulement obligations. The full bench of the High Court will hear the matter within 21 days.

The Australian Government confirmed that ten women – including nine mothers – attempted suicide at Christmas Island. Refugee advocates said the mothers attempted suicide in the hope that their orphaned children would be granted permission to live in Australia. In response, Prime Minister Tony Abbot said the Government would not be held ‘over a moral barrel’. A leaked report showed a six-fold increase of self-harm in detention since the introduction of mandatory offshore resettlement.

The European Asylum Support Office released its annual report. The report said 435,760 persons applied for asylum in the European Union in 2013 - of these, approximately one third were granted refugee status.

Weekly media round-up No. 45

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison announced a proposal to apply a “national interest test” for permanent protection applications from people who arrive without a visa.  Refugee advocates have responded saying that a High Court challenge could be launched to refute the proposal.

There has been continued speculation about whether asylum seekers who left southern India on 13 June, and who appealed to refugee advocates last Friday, would be turned back to Sri Lanka. Human rights groups issued accusations that Australia breached international law amid reports that the Australian navy was deployed to pick up Tamil asylum seekers and hand them to the Sri Lankan authorities.

It is alleged that the asylum seekers’ claims were assessed through four questions on board via video link. The Guardian issued information from a former immigration department officer that the department has previously considered using Australian custom vessels to interview and process asylum seekers, but was advised the process could be unlawful.

Whether the vessels were turned around has not been confirmed. Sri Lankan and Indian authorities and government officials said they had not received any official information about this case, however The Australian reported that a Sri Lankan navy official claimed asylum seekers were picked up. The Australian Greens and the Labor immigration spokesman have called on the Prime Minister to give public details on the fate of the asylum seekers. A spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said that the department would not comment on operations. 

In a 3AW interview, Prime Minister Tony Abbott insisted Australia was acting legally within its international obligations. He said that turning boats around, returning asylum seekers to Sri Lanka and the rapid on-board screening process were all “in accordance with the international law”.

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued statistics that children account for the greatest percentage of self-harm incidents and suicidal behaviour by asylum seekers in detention. This was not confirmed by the International Health and Medical Services which is contracted to provide health care for asylum seekers in Australian detention. The AHRC also announced a third hearing for the commission’s inquiry into children in immigration detention, which would be held for “whistleblower employees” to give evidence.

PNG police are searching for a former Salvation Army employee, suspected of killing Reza Berati in the unrest in February on Manus Island, who has fled to PNG’s mainland. An asylum seeker who lost an eye during the riots has launched legal action against the federal government.

The ABC reported allegations that detainees in immigration detention facilities are put under pressure to 'volunteer' to go home before applying for asylum.

Weekly media round-up No. 44

The Abbott Government introduced a Bill which would toughen Australia’s approach to processing asylum seekers, including: changing the threshold for those seeking protection from a ‘real chance’ of significant harm should they be returned to ‘more likely than not’; requiring applicants to provide documentary evidence of their identity and nationality; and refusing visas unless the minister determines ‘ it is in the public interest'.

The Bill comes after the government offered Iraqi asylum seekers voluntary return packages valued at $6000, in a deal which Fairfax Media reported was taken up by fewer than 10 asylum seekers this month.

Footage emerged of a never shown message recorded in September last year from Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to asylum seekers detained on Papua New Guinea and Nauru. The Minister is heard to state, ‘ There are new rules in place under this government so I urge you to think carefully about your next decision and to make a decision to get on with the rest of your life and to not remain here and take the option to go back to the country from which you’ve originally come. ’ The footage follows an announcement by Operation Sovereign Borders commander Angus Campbell, who claimed that Australia is a generous country in relation to treatment of refugees.

A Senate inquiry into the deadly violence at the Manus Island detention centre in February produced evidence that Papua New Guinean police were given responsibility for taking control of the compound, contrary to previous statements from security company, G4S.

A boat allegedly containing 153 asylum seekers en route to Australia from India made contact with Australian media over the weekend, following a two week journey, with those on board stating that the boat was leaking and in need of assistance. Mr Morrison failed to make comment on the boat, and a second alleged boat interception off the coast of Indonesia, reporting that there were no significant incidents at sea.

Inside Story commented on the legal rights of babies who are born in detention and the health effects of detention on their mothers.

Weekly media round-up No. 43

Refugee week activities relating to the theme of ‘Restoring Hope’ raised awareness around issues affecting refugees. In 2013, there were with 51.2 million people displaced worldwide, six million more than in 2012. Over the same period, applications for asylum in Australia dropped by over 50%.

