Weekly media wrap - 28 November 2019

The UN Human Rights Committee confirmed it is investigating the case of a Vietnamese woman who is subject to deportation and separation from her Australian-born baby. The woman has been in detention since 2017 and gave birth to her daughter while in detention. Her asylum claim was refused and her deportation was ordered. The UN asked the Australian Government to put off deportation until their investigation is complete and the government has confirmed it is now undertaking its own investigation into the matter. 

Behrouz Boochani told Radio NZ that the conditions in Bomana prison will lead to more deaths. He said the men have lost a lot of weight, do not have access to their mobile phones and are not getting any medical treatment. His fears are echoed by the Australian Director of Human Rights Watch, Elaine Pearson. Ms Pearson argued that the detention conditions contravene local and international law. 

Two Saudi men, a couple, who have been held in immigration detention since they arrived in Australia say they have been treated like criminals and fear for their safety in detention. In a Radio National interview they explained that they were questioned by Australian Border Force officers at the airport where they admitted that they intended to apply for asylum. On arrival at the detention centre their room-mates reportedly threatened them and refused to allow them into their allocated rooms.

Craig Foster called on MPs to go to PNG and Nauru to meet the people who would be affected by a repeal of the medevac legislation. Foster is a former Socceroo and led the campaign to secure Hakim Al-Araibi’s return to Australia. The Government is committed to repealing the medevac legislation and needs the support of the Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie to achieve this. 

Weekly media wrap - 17 November 2019

Doctors who have referred offshore patients to Australia for medical treatment are unhappy with the quality and timeliness of the government’s response. The doctors say that a lack of face-to-face interpreter services and bureaucratic and Ministerial delays could be impeding medical care, especially for those with mental health issues. The government wants to repeal the Medevac legislation, which allows doctors to refer patients to Australia if necessary, subject to Ministerial veto. Medevac supporters rallied in capital cities, and rural supporters gathered at Parliament House this week to tell MPs they were against the repeal. The Refugee Council of Australia believes the vote will be deferred until after 25 November, as the government doesn’t yet have the numbers in the Senate. Senator Lambie holds the effective casting vote, and said she is still considering her decision.

Behrouz Boochani, the well-known Kurdish poet and author of No Friend but the Mountains, left Papua New Guinea after 6 years, and said he is not going back. Currently in New Zealand for a literary event, it is unclear whether he will claim political asylum there, or continue to the US where he was offered a protection visa, which may now be affected by his visit to NZ. His story of the conditions at Manus Island is widely hailed and received a number of literary awards. He was a public campaigner for his fellow prisoners, and gained much attention towards their plight.

The trial of the Nauru 19 starts this coming Monday on the island, but two of the group have applied for political asylum in Australia. Their charges relate to protests in 2015 against the expulsion of three MPs from Nauru’s parliament for their criticism of the government. There is criticism from inside and outside the country of government interference with the judicial system.

Detainees at the Bomana Immigration Centre in Port Moresby spoke out this week about conditions ‘designed to torture’ in the Australian-funded centre. The head of Australia’s offshore processing regime, Major General Craig Furini, said recently that the government does not know what goes on inside. The centre apparently holds 47 men, with six more released for imminent return to their origin country. The harsh conditions are said to include severe food and water rations, no books or phones, and no legal support or access to their families. 

Former refugees now in Australia are organising a concert at Bogor, Indonesia on December 2 for asylum seekers ‘stuck’ in Indonesian camps, with Australia unwilling to accept any of them for resettlement.  It is the third annual concert, and features Afghan singers from Australia, Sweden and Afghanistan, as well as a Tajik singer from Tajikistan. The event is near to Cisarua, where the Staging Post support project is based. Around 3000 attendees are expected.

Weekly media wrap - 11 November 2019

The federal government continued to progress its attempted repeal of the medevac laws, including negotiations with independent Senator Jacqui Lambie, whose vote is vital for the government’s repeal bill. Rallies calling for the retention of the laws are planned in Melbourne. 

A network of Australian expats in Canada have helped refugees from Manus Island and Nauru to resettle in Canada via the country’s unique private refugee sponsorship scheme. The network includes Australians living in Canada as well as Canadian locals who are raising funds and lodging applications to sponsor refugees from overseas (understood to be approximately $18,000 for each refugee). Two Iranian refugees are believed to have been resettled from Australia’s offshore detention system to Canada under the sponsorship scheme, and the groups are focusing on those refugees who are ineligible for the US resettlement program. 

