Weekly media wrap - 27 June 2017

Nauruan police this week charged one asylum seeker detained at the Nauru detention facility with indecent assault of a minor and arrested four others on drug charges. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection told the Courier Mail that they were aware of the relevant allegations, but deemed them to be matters for the Nauru Police Force.

Speaking at the Crawford Australian Leadership Forum this week, immigration department secretary Michael Pezzullo asserted the importance of ending the people smuggling trade. He called on other countries to increase their refugee intake to prevent people from ‘seek[ing] services of smugglers and traffickers’. Australia will increase its annual refugee intake from 12,000 to 18,750 in the 2018-2019 period.

According to UNCHR’s annual report, which was released this week, the global number of refugees fleeing their homes reached a record high of 65.6 million last year. South Sudan became the source of the fastest growing displacement crisis in the world. 

Weekly media wrap - 20 June 2017

The Australian Government agreed to a $70 million settlement to compensate 1900 asylum seekers currently or formerly held on Manus Island for alleged physical and psychological harm. Immigration minister Peter Dutton denied that the settlement is an admission of wrongdoing by the government, saying that the Commonwealth ‘strongly refutes and denies the claims made in these proceedings’.

The United States will tell dozens of refugees held in the Manus Island detention centre whether they will be offered resettlement in America within six weeks. US officials returned this week to Manus Island to conduct medical examinations on 70 men.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced legislation that would require migrants wanting to become Australian citizens to pass an English language test. Labor has decided to oppose the test.

Weekly media wrap - 14 June 2017

Francois Crepeau, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, published a criticism of Australia’s immigration processing centre on Nauru, calling it a ‘blemish’ on the country’s good human rights record. While praising Australia’s formal refugee resettlement program, he contended that conditions at offshore processing centres were ‘unjustifiably punitive’. The Australian Government rejected Crepeau’s findings, claiming he had made a number of errors of fact and law. 

A six-metre high inflatable sculpture of a refugee created by Belgian art collective Schellekens will feature during Refugee Week on the Yarra River. The artwork draws attention to the current global migration crisis. 

Weekly media wrap - 6 June 2017

Internal emails released under freedom of information laws showed that the Australian Border Force admitted to a failure to appropriately respond to allegations of sexual assault and abuse on Nauru. These findings were not disclosed to the recent parliamentary inquiry into allegations of abuse, self-harm and neglect of asylum seekers on Nauru.

Over 50 members of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, including many from the migration and refugee division, were advised that they will not be reappointed to their roles. The AAT has been heavily criticised in some newspapers and by immigration minister Peter Dutton for overturning government visa decisions in the past year.

The Australian reported that almost 100 asylum seekers who arrived in Australia have been issued adverse security assessments by ASIO or rejected after being flagged by the Five Eyes intelligence network. This includes ‘close to 30 people’ seeking entry through the one-off humanitarian intake of 12,000 Syrian refugees, recently confirmed by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, as well as over 65 people who arrived by boat under the Labor government.

It was reported that a Syrian refugee has been transferred from Nauru to Cambodia for resettlement, as part of the Australian Government’s $55 million arrangement with the Cambodian government made three years ago. The Australian Government has not confirmed the arrival of this refugee.

Coptic Christian asylum seekers in Australia who were previously refused refugee status are being provided with visas to stay in this country while their cases for protection are reviewed. This decision followed violent attacks in Egypt, which have worsened in recent months.

Weekly media wrap - 1 June 2017

A notice was posted at the Manus Island detention facility requiring detainees to move to a new facility in the town of Lorengau, where US officials have begun ‘extreme vetting’ to determine eligibility for the US-Australia refugee resettlement deal. The new facility has a lower standard of medical care and is less secure than the detention centre, with many refugees having reported violence and abuse in the area.

A total of 659 asylum seekers who arrived by boat lodged protection claims in the two weeks before immigration minister Peter Dutton’s four-month deadline on the claims. This leaves 7194 asylum seekers who did not apply by the deadline. Last week, Peter Dutton announced a new immovable deadline of 1 October for these people to make their claims. Refugee legal services told The Guardian that this deadline was impossible to meet.

A class action against the Australian Government on behalf of Manus Island detainees will begin this Wednesday. The lead plaintiff is Majid Kamasee, an Iranian man who has been detained at Manus for several years, but the case will also represent 1905 other asylum seekers. Law firm Slater and Gordon will argue that these people’s imprisonment was illegal and that the conditions in the centre led to ‘serious physical and psychological injuries’. 

Weekly media wrap - 22 May 2017

Immigration minister Peter Dutton announced that approximately 7500 asylum seekers have until 1 October to formally apply for protection, or face deportation from Australia.  Refugee lawyers criticised the move, arguing that many of these asylum seekers were barred from lodging applications until late 2016, with legal centres now overwhelmed by demand.

