Monthly Wrap - 1 July 2020

In the media

Courts

The Federal Court warned Minister Dutton and Minister Tudge that they would be held in contempt of court if they continued to defy a court ruling that a man’s protection claim should be decided “shortly”. The court stated that the Department of Home Affairs’ refusal to decide the man’s claim was “contrary to law”. The situation was detailed in an opinion piece by the principal solicitor in the case.

A former security guard on Manus Island reached an out of court settlement with the Australian Government on a case alleging psychological trauma as a result of the 2014 riots at the detention centre, where one person was killed and 77 injured. His case was to argue that the government and the security contractor, G4S, failed to provide adequate protective equipment and training in the lead up to the riot.

Detention

CNN published a long-form report on Australia’s use of hotels to detain people who were medically evacuated from PNG and Nauru. One of the hotels, in Brisbane, was the site of regular protests through June that culminated in a blockade. Protestors sought to prevent the transfer of men to Brisbane’s immigration detention centre by searching vehicles that entered and exited the hotel site. Some organisers were arrested, but charges were later dropped. Dozens more were arrested in the third weekend of protests.

In Sydney a planned rally went ahead despite a court-ordered ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Wollongong an indefinite sleep-out to protest the indefinite detention of asylum seekers reached a 300 night milestone. Doctors say they will continue the sleep-out until the indefinite detention of asylum seekers ends.

In Melbourne protestors were arrested after they locked themselves in a cage on the roof of a cafe co-located with a hotel where people have been detained since last year. Earlier in the month a rally was split across different locations to get around bans on large gatherings.

The Saturday Paper reported on the plight of asylum seekers who cannot access Australia’s COVID-19 support packages and featured a story of a father and son who are the last family on Nauru.

Twenty-eight refugees were resettled in the US this month under the agreement reached with the previous US administration.

International

Some nations are anticipating an exodus of people from Hong Kong as China pursues legislation that would permit its security agencies to be deployed in Hong Kong. Dozens of student protestors have claimed asylum in Australia, and Britain has asked countries in the Five Eyes network, which includes Australia, to join them in offering sanctuary.

The predicament of Rohingya people who have been stranded at sea since February continued. Around 22 boats have been turned back or forced back to open waters, smugglers have reportedly demanded payments from the family members of those on board the boats that are at sea, and in one instance around 270 people on board a damaged trawler were taken into custody by Malaysian authorities. Indonesian villagers took it upon themselves to rescue 94 Rohingya people from their stricken boat after authorities refused to assist.

In Greece locals have reported a new phenomenon where boats arrive with people on board who vanish soon after landing, with authorities claiming that the boats were empty. Locals believe that people are being returned to their point of departure; a contravention of international law. 

In policy

The Senate’s Legal and Social Issues Committee is examining a bill proposed by the Federal Government that would allow a ban on mobile phones in onshore immigration detention centres, to stop drug and contraband items circulating in the facilities. The bill would also expand guards’ powers to conduct searches. The Committee received evidence from organisations such as UNHCR, the Australian Medical Association, the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law and Serco. While Serco is supportive of the amendments, other organisations raised concerns for the potential damage to refugees’ mental health and the potential for a constitutional challenge because of the bill’s effect on freedom of expression.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman committed to publishing their monitoring reports into the implementation of COVID-19 protocols at immigration detention centres. The report was due for release in June.

In research

The UNHCR released its 2019 annual Global Trends report, presenting a range of findings. At the end of 2019, the UNHCR reported a total of 79.5 million people around the world had been forcibly displaced, up from 70.8 million the year before. Of this, 45.7 million are internally displaced people and 4.2 million are asylum seekers.

A study into the reporting of self-harm incidents among asylum seekers (held onshore and offshore) highlights a number of reporting and systems failures. The study analysed 949 self-harm incident reports from 1 August 2014 to 31 July 2015. Its findings included (i) low rates of recording the medical severity of the self-harm, (ii) a widespread failure to record who saw the person following the incident, and (iii) a failure to record whether or not psychosocial assessment was provided. The study recommends data recording changes that would ensure better compliance with WHO standards and the introduction of an independent monitoring mechanism for self-harm incidents among asylum seekers that are held onshore and offshore.