Iraqi refugee and alleged people smuggler Maythem Kamil Radhi, who is accused of involvement in a 2001 smuggling operation which resulted in the drowning deaths of 353 asylum seekers, has been refused bail. Radhi is the third person to face court for their role in the disaster, which involved organising 421 mostly Iraqi and Afghan refugees on an Indonesian fishing boat bound for Australia. Bail was denied due to the Queensland magistrate considering there to be ‘substantial motivation’ for him to leave Australia. 

Professor Munjed Al Muderis, an orthopaedic surgeon, human rights advocate and former Iraqi refugee detained on Christmas Island, was named NSW Australian of the Year for 2020. Since fleeing Iraq by boat and being detained in Australia’s offshore system and several Australian jails, he is now known for innovations and breakthroughs in surgery and for assisting many Australians and people around the world, including returning to Iraq to assist victims of the conflict. 

Weekly media wrap - 3 November 2019

The Australian Government has contracted mining company CI Resources to maintain the Christmas Island detention centre for $20 million. This facility is currently only housing four people – the Tamil family from Biloela fighting deportation to Sri Lanka. It is understood that CI Resources will be responsible for transporting detention centre staff as well as general maintenance, repairs and cleaning. 96 Serco staff continue to work at the centre as guards, as part of a $2.5 billion contract with Home Affairs. 

Meanwhile, the 30-day time limit for the request made by the United Nations Human Rights Committee for the Australian Government to release the Tamil family from detention has now expired. The Department of Home Affairs has refused to comment further on the UN’s request, stating that the family would remain on Christmas Island ‘whilst the judicial review proceedings are before the court’.

A Queensland coroner ordered the reopening of the inquest into the death of Omid Masoumali, the 23-year-old Iranian refugee on Nauru who died after setting himself on fire three years ago. The inquest will now look at more evidence, including Mr Masoumali’s mental health treatment and request for psychological help in the weeks prior to his death. 

Over 200 athletes and officials who remained in Australia after going missing from the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games had their asylum seeker claims rejected. The majority of these were previously granted bridging visas whilst their applications were being considered. Many of those seeking asylum were African athletes and officials from Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Uganda. The majority have since lodged appeals with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Official documents show four appeals have already been dismissed, six asylum seekers have already returned to their home countries, and one asylum seeker remains in immigration detention. 

Weekly media wrap - 23 October 2019

An Afghan doctor who spent more than four years on Manus Island before being transferred to Australia for medical care died in Brisbane. Sayed Mirwais Rohani had been in Australia for approximately two years and is believed to have taken his own life. The 32-year-old’s death marks the thirteenth death of a person sent to Manus Island or Nauru by Australia under its offshore immigration policy. 

A Senate committee chaired by Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker recommended the medevac laws be repealed. The government-dominated committee found that the medevac legislation contained ‘significant flaws’. Despite this committee recommendation, support for the repeal remained split along party lines. The laws also continued to garner support from medical practitioners, with 11 of Australia’s leading medical colleges issuing a joint statement calling for the legislation to remain in place. Independent senator Jacqui Lambie now has the casting vote on the legislation. 

Despite long-running claims from Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Scott Morrison that the medevac legislation rendered the government powerless to block a transfer on security grounds, Dutton used his ministerial powers for the first time to override doctors’ recommendations to transfer an individual. In a parliamentary statement, Dutton said he refused the transfer because he believed it ‘would expose the Australian community to a serious risk of criminal conduct’. 

Greens Senator Nick McKim led a disallowance motion aimed to block the federal government’s expansion of its fast tracking of asylum seekers scheme. The processing scheme was put in place in 2015, and initially applied to asylum seekers who came by boat after 13 August 2012, who are not allowed to apply for permanent visas. The expansion of the scheme has meant that asylum seekers who applied before this date, but make subsequent temporary protection or safe haven visa applications, now also have their cases assessed through this pathway. Under the fast track process, asylum seekers have their cases resolved with the Immigration Assessment Authority, rather than going before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The motion is expected to go before the Senate in the next sitting week. 

The Guardian Australia reported on the transfer of a seriously mentally ill asylum seeker from Melbourne to Perth, where he spent almost a month held in detention and was admitted to hospital emergency or psychiatric departments six times. The young man’s ill health had been known to authorities and a Melbourne youth mental health facility was preparing to treat him at the time of the transfer. After more than three weeks in Western Australia he was flown back to Melbourne, where after several days he was admitted to the mental health facility that had initially offered to treat him. The transfer allegedly came without warning and without mental health consultation.