The Guardian obtained internal working documents from the Manus Island detention centre revealing that a year-long plan has existed to make the site progressively more inhospitable for detainees. The documents, from camp manager Broadspectrum and security contractor Wilson, detail a strategy to pressure the 829 detainees to either resettle in PNG or abandon their asylum claims.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirmed that shots were fired into the Manus Island immigration detention centre on Good Friday. Department secretary Mike Pezzullo reported that nine people were injured in the shooting, including two refugees.

Senate Estimates heard further details about the United States resettlement deal.  While exact resettlement numbers have not been confirmed, the legal and constitutional affairs committee was told that 1440 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru have applied. 

Weekly media wrap - 18 May 2017

In a recording sent to Fairfax Media, a Papua New Guinea immigration official told asylum seekers held at Manus Island that the regional processing centre would be closed by 31 October. Refugees have been given the option to live temporarily at the East Lorengau camp while they wait for resettlement in the USA or to be permanently resettled in PNG. Immigration minister Peter Dutton reiterated that no asylum seekers would be resettled in Australia.

According to an Amnesty International briefing, there was digital verification this week of bullets being fired directly into the Manus Island regional processing centre on 14 April. While the Australian Government has not conducted an investigation into the incident, the PNG Police and PNG Defence Force have launched separate investigations.

In a new budget measure, the government will cut off income support and rental assistance from asylum seekers who have arrived in Australia by boat since 2012 and not lodged visa applications. The 90 days given to these asylum seekers in January to lodge their applications has run out and those who have not applied are set to lose their support.

Weekly media wrap - 8 May 2017

Immigration minister Peter Dutton’s claims about an altercation between asylum seekers and PNG police on Good Friday at the Manus Island detention centre were disputed again. An anonymous Border Force officer who witnessed the event said that there was no connection between the shooting and an earlier incident involving a young boy. The investigation is ongoing.

More than 1600 refugees and transferees on Manus Island and Nauru expressed interest in the Australia-US resettlement deal, which is expected to offer 1250 places. Immigration officials said that the most vulnerable of the group will be given priority, including women, children and families. Documents released by the immigration department reveal that the federal government has spent an additional $22 million in supporting the deal.

A report by the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law concluded that asylum seeker boat turnbacks practised in Australia and Europe are illegal under international law and do not deter people from making dangerous journeys. Turnback policies continue to have bipartisan support in Australia.

Former immigration minister Ian Macphee said that the power accorded to current ministers regarding asylum seekers is unjust and unchecked. The comments come in a report by Liberty Victoria’s Rights Advocacy Project that warns against the dramatic rise in the personal discretions and legal powers of the immigration minister.

A Federal Court in Melbourne ordered that immigration minister Peter Dutton revisit the refugee application of a Syrian man he wanted to deport. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection is considering whether to appeal the decision. 

Weekly media wrap - 1 May 2017

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirmed that 41 asylum seekers detained on Nauru had contracted dengue fever by the end of March. There is currently a general outbreak of the viral disease on Nauru, and the number of asylum seekers affected is likely to have risen during April. The immigration department deemed this an issue for the Nauruan government and has not commented on strategies put in place to deal with it.

The federal government agreed to compensate a nine-year-old girl who was detained on Christmas Island for almost a year for a range of medical and psychological issues developed as a result of her detention. Her case was originally part of a class action aimed at securing compensation for thousands of refugees, but this was halted by the Supreme Court last month on the basis that the individual claims were too different. 

Weekly media wrap - 24 April 2017

During a visit to Australia, US Vice President Mike Pence confirmed that Australia’s refugee swap deal will go ahead, saying that ‘The US intends to honour the agreement – subject to the US vetting process’.

Immigration minister Peter Dutton alleged that asylum seekers led a five-year-old Papua New Guinean boy into the Manus Island detention centre, causing ‘angst’ and leading to the altercation between asylum seekers and PNG police on Good Friday. PNG police dispute this account.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection is using targeted advertisements via YouTube to discourage asylum seekers from attempting to reach their shores via people-smuggling boats.  

Weekly media wrap - 20 April 2017

Manus Island detainees reported that the PNG Defence Force fired approximately 100 rounds of bullets into the detention centre on 14 April in response to an alleged fight between detainees and PNG Defence Force personnel. The Australian immigration department confirmed that one detainee was injured by a thrown rock; however, the numbers and seriousness of injuries vary in other reports. In response to this incident, churches and refugee advocates called for the evacuation of asylum seekers on Manus Island to Australia while the resettlement deal with the US progresses.