In her article, Jenny Poon challenges the argument that non-refoulement obligations do not apply unless and until an individual is within the territory of a state and that formal asylum procedures seeking refugee status have commenced. Poon’s article argues that regardless of the proximity of an individual to the border or territory of a state or the individual’s legal status, states have responsibility for complying with non-refoulement obligations, including when on the high seas.

Monthly Wrap - 2 June 2020

In the media

Detention

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre lodged an official complaint with the Commonwealth Ombudsman on behalf of 13 asylum seekers, saying the conditions in Australia’s immigration detention where they are being held could lead to a "catastrophic" coronavirus outbreak among detainees. The group reported that up to five men are sharing one room and twelve men are sharing one shower and toilet.

Refugee activists occupied a hotel in Melbourne where around 60 men have been detained since they were transferred to Australia for medical treatment. The activists hung protest banners from the roof of the hotel and barricaded themselves in a hotel room. Police escorted protestors from the premises and fined them for breaching Victoria’s COVID-19 rules. On the same day, a refugee detained in the hotel attempted suicide and was taken to hospital. The protest and attempted suicide were reportedly unrelated.   

A man who was separated from his wife and son for 3 years remains in locked detention despite being less than an hour from their home. The family had been detained on Nauru when the child needed to be medically transferred to Australia. The man was refused permission to accompany them, but was subsequently transferred to Australia a year ago. He says that his son no longer recognises him.

Resettlement

The transfer of refugees and asylum seekers to the USA from Australia, PNG and Nauru resumed. Over the course of May, around 40 men were resettled under the 2016 Australia-USA refugee transfer agreement. One of the men in PNG was told he would be leaving for the USA, but received a call to say his name had been removed from the list one day before departure – reportedly for the second time in two months. 

The NZ opposition alleged political interference in the granting of a visitor visa to Behrouz Boochani. The NZ Prime Minister labelled the allegation “offensive” and refused to discuss the matter. Under NZ law it is illegal to discuss asylum applications or the existence of applications. 

Border Closures

The situation of around 500 Rohingya people stranded at sea continued to deteriorate. A small number reportedly landed in Southern Bangladesh and were then sent to a silt island. The majority remain on the high seas. The media reported that footage published online showed that those on board had lost weight and that family members have urged governments to help locate the boats and bring them to safety. It is not known how many have died on board the boats.

In Malta, boats carrying refugees and migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya using private vessels paid for by the Maltese government. Those returned were taken to a detention centre in Tripoli notorious for its mistreatment of people. Around 12 people reportedly died at sea.

Relocations

Relocations of unaccompanied minors from Greek refugee camps to other EU countries continued. The relocations are an attempt to reduce overcrowding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In policy

The Australian Government reintroduced proposed legislation to expand the powers of Australian Border Force officers to seize mobile phones from people in detention if they suspect illegal or extremist activity. Similar legislation was brought to Parliament in 2017 but did not proceed to debate. Lawyers have voiced their concern about the potential for overreach.

The Australian Nation Audit Office released a report into the awarding of contracts by the Department of Home Affairs for operations at offshore detention centres. The report shows that the contracts accepted a profit margin well above the accepted range and concluded that they did not present value for money. A total of $7.1 billion was spent on offshore contracts for PNG and Nauru at a cost of around $450,000 per person per year.

The Kaldor Centre, UNSW, made a submission to the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights in relation to federal COVID-19 related legislation. The submission ‘urges Australia’s parliamentarians to maintain key principles of refugee protection while crafting responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The UNHCR also made a submission to this Committee.

For more on COVID-19, see our latest explainer.

In research

The Migration Policy Practice journal (April-June 2020) published a range of articles on COVID-19 and its impacts on migration policy, focusing in part on asylum seekers and refugees. One article focuses on the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on displaced children, such as health, education, and protection and safety.