The Australian Government continued its refusal to release a report on refugee settlement, with Immigration Minister David Coleman rejecting an Order of the Senate to do so, claiming public interest immunity ‘as the documents referred to are under consideration of the Cabinet’.

Weekly media wrap - 14 October 2019

Some asylum seekers who have been approved for medevac transfers to Australia are among a group of 52 men who have been detained in Bomana immigration detention centre in Port Moresby for the past two months, without access to phones or lawyers. The Australian Government confirmed that approvals for medevacs have been ‘communicated’ to Port Moresby, but said the management of detainees inside the detention centre is a matter for the PNG Government.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, urged the Australian and Papua New Guinea Governments to work together to find a solution for the men who were denied refugee protection and who remain in Port Moresby. In Australia this week, Bachelet said no one was ‘taking responsibility’ for the more than 50 men who have been transferred to Bomana immigration detention centre in Papua New Guinea's capital, after failing in their bid for asylum in Australia. 

More than 95,000 people have sought asylum in Australia after arriving by plane in the past five years, but more than 84% were found not to have a valid claim. Figures revealed this week show that 4037 people who flew to Australia sought asylum in the first seven weeks of this financial year. This rate indicates a record high if the trajectory continues. However, the Australian Government commented that on annual comparisons there has been a decline. The Labor opposition raised concern that the refusal rate of applicants was an indicator that people making claims for asylum were at risk of labour exploitation. 

Average processing times for refugee applications has more than doubled in less than three years, to a peak of 786 days. Commentators are raising concerns that this is creating incentives for further arrivals. The number of active migration and refugee cases at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal has also increased to 63,576 at the end of September 2019, up from 24,462 at the end of June 2017.

Internal emails from within the Department of Home Affairs revealed that the Australian Government reportedly considered cancelling the visa of refugee Hakeem al-Araibi, who was recently detained in Thailand. The emails, released under freedom of information laws, also showed that the Border Force officials initially failed to notify the Australian Federal Police of al-Araibi’s refugee status.

The UNHCR launched the Joint Data Centre this week, in collaboration with the World Bank. The Centre ‘aims to combine the former’s knowledge and data on refugees and displaced persons, with the latter’s global experience of poverty reduction, and socio-economic analytical experience’.

Weekly media wrap - 6 October 2019

The United Nations called on the Australian Government to end the ongoing detention of the Tamil family on Christmas Island. The UN-issued interim measures request that the family be transferred into a community setting or that alternative measures be taken to release them from detention within 30 days. The measure is non-compellable, and the Department of Home Affairs has stated that the family will not be removed from Christmas Island while judicial review proceedings are underway.

The Australian Government continued to refuse to release a report which, according to various news outlets, calls on the government to foster a more positive narrative on refugees and recommends increased funding for settlement services. The government rejected Freedom of Information requests to make the report public, however it is anticipated that the report may be released at the end of the year alongside a government response. 

A woman who formerly taught English to asylum seekers and refugees at the Nauru immigration detention centre sought to sue Broadspectrum, the offshore detention operator, for debilitating ill heath caused by black mould in her accommodation. The case is currently before the Queensland Supreme Court, however it was adjourned due to disagreement over which jurisdiction applied. 

Weekly media wrap - 29 September 2019

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton lodged an application to the High Court to appeal a decision by the Federal Court which found that the latter does have jurisdiction to hear cases for medical transfer of people in offshore detention. If the government wins the appeal it will mean that only the High Court has jurisdiction to hear such cases. Initiating a case in the High Court is significantly more expensive and more complicated than in other courts.      

The Tamil family who are in immigration detention on Christmas Island pending a court hearing on the protection status of their youngest child has been told they will not be returned to the Australian mainland. The court date has not yet been confirmed and they have been told they could wait months. Should they win their court case, their visa status will still be subject to ministerial discretion.

Federal circuit judge Alexander (Sandy) Street’s handling of asylum cases has been called into question. The average success rate for applicants on refugee review cases at the federal circuit court is 7.28%, but of the 842 cases that have come before Judge Street, he found in favour of the applicant only 1.66% of the time. He has been criticised for regularly failing to provide written reasons for his judgements and for the frequency with which he provides same day judgements. The Law Council of Australia has called for a federal independent review body where complaints against judges can be heard.