According to the Fifth National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey, pro bono legal services increased by almost 10% from 2014 to 2016. Heightened demand from asylum seekers and refugees is cited as a key reason for this increase. 

Weekly media wrap - 10 April 2017

Officials from the US Department of Homeland Security visited Manus Island to fingerprint and photograph refugees for potential resettlement under the US-Australia refugee deal. Details of the deal, including what the ‘extreme vetting’ promised by President Donald Trump entails, remain unclear.

On an official visit to Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull endorsed the Manus Island detention centre closing by the end of the year. Neither he nor PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill gave further information on the process for the closure. Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton later clarified that refugees not accepted by the US would be settled in PNG and non-refugees would be returned to their home countries.

Amnesty International released a report accusing Spanish company Ferrovial and its Australian subsidiary Broadspectrum of failing to meet human rights obligations in running Australia’s offshore processing centres. Broadspectrum’s $2.5 billion contract with the Australian government ends in October.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal ruled against fully disclosing many documents on Australia’s asylum seeker boat turnback operations, sought by The Guardian under freedom of information laws. Some previously classified documents were released during the legal proceedings. 

Weekly media wrap - 4 April 2017

International Health and Medical Services ceased operations at the Manus Island detention centre on 31 March. This follows an ongoing medical licensing issue. Some IHMS staff were instructed to remain on the island, suggesting that the company may be able to resume its work shortly.

In the continued repatriation of asylum seekers held on Manus Island, five Lebanese detainees were returned to Lebanon. There are reports that the men were pressured to consent to their removal and were offered payments of up to $25,000 each. A sixth man is being held in police custody to discuss his voluntary repatriation after committing an act of self-harm after boarding the plane.

UNHCR will refer a minimum of 850 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru for resettlement in the United States. After speculation that the US-Australia deal would not go ahead with the new Trump administration, this is one of the first signs that the deal is progressing as originally intended under the Obama administration.

Weekly media wrap - 27 March 2017

Protesters gathered outside Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre in an attempt to prevent the deportation of a 60-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker known as ‘Saeed’. Following a recent hunger strike, Saeed was shifted from Melbourne to Villawood, during which time he was denied access to his lawyer. In response to the protest, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection stated: ‘This individual has had their claims for protection carefully assessed. It is now expected they should depart Australia.’

The Nauruan government detained two Australian Wilson security officers after revoking their visas. It is understood that the guards, who had been working at Nauru’s Australian-run immigration detention centre, were not charged with any crime or wrongdoing. Their detention followed Wilson Security’s decision not to hire a local Nauruan, provoking concerns that it was ‘political payback’.

The partner of Iranian refugee Omid Masoumali, who died after setting himself alight in protest on Nauru in April 2016, spoke publicly for the first time about her grief and trauma.  Pari, who has been in isolated detention in Australia since Omid’s death, now suffers from ‘complex post-traumatic stress disorder with depression and associated panic attacks’, according to clinical psychiatrist Helen Driscoll. Natasha Blucher, detention advocacy manager with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, urged the government to ‘put all of the politics aside’ and release Pari. 

Weekly media wrap - 22 March 2017

A riot reportedly occurred at the Manus Island detention centre on Friday. Detainee Behrouz Boochani stated that this followed the erection of a fence between the kitchen and detainees. Guards claimed that the fence was erected as some detainees had been taking too much food.

On Friday, a judge rejected a submission by the Australian government that the Federal Court did not have jurisdiction to hear a challenge to the government’s proposed ban on mobile phones in detention centres. Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg claimed the phones are being used to commit crimes in detention centres, but human rights lawyer George Newhouse said that they ‘provide asylum seekers with vital access to the outside world and to loved ones’.

At least 42 Somali asylum seekers died on Saturday when an Apache helicopter reportedly fired at the boat in which they were travelling. The asylum seekers were carrying official UNHCR documents and travelling from Yemen to Sudan. 

Weekly media wrap - 13 March 2017

This week the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse examined Australia’s immigration detention, including offshore detention. The commission heard that a government-commissioned child protection panel failed to interview any children before making recommendations about child safety in immigration detention. It also heard that immigration minister Peter Dutton was involved in delaying the public release of the Making Children Safer report, which reviewed 242 alleged incidents of abuse.

A case was brought to the High Court by Victoria Legal Aid on behalf of two female asylum seekers brought to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment. Victoria Legal Aid filed a constitutional challenge to the legality of detaining asylum seekers transferred from offshore detention facilities to the country for temporary purposes, such as medical treatment. A decision is not expected to be made immediately.