In The Centre of Gravity Series, Claire Higgens writes on Protecting Refugees and Australia’s Interests. Higgens argues that the securitised approach to asylum and refugee policy leaves Australia with little flexibility to respond to potential future refugee situations in the Asia-Pacific region. Higgins recommends that Australia expand pathways for resettlement and provide access to fair and efficient onshore asylum procedures.

In the International Journal Of Refugee Law, Tristan Harley and Harry Hobbs considered the participation of refugees in decision-making processes that affect them. The paper considers the emergent drive for refugee participation in law and policy, examines the evolution of the international legal framework, and explores options that could promote the inclusion of refugees in the design and implementation of policy.

Monthly Wrap - 5 May 2020

In the media

In the Courts

A refugee in detention filed a High Court claim arguing the Department of Home Affairs has breached its duty of care to provide conditions that enable him to protect himself from COVID-19. The refugee was transferred from Manus Island to Australia in 2019 and his case is reportedly the first of many. Around 1,400 people are held in detention centres or Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) in Australia.

The Federal Government was ordered to pay $200,000 in legal fees to the Biloela family. This followed a ruling that two-year old Tharunicaa was denied procedural fairness in her asylum bid. The family has again asked the government to release them from the Christmas Island Detention Centre as the mental health of the two girls declines.

The Federal Court overturned a tribunal finding that two men were not credible because of discrepancies in their recollections of what happened immediately after their first sexual encounter six years prior. Their asylum claim, which started in 2013, was returned to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for reconsideration.

The names of 400 protection applicants were accidentally published on the Federal Court website in what was described as a ‘major systemic failure.’

COVID-19

Protests occurred in detention locations around the country over COVID-19 concerns. In Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre, three people were arrested after a rooftop protest and a further 35 reportedly staged a five-day hunger strike. In Melbourne a refugee activist was arrested and 26 others were fined for staging a car convoy protest during stage 3 restrictions.

Around 1,180 doctors have called for the release of immigration detainees who pose no significant security or health risks, as did the Australian Human Rights Commissioner. The Department of Home Affairs has stated that there have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases in detention locations and risk management strategies are in place.

In PNG and Nauru concerns were raised about COVID-19 risks to the 430 asylum seekers and refugees located there. Resettlement flights to the USA were suspended indefinitely. Canadian sponsorship applications continue to be assessed but flights are suspended.

Overseas

The UNHCR warned that border closures as a result of COVID-19 are placing fundamental norms of refugee and human rights law at risk, if no exceptions are made for people seeking asylum.

In Malaysia, a boat carrying Rohingya refugees was pushed back due to COVID-19 fears. In response, Indonesia’s representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission called on countries to show compassion during this time.

Malta declared it cannot cope with any arrival of asylum seekers due to the pandemic. It reportedly hired fishing boats to intercept and return any boats to Libya.

Bangladesh's coast guard rescued 396 Rohingya refugees who were adrift at sea for months, 32 were believed to have died. A human rights group said it believed more boats carrying Rohingya were adrift at sea, with COVID-19 lockdowns in Malaysia and Thailand making it harder to find refuge.

Greece commenced COVID-19 related relocations of unaccompanied asylum seeker children to Luxembourg in what was the first of more than 1,000 relocations to other EU countries. The overcrowding in refugee camps in the Greek Aegean islands has been identified as a risk during the pandemic.

Refugees and migrants have continued to arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa, despite a government order to close domestic ports to international charity refugee boats during the pandemic. There is concern over rising tensions between groups on the island.

In policy

Asylum seekers have been excluded from the Commonwealth’s wage and other support packages put in place as a result of COVID-19. People on Bridging visas are ineligible for the Jobkeeper or Jobseeker program. The Federal Government urged people on temporary visas to return home.

A number of states and territories announced funding packages for asylum seekers and others on temporary visas to access essential goods and supports if experiencing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19.

The Commonwealth has not released people from immigration detention or APODs, despite its Health department identifying people in ‘detention facilities’ at most risk of serious infection. This policy decision has been criticised by medical experts.