A major review into refugee resettlement in Australia was completed in February this year, but its report will not be made public until the end of 2019. The review examined improvements to the settlement and integration of people who have come to Australia on humanitarian grounds. Freedom of information requests for the report have been refused on the basis that the report is ‘cabinet in confidence’. 

Weekly media wrap - 25 September 2019

The Federal Court ruled that a family of four Tamil asylum seekers facing deportation has a prima facie case to stay in Australia, and cannot be deported to Sri Lanka until the case goes to a final hearing at a date yet to be determined. The case centres around Australia’s international obligations to provide protection to the family’s two-year-old daughter. The family is currently being held on Christmas Island, where they will remain until the hearing, according to home affairs minister Peter Dutton. 

Documents released to the Senate revealed that Paladin, the security firm contracted to deliver services on Manus Island, has had to pay back $5.7 million to the Australian Government for thousands of breaches of its key performance indicators. Paladin defended these breaches by describing its ‘inability to deploy expat personnel’, but the department of home affairs found this reasoning inadequate to excuse the company’s failures.

The Labor party offered to support a Coalition bill that seeks to amend the Migration Act, provided that a number of conditions be met. The proposed bill, which is currently before the Senate, aims to provide grounds for visa cancellation where a non-citizen has been convicted of a serious crime punishable by two years’ imprisonment, even if a jail term is not imposed. The opposition’s conditions for support – that the bill not apply retrospectively, exempt low-level offences and allow special consideration to be given to New Zealanders – were rejected by immigration minister David Coleman.

An Essential Poll survey of 1093 respondents found that a majority of Australians either support the medevac legislation or believe improved health and welfare services should be provided for people in offshore detention. The survey, though finding majority support for offshore detention at 52%, found that 41% of respondents support medevac legislation as it stands, while 23% believe the legislation does not go far enough to provide humane treatment for asylum seekers offshore.

Weekly media wrap - 16 September 2019

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee recommended the government’s proposed amendments to the Migration Act 1958 be passed, to prevent asylum seeker boat arrivals making a valid application for any Australian visa. The legislation was introduced to Parliament's lower house in July. The majority committee recommendation described the measures as ‘necessary, reasonable and proportionate’, but dissenting views came from both Labor and Greens senators on the committee.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton described the two children of the Tamil family currently detained on Christmas Island as ‘anchor babies’ being used ‘to leverage a migration outcome’. The two Tamil asylum seekers and their Australian-born daughters will remain on Christmas Island after a federal court hearing to determine whether they would be deported to Sri Lanka was delayed until 18 September.

A Newspoll survey of 1000 Australians found that 64 per cent believe asylum seekers who are considered by the courts not to be refugees should be deported, with 24 per cent saying they should be allowed to settle in Australia. This survey followed publicity last week surrounding the case of the Sri Lankan Tamil family facing deportation.

The Victorian Government announced it will contribute $3 million for crisis response to support asylum seekers on bridging visas who are impacted by federal cuts to the status resolution support services payments, which came into effect in 2018. The $3 million will provide health and support services for 6000 asylum seekers in Victoria. 

A Melbourne couple were charged with causing another person to engage in forced labour and conducting business with forced labour, allegedly keeping an Iranian asylum seeker as a slave for two years to work at their confectionery store. 

In the US, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to enforce new rules that generally forbid asylum applications from migrants who have travelled through another country on their way to the US without being denied asylum in that country. 

Weekly media wrap - 11 September 2019

A Senate enquiry is examining the legislation that would prevent maritime arrivals who were sent to offshore facilities from ever settling in Australia. Figures submitted by the Department of Home Affairs showed 2074 of the 5191 asylum seekers who arrived by boat were never sent to offshore detention centres. It also showed that, of the 3127 people who were transferred to offshore centres, 52 have been granted Australian visas (TPVs or SHEVs). The general counsel to Home Affairs stated that those on temporary visas would be subject to ministerial discretion regarding whether they can remain in Australia after their current visas expire. The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that the legislation would cause 14 families to be separated. 

A Freedom of Information Request revealed that Australian airlines and charter planes have been used to involuntarily transfer more than 8000 people in the immigration detention system between July 2017 and May 2019. These transfers included deportations and relocations between detention facilities. The information was acquired by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility as they prepare a motion for the Qantas AGM to review its participation in involuntary transfers. 