A 28-year-old Pakistani refugee on Manus Island was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in Lorengau. The man is expected to appear in court this week. This alleged sexual assault is the second such incident reported in the town of Lorengau that involves the transferred populations of refugees and asylum seekers. 

Weekly media wrap - 6 March 2017

The Australian immigration department reduced the amount of time that asylum seekers have to apply for protection visas from one year to 60 days. Lawyers at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service expressed concerns that the shortened deadline would lead to rushed applications that would inevitably fail.

An asylum seeker with genetic skeletal dysplasia was allowed to stay in Port Moresby after the National Justice Project obtained an injunction to stop him from being transferred back to the Manus Island detention centre. The National Justice Project took the action on behalf of the man after receiving advice that it was unsafe for him to be returned to the detention centre without a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

A Nepalese asylum seeker reported being destitute and in hiding after being involuntarily removed from the Manus Island detention centre and returned to Nepal three weeks ago. The Australian immigration department denied involvement with such deportations, stating that these were ‘matters for the Government of PNG.’

It appears that International Health and Medical Services (IHMS), the company providing health services for detainees in the Manus Island detention centre, has been operating illegally on the island for the past three years. An independent review committee handed down findings that International SOS, the company that owns IHMS, ‘intentionally breached’ PNG law by failing to register the clinic with the Papua New Guinea Medical Board.

The Australian Border Force is investigating the extent of post-traumatic stress disorder in its workforce, allegedly caused by workers having to retrieve the bodies of asylum seekers at sea. Border Force chief Roman Quaedvleig stated at a Senate estimates hearing that there was ‘significant anecdotal evidence’ of such trauma. 

Weekly media wrap - 28 February 2017

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop travelled to the US to meet with new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Ms Bishop clarified earlier comments from immigration minister Peter Dutton, in which he linked the Turnbull Government’s refugee deal with the Obama administration to Australia’s plans to resettle Central American refugees. Ms Bishop stated that the ‘people swap’ was not contingent on Australia’s resettlement plans.  

Refugee advocates say about 80 asylum seekers  will not lose their mobile phones following an injunction stopping Australian Border Force staff from confiscating them. 

A Vietnamese asylum seeker returned by Australia in 2015 was sentenced to three years in prison for illegally leaving the country.  

Weekly media wrap - 22 February 2017

Reports emerged that Australian immigration officials have been offering up to $25,000 to asylum seekers held on Manus Island to return to their home countries voluntarily. Meanwhile, officials allegedly forcibly removed at least one man from Manus Island this week. In related news, on 14 February a motion in the Australian Senate highlighting the UNHCR’s concerns over forced deportations from Manus Island was defeated. The UNHCR stated that no deportations should be occurring due to concerns over how claims were being processed.

After over two years of preparation, Slater and Gordon will launch a class action against Australia’s federal government in May on behalf of more than 1900 asylum seekers held on Manus Island. The law firm will claim that the detainees should be compensated for physical and psychological injuries as well as false imprisonment. Further, the Stanford International Human Rights Clinic announced that it would seek to take Australia to the International Criminal Court for its treatment of asylum seekers in offshore detention centres.

On an official visit to Australia, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe urged asylum seekers in Australian-run immigration detention centres to return to Sri Lanka. However, human rights lawyer Lakshan Dias warned against returning, saying that the situation in Sri Lanka was still dangerous. Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English reiterated his country’s offer to accept 150 asylum seekers from Australia’s offshore camps on Nauru and Manus Island. 

Weekly media wrap - 14 February 2017

Papua New Guinea authorities attempted to deport two Nepalese asylum seekers. One was removed from the processing centre for deportation, while the other escaped and has been pursued by police. A local PNG newspaper, The Post Courier, reported that the PNG government sought travel documents for 60 people whose asylum claims had been denied, with a view to deport them to their home countries within a few weeks. The Australian Attorney-General, George Brandis, advised parliament that these men were given ‘negative’ assessments by Papua New Guinea’s immigration authority.

The inquest into the death of Hamid Kehazaei continues this week. Kehazaei, who was held on Manus Island, died as a result of fatal blood poisoning (sepsis) in 2014. The inquest heard that staff at the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby appeared not to understand how critically ill Kehazaei was.

A Senate committee heard evidence this week as part of an inquiry into abuse, self-harm and neglect in regional offshore processing centres. The evidence included testimony from senior immigration department officials about the standard of healthcare in offshore detention facilities on Manus Island and Nauru. The committee heard of the case of Faysal Ishak Ahmed, a refugee on Manus Island who sought medical assistance 13 times over two months before he died.

A petition was submitted to the International Criminal Court by the Global Legal Action Network. The petition alleges that Australia’s offshore immigration detention regime could constitute a crime against humanity.