In research

The UNSW’s Kaldor Centre launched COVID-19 Watch, an online hub that provides commentary and analysis on COVID-19 and displacement from refugees, scholars, practitioners and others, including articles impacting asylum seekers in Australia. This includes Kerry Murphy’s piece, which outlined some key issues impacting asylum seekers as a result of COVID-19 in Australia, including stalling visa processing, implications for SHEV holders, and immigration detention.

Elsewhere, Gabrielle Holly’s article examines recent litigation against the Australian government and the corporate contractors engaged in offshore detention, as well as actions seeking injunctions that require the Australian government to airlift detainees to Australia for medical treatment. Holly concludes that while features of the Australian jurisdiction can potentially provide a path to remedy for individuals who have suffered wrongs in Australia's offshore detention regime, they have not yet presented a serious challenge to current government policy.

A study amongst asylum seekers in onshore detention centres found this group are at increased risk of self-harm, and the type of detention they are held in may exacerbate this risk. The study found that self-harm rates for asylum seekers in all types of closed onshore immigration detention settings were much higher than rates found in the general population. Average rates were not lower in facilities with lower security features.

Weekly media wrap - 25 April 2020

A refugee in Australian immigration detention filed a claim in the High Court arguing that the Department of Home Affairs is breaching its duty of care to him by failing to provide conditions that allow him to protect himself from COVID-19. The refugee, who suffers from a number of serious illnesses, was transferred from Manus Island to Australia in 2019 and is seeking release into the community to protect him from infection. The Guardian suggested this test case is likely to be the first of many, with around 1400 people in detention of alternative places of detention in Australia.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnball’s book, A Bigger Picture, details the US-Australia resettlement deal. According to the book, President Trump described refugees on Manus Island as ‘2000 of the worst terrorists in the world.’

Indonesia’s representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission (AICHR), Yuyun Wahyuningrum, expressed concern about Malaysia’s pushback of a boat carrying Rohingya refugees because of COVID-19 fears earlier this month.

UNHCR warned that border closures in response to the COVID-19 crisis place rules of refugee and human rights law are at risk. According to the UN refugee agency, ’167 countries have so far fully or partially closed their borders to contain the spread of the virus. At least 57 states are making no exception for people seeking asylum.‘

Editorial note: From next week, we are shifting from weekly media wraps to a monthly summary of the top news, policy and research developments from Australia and around the world. To receive this new monthly wrap in your inbox the first week of each month, subscribe.

Weekly media wrap - 18 April 2020

The Federal Court ruled that two-year old Tharunicaa Murugappan, born in Australia to Tamil asylum-seeker parents, was not afforded procedural fairness in her asylum bid. The formerly Biloela-based family cannot be immediately deported and will remain in detention on Christmas Island until their case is finalised. Mother Priya said the mental health of her two young daughters was deteriorating and asked the government to allow the family to return to Biloela. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed News reported that Immigration Minister David Coleman did not reply to a letter from two human rights commissioners in 2019, accusing him of violating international human rights law in detaining the family.

Three men living in the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre were arrested after staging a rooftop protest over COVID-19 concerns. SBS News reported that 35 asylum seekers and refugees at the centre had refused all food and water for five days as part of a hunger strike. Australia's Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow called for the urgent release of all immigration detainees who pose no significant security or health risks, in line with the recommendations of peak medical bodies.

Bangladesh's coast guard rescued 396 starving Rohingya refugees adrift at sea for months, with at least 32 believed to have died. A human rights group said it believed more boats carrying Rohingya were adrift at sea, with COVID-19 lockdowns in Malaysia and Thailand making it harder for them to find refuge.

Greece relocated a dozen unaccompanied asylum seeker children from overcrowded migrant camps to Luxembourg – the first of more than 1000 relocations to other EU countries amid concerns over the impact of COVID-19 on camps in the Greek Aegean islands.

Weekly media wrap - 11 April 2020

The names of hundreds of people seeking protection visas have been published on the Federal Court website. The Federal Court, through the searchable Commonwealth Courts database, disclosed the names of people who have said they have been persecuted in their home countries over a number of years. This week, a Federal Court spokesman described the disclosure as a ‘major systemic failure’ and said the court had identified 400 asylum seekers whose names had been published.