An internal Ernst & Young audit report was submitted to the Senate inquiry into the performance of Paladin, the company contracted to provide services to the detention facilities on Manus Island. The audit report noted a serious risk from the reliance on self-reporting by the contractor. It found that Paladin had not logged performance data for its security staff and that the company did not know how many times it had failed to provide transport in a timely manner. The report recommended future contracts of this nature should be monitored by way of monthly site visits instead of self-reporting. 

The last cohort of refugees was invited to be transferred from Manus Island to Port Moresby, bringing the offshore operations on Manus Island to a close. They were assured that they would receive accommodation, health, employment and casework assistance in Port Moresby. 

7 News reported on the cases of 50 people who are stateless and have remained in indefinite detention in Australia because their deportation would require their countries of origin to be established. Amongst others, the report outlines the case of one man who has been in detention for 10 years with no prospect of release. The government refused to comment on the cases. 

Weekly media wrap - 2 September 2019

A family of four Tamil asylum seekers were granted a last-minute interim injunction giving them a five-day reprieve from deportation. Their plane, which had departed Melbourne set for Sri Lanka, was forced to land in Darwin. They were subsequently moved to the Christmas Island detention centre. An urgent federal court hearing delayed the deportation, with lawyers acting for the two-year-old daughter arguing that no assessment had been conducted by Australia as to whether she is owed protection obligations. The family has received strong community support, including many supporters who protested at Melbourne Airport this week. 

Weekly allowances and food rations for hundreds of refugees on Manus Island have been stopped amidst the Papua New Guinea Government’s plans to relocate refugees and asylum seekers to Port Morseby. Many refugee families had their allowances and food stopped with no explanation in May and June, and have struggled to provide for their families with no money or employment. 

Meanwhile, a Senate inquiry has heard that asylum seekers and refugees detained in PNG are being blocked from talking to lawyers or doctors, which is preventing medical evacuation approved under new medevac laws. Many of the asylum seekers do not have access to phones, meaning that medical evacuation response teams are unable to contact them.  

New documents released to the Senate reveal that Paladin, the security firm contracted to deliver services on Manus Island, has been fined more than a thousand times by the Home Affairs department for ‘performance failures’. These failures included chronic understaffing, incidents of drink-driving, failures to have staff with appropriate training, and lengthy delays in responding to maintenance issues in the facilities. 

Findings from a recent Deloitte Access Economics report demonstrated that increasing Australia’s refugee intake could boost the economy by billions each year, and sustain tens of thousands of full time jobs. The report found that overall economic benefit far outweighed the cost of refugee assistance and settlement services. 

Weekly media wrap - 31 August 2019

A 36-year-old Pakistani refugee on Nauru was hospitalised after setting himself on fire. The act of self-harm came amidst continued debate about the government’s proposed bill to repeal the medevac laws, reviewed by a Senate committee this week, as well as accusations from Medicines Sans Frontiers that Nauru has breached medical ethics.

Fifty-three asylum seekers being held at a detention facility annexed to the Bomana prison complex in Port Moresby are being restricted from talking to doctors and lawyers. A Senate inquiry heard that without access to phones, the asylum seekers are unable to be evacuated to Australia under the medevac legislation.

The Labor party claimed that the government has lost control of Australia’s borders. Labor’s home affairs spokeswoman, Kristina Keneally, argued that over 90% of the 81,596 asylum seekers who arrived by plane in the last five years were found not to be refugees. The argument came as Senator Kim Carr indicated Labor’s opposition to a Coalition bill to prevent asylum seekers who arrived by boat ever settling in Australia.

A report from Deloitte Access Economics found that increasing Australia’s annual refugee intake to 44,000 by 2023 would bring an extra $37.7 billion to the economy in the next 50 years. Commissioned by Oxfam Australia, the report called for the federal government to commit to the increase, and to create a visa stream for 10,000 humanitarian family reunifications annually.

Weekly media wrap - 22 August 2019

Dozens of asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea were moved to a detention facility annexed to the Bomana prison complex in Port Moresby. The men moved have all been deemed non-refugees. A letter from the PNG immigration and citizenship authority ordered the men to surrender their mobile phone, any medication, and to pack up their personal belongings. 

Kurdish Iranian writer Behrouz Boochani won the $25,000 National Biography award this week for his autobiography No Friend But The Mountains. Mr Boochani remains in detention on Manus Island. 