The High Court found that the Minister for Immigration does not have power to limit the number of resettlement visas issued within a specific financial year. In response, the government will seek to reintroduce Temporary Protection Visas, a move that relies on the support of Labor and the Greens in order to be passed in the Senate.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and the Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared that it has been six months since the last irregular maritime arrival. The announcement follows a High Court decision upholding the right of the government to designate another nation to operate as a regional processing country. 

The Labor party debated and ultimately rejected a motion to reverse its support for the offshore processing of asylum seekers.

Following a series of revelations relating to the conditions of child detainees, UNICEF called for an independent body to monitor and report on the treatment of children held in Australian immigration detention.

The average time spent by asylum seekers in detention hit a record high in April 2014. Meanwhile, the ABC reported that the government is offering up to $10,000 as an inducement for asylum seekers to leave offshore processing centres and return to their home nations. The government further refused to provide assurances to Iraqi asylum seekers that they will not be returned to Iraq, despite the ongoing instability in the region.

A second Tamil asylum seeker attempted to self-immolate and was saved by housemates in Melbourne’s east. The man, who arrived in Christmas Island in December 2012, is on a bridging visa awaiting a decision as to his refugee application. The attempt follows the death of asylum seeker Leo Seemanpillai by self-immolation on 31 May.

On Nauru, three pregnant asylum seekers were transferred to Australia requesting abortions due to the harsh conditions inside the detention centre.

Weekly media round-up No.42

The Senate inquiry into the unrest at the Manus Island detention centre continued to hear witness testimony detailing the difficulties faced by asylum seekers in the compound. The inquiry was told that workers were given employment at the centre without an interview or training. Evidence given to the committee pointed to the Immigration Department retaining strategic control of the centre, despite its statements that the centre remains under the jurisdiction of Papua New Guinea.

Whistleblower Steve Kilburn articulated evidence that contradicted the official account of the events given by his former employer, G4S. Mr Kilburn warned the committee that he believed further violence would ensue if refugees were to be resettled on Manus Island.

The inquiry fell short of reviewing Immigration Minister Scott Morrison’s initial inaccurate comments surrounding the circumstances of the unrest – contrary to Mr Morrison’s previous declaration – which prompted the accusation that the Minister misled parliament. Mr Morrison’s claim that the processing of asylum seekers had begun weeks before the Manus Island unrest was also challenged by the release of a secret recording indicating processing had been frozen.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten labelled the former Labor government’s decision to dismantle the ‘Pacific Solution’ a mistake, stating that regional settlement of asylum seekers is the ‘best way to handle people who try to come to Australia.’

A report by KPMG found that the Department of Immigration is to blame for the data breach that exposed the personal details of almost 10,000 detainees.

The Age reported that two newborn babies and their families were shipped to Christmas Island detention centre, a location that is deemed inappropriate for young children by medical practitioners.

Large posters of sketches drawn by asylum seekers in detention or on bridging visas have appeared on buildings in Adelaide’s CBD.

Weekly media round-up No. 41

Tamil asylum seeker Leo Seemanpillai died after pouring petrol on himself and setting himself on fire in Geelong. Mr Seemanpillai lived in the community under a Temporary Protection Visa. Friends of Mr Seemanpillai linked his suicide to a fear of being deported to Sri Lanka. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said no one was in a position to speculate about Mr Seemanpillai’s reason for self-immolation.

Guards ended a week-long protest at the Christmas Island Detention Centre where four detainees were admitted to hospital. Detainees said guards used excessive force to break up the protest. Minister Morrison attributed the injuries to ‘non-compliant behaviour’.

An employee at the Nauru Detention Centre was dismissed for allegedly sexually assaulting a child asylum seeker, in an event that raises concerns for children in offshore detention. A Nauruan magistrate handed down a two year and five month jail term to an asylum seeker involved in a riot at the Nauru Detention Centre in July 2013. The magistrate said the sentence was intended to deter other asylum seekers in Nauru considering similar action.

The Australian Immigration Department sent a letter to asylum seekers facing deportation stating that they had 14 days to outline how the accidental online publication of personal details –  including names, nationality and dates of birth – could impact their safety in their home country. The letter further indicated that if the recipient does not respond within the given timeframe they will be ‘expected to depart Australia and removal planning will be progressed’.

An annual poll conducted by the Lowy Institute showed 71 per cent of Australians support the Australian Government’s boat turn-back policy.  Treasurer Joe Hockey said in Parliament, ‘As a result of all the action of this Government, there are no children floating in the ocean between Australia and East Timor’.