Asylum seekers on temporary visas living in Australian communities are not eligible for wage subsidies that were passed in Parliament this week as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Refugee Council of Australia estimates that close to 90,000 people on bridging visas have no safety net during this time. Many asylum seekers on bridging visas have lost their jobs as a result of restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, and so non-profit organisations are seeing spikes in demand for their support in accessing essential goods and services.

Police arrested a refugee activist and fined 26 others nearly $43,000 for holding a car convoy protest outside a hotel in Melbourne's north where refugees and asylum seekers are being detained. The group were fined for breaching social distancing orders currently in place in Victoria.

Dozens of refugees and migrants have continued to arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa, despite a recent government order closing domestic ports to international charity refugee boats wishing to dock. Italian ministers on Tuesday ruled that at least until 31 July, for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, domestic ports can no longer be considered a ‘place of safety’. There is concern over rising tensions between groups on the island. A group of 60 local residents held a protest after a small number of new arrivals were not abiding by quarantine laws.

Weekly media wrap – 4 April 2020

The news this week was dominated by the Covid-19 virus. In Australia 1,180 doctors signed a letter calling for the release of people from immigration detention. The letter outlined the risks to detainees and the broader community from any outbreak of the virus in immigration facilities. It was released publicly after discussions with the Department of Home Affairs reportedly broke down.

Meanwhile concerns were raised about Covid-19 risks to asylum seekers in PNG and Nauru. Around 430 asylum seekers remain there. The Catholic Brishops Conference (PNG) urged the PNG Health Minister to speak to the Australian Government amidst concerns about the local health system being able to cope with an outbreak. Around 50-60 were due to fly to the USA but the resettlement program has been suspended due to the pandemic. Canada sponsorship applications are still being processed administratively but transfers have been suspended. Around 180 men in PNG and Nauru were ineligible for USA resettlement or were rejected and have not received any informoation about options available to them.

The organisers of the annual Palm Island rally for refugees and asylum seekers have moved the rally online. The focus is on people in immigration detention and highlighting that social distancing measures cannot be practiced in detention. Various online activities are planned alongside activities that can be undertaken in the community in a way that conforms with rules around social distancing and crowds. The Department of Home Affairs stated that preventive measures have been put in place to keep detainees and staff safe and are constantly reviewed.

Weekly media wrap - 28 March 2020

Asylum seekers from across immigration detention centres have expressed significant concern about the risk to exposure to COVID-19 in an open letter to prime minister Scott Morrison, saying it will be extremely difficult to self-isolate and protect themselves while in detention. A Villawood detainee told the ABC that conditions in the detention centre were crowded and detainees were unable to comply with physical distancing rules required of the general public. The detainees were also concerned staff were not wearing any personal protective equipment. Visits to immigration detention centres have been cancelled.  A detainee in Villawood detention centre has reportedly been tested for coronavirus.

The detainees’ calls for release were backed by leading Australian infectious disease specialists. The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases and the Australian College of Infection Prevention and Control have also written to the Federal Government. The doctors warned that the estimated 1,400 asylum seekers and non-citizens being held in detention centres across Australia are living in crowded conditions that preclude adequate social distancing or self-isolation. The Home Affairs Department has reportedly rejected these calls to release detainees being held in immigration detention in Australia over COVID-19 concerns.

The Labor Opposition also called on the Australian government to extend visa deadlines and relax conditions for temporary visa holders, including people with bridging and temporary protection visas, in Australia that are ‘trapped’ as a result of the global travel bans and border closures.

Some 5,800 asylum seekers were evacuated from near Turkey’s border with Greece, as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. The Turkish Interior Minister reported that these asylum seekers are being hosted in repatriation centres in nine provinces.