Protests were held outside the Department of Home Affairs in Sydney this week against the continued use of temporary visas for people found to be refugees and afforded protection. Temporary protection visas remain a key component of the Australian Government’s border protection policy. The bridging and temporary visas have been widely criticised for the damaging effects they have on their holders.

Australians have raised more than $100,000 to privately sponsor and relocate refugees on Manus Island and Nauru to Canada, as part of new project Operation Not Forgotten, launched this week. This project was launched by Syrian refugee, Hassan Al Konta.

Weekly media wrap - 10 August 2019

Refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island commenced court proceedings in Papua New Guinea arguing that even though the detention centre was closed, their inability to leave Manus Island constitutes indefinite detention and, therefore, a breach of the constitution. They are seeking travel documents to enable them to leave PNG and are hopeful that the PNG Government may step in to resolve their situation rather than having to continue the court action. 

A mural at Bondi beach which shows 24 Australian Border Force guards under the heading ‘not welcome to Bondi’ was defaced shortly after a motion to Council for its removal was defeated. The artist, Luke Cornish, was asked to do the work as part of an exhibition and described the vandalism as a criminal act. He explained that the border force guards represented the 24 asylum seekers who have suicided in Australian-run detention facilities since 2010. The Council noted that the artwork is temporary and would be replaced following the conclusion of the exhibition.   

The federal government reintroduced legislation to Parliament whereby a person would have their visa automatically cancelled if they are convicted of a crime that carries a two-year sentence, regardless of whether or not the jail time is actually imposed. The current law limits the automatic visa cancellation to people who have been sentenced to at least 12 months in prison. The Minister for Immigration, David Coleman, justified the proposed law on the basis that foreign criminals do not deserve to remain in Australia. Refugee lawyers have expressed concern that there is no provision in the proposed legislation to exempt people who have been granted protection. 

A Syrian refugee who was resettled in Canada after spending months stuck in an airport terminal launched a crowdfunding campaign that aims to sponsor the resettlement of up to 200 refugees on Nauru and Manus Island in Canada. He was prompted to launch the campaign by the recent increase in the number of suicide attempts by people in offshore facilities. He is working with Canadian charities and the Refugee Council of Australia with the aim of raising a total of $3.7 million. 

Gillian Triggs was appointed as United Nations Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, replacing Volker Türk, who held the role for 4 years.  

Weekly media wrap - 4 August 2019

Freedom of information documents revealed that Australian authorities are not properly tracking the numbers of people seeking asylum at Australian airports and therefore the number of people claiming protection at Australia’s borders over the past years is unknown. This revelation also raises questions about the proper process for further assessment that should be triggered if a person is claiming protection. 

The Australian Federal Police halted an investigation into the controversial leaking of classified information regarding the medevac legislation. The claimed reasoning behind this decision was that the number of potential suspects was too large. However, it is understood that a total of only 11 senior departmental officials and ministers had access to the documents prior to its leaking to the media. 

A mural at Sydney’s Bondi Beach depicting a line of 24 Australian Border Force officers along with the phrase ‘not… welcome to Bondi’ received a mixed response. The Artist, Luke Cornish, made the piece to raise awareness of the treatment of asylum seekers in Australia’s onshore and offshore detention facilities, stating that ‘the 24 officers is symbolic of the 24 suicides in Australian detention facilities since 2010’. 

Over 1000 people rallied in front of Parliament House in Canberra, calling on the government to end temporary protection visas. The protestors, many of whom held temporary visas, spoke out against the processing limbo and strict conditions they have endured, in particular the harsh travel restrictions and denial of family reunification. 

Weekly media wrap - 2 August 2019

Australia’s House of Representatives voted in favour of the government’s bid to repeal the Medevac legislation. The decision came after days of parliamentary debate, as well as the release of a report highlighting the scale of mental health problems on Manus Island and Nauru. The report, from the independent health advice panel overseeing medical transfers for asylum seekers being held offshore, found that the majority of medical admissions were for mental health conditions. The government’s bid to repeal the medevac transfer laws will now proceed to the Senate. 

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, James Marape, conducted his first official visit to Australia. In discussions with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, an agreement was reached to establish a timeline for the full closure of immigration detention facilities on Manus Island, though no specific dates were agreed to. Speaking as part of the delegation from PNG, Charlie Benjamin, governor of Manus Island, argued that the need to resettle refugees currently on the island was urgent, stating that PNG was ready to assist Australia if it accepted New Zealand’s renewed offer to resettle up to 150 refugees. 

Scott Morrison rejected the offer from New Zealand, arguing that it would weaken border security, while Liberal backbencher Russell Broadbent stated that he would like to see his party pursuing the offer, declaring that Australia could not continue with indefinite detention. 

Weekly media wrap - 25 July 2019

A new report published this week by the Australian Human Rights Commission, Lives On Hold, calls for action over 30,000 asylum seekers in the so-called ‘Legacy Caseload’ – those living in Australia and who arrived by boat before January 2014. The report highlights that 7500 asylum seekers who have been in Australia for more than five years have not yet had their refugee claims assessed. The Commission raised significant concern about the impact of these prolonged delays on the mental health of this group., and the limited support available to meet their health and other needs. The Department of Home Affairs has rejected the Commission’s recommendations. 

The Australian Government took four days to inform the family of Abdul Aziz of his death. Mr Aziz, an Afghan asylum seeker, died in the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation facility (MITA) last week. The man's family learned of his death through word of mouth. Authorities have not yet been able to identify a cause of death. Two days after the death of Mr Aziz, an Afghan asylum seeker who is also detained in MITA was taken to hospital after attempting to set himself on fire. The 23-year-old allegedly set a towel alight in his room before another detainee intervened.

A 15-month-old baby has been transferred to hospital from MITA with Influenza A. The baby’s mother, Vietnamese asylum seeker Huyen Tran, complained to staff for several weeks that her child had a fever, which was reportedly ignored. 

On a six-day visit to Australia commencing this weekend, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape will be urging the Australian Government to fix a deadline for the ending of offshore processing of asylum seekers on Manus Island.

Greens Senator Nick McKim was denied entry to visit the East Lorengau camp on Manus Island and deported from Papua New Guinea this week. Senator McKim was visiting Manus Island to mark six years since the Rudd Governmentannounced that all asylum seekers who arrived by boat would be sent to PNG.

Weekly media wrap - 15 July 2019

A 23-year-old Afghan man died in the immigration detention centre in Melbourne on 13 July. The police reported that the circumstances of the death are not suspicious. Fellow detainees said that the man had signed for a bridging visa 5 months ago but it had not been forthcoming. The Department of Home Affairs issued a statement of condolence to his family.

A Federal Court judge issued the Department of Home Affairs with a five day deadline to transfer a refugee from Nauru to Australia. It came after a previous order to transfer the man was not complied with. The order included a directive that if the deadline is not met, the Department will be required to detail the steps it has taken to action the transfer and to name those who have prevented it. Reporters noted the directive’s significance in terms of requiring the Department to disclose information about processes and people.

A two-year-old child in immigration detention in Melbourne sustained a mild head injury when a whiteboard fell onto her. Media outlets reported a seven hour delay between the incident and her transfer to a hospital for treatment. The Department of Home Affairs reportedly confirmed the incident occurred, but stated that the child was not injured and that the family had refused offers of treatment. She was returned to the detention centre after an overnight stay in hospital. 

A further seven refugees on Nauru were confirmed for departure to the USA under the Australia-US resettlement deal. Radio NZ reported that the total number of people transferred under the deal now stands at 580 (out of the 1250 as per the agreement). 

Weekly media wrap - 8 July 2019

Legislation to repeal the medevac transfer laws was introduced to parliament by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, and will now proceed to a Senate inquiry with a report date of 18 October. The inquiry, led by the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Legislative Committee, will give medevac supporters a public platform to argue for its retention.

The Guardian Australia reported that a number of refugees have been kept in a Brisbane hotel, in dirty rooms and under heavy guard, for up to six months. The Australian Human Rights Commission investigated the use of such alternative places of detention in May, resulting in a number of recommendations, including that hotels only be used ‘in exceptional circumstances and for very short periods of time’. The Australian Border Force defended its extended detention of refugees in the hotel as ‘appropriate’. 

The United Nations subcommittee on prevention of torture announced it would visit Australia and Nauru in the coming months to inspect places of detention. The UN Human Rights inspectors will have the right to visit any place of detention, unannounced, including all immigration detention facilities. Australia is obliged to allow these inspections after ratifying the optional protocol to the convention against torture (Opcat) in December 2017.