Weekly media wrap - 21 March 2020

The High Court granted the Australian Government the right to appeal a Federal Court ruling over the medical transfer of dozens of asylum seekers and refugees. If the appeal is successful, only the High Court will be able to hear such cases, with the Australian Government claiming that the Federal Court has no jurisdiction to hear the cases brought on behalf of those in offshore detention. Refugee lawyers have voiced concern that this will make it much harder for cases of those requiring urgent medical transfers to be heard.  

A guard at a makeshift immigration detention facility in Brisbane tested positive for coronavirus, resulting in concerns for the approximately 80 refugees being held there, majority of whom were transferred from offshore detention to Australia for specialist medical treatment. The facility, based at a hotel in inner Brisbane, has been described as inhospitable, cramped and dirty. It is understood detainees at this facility have not yet been tested and refugee advocates fear that the virus could spread rapidly in such conditions and within any detention population.

Globally, the resettlement of refugees has been suspended indefinitely by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). This is due to travel restrictions and drastically reduced entry into many countries. In a statement by the two agencies, they have appealed to countries to continue collaborating to ensure that refugee movements can continue where possible for critical emergency cases, and to ensure that processing of resettlement cases continues. Aid agencies have voiced fears that millions of refugees around the world will be left vulnerable in refugee camps and temporary settlements. Temporary visa holders, including refugees on temporary protection visas and bridging visas, are currently in limbo about their future as a result of national lockdowns.

Weekly media wrap - 14 March 2020

It was reported that the Australian government’s major Manus Island contractor, Paladin, negotiated
in 2017-19 to pay brokers DRM and Trakpro to arrange favourable visa outcomes for its workers to
come to Papua New Guinea. The Home Affairs department paid Paladin $423 million to run the
centre, but there were difficulties obtaining visas from the PNG government, and a significant
amount of money was paid to a Singapore bank account linked to Trakpro for a “marketing
arrangement.” At Paladin’s subsequent board meeting, the need for a ‘bribery and corruption policy’
was discussed. The Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo maintains that none of his officials were
aware of any PNG requests for improper payments, while internal Paladin emails suggest otherwise.
Labor’s Senator Keneally called on Home Affairs Minister Dutton to order an exhaustive search of
the Department’s emails.

The president of the Law Council of Australia called for more judges and an “urgent injection of
funds” to deal with a massive backlog of migration and refugee reviews. Pauline Wright said the
backlog had knock-on effects, such as delays in family law cases. The upward trend in the workload
was a result of increasing numbers of reviews by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the
Immigration Assessment Authority of the ‘legacy caseload.’

Sydney year 12 student Renuga Inpakumar spoke at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in favour of two Tamil refugees being held in a Melbourne detention centre. Former Manus
detainee Abdul Aziz Muhamat also spoke, about his experiences of Australian detention, and the
serious situation he saw in Greek refugee camps.

The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) announced in Geneva on Wednesday a suspension of its visit to Australia in view of the current situation caused by the
coronavirus (Covid-19). It also postponed other upcoming missions. Australian refugee advocates
and experts were hoping to be able to guide the Subcommittee on the issues to look out for in their
assessment of immigration detention as part of their monitoring brief.

Refugees relocated from Manus Island to Port Moresby have been attacked twice in the past month
by local residents, with one refugee’s leg being broken and a security guard being hospitalised. They
claim to have received little support from the Australian government-funded contractor JDA
Wokman, which has a $72m contract to help former detainees settle in Port Moresby.

As the leader of the successful campaign to prevent Melbourne footballer Hakeem Al-Araibi from being deported to Bahrain in 2019, sports commentator Craig Foster has continued his support for
refugees, saying ‘I cannot unsee what I saw’. Several Australian actors, musicians and sports stars
have joined his Game Over campaign, around the theme “People trapped offshore are suffering. We
must get them to Safety.”

A study by Dr Daniel Ghezelbash of Macquarie University, of 18,196 cases decided at the AAT between January 2015 and December 2019, shows that only 4% of unrepresented applicants were successful, and asylum seekers with legal representation are seven times more likely to be successful. A policy influence may be greater government restrictions on public funding for free legal advice services. The appellant’s country of origin, and which Tribunal member hears the case is also significant to the outcome, although this needs more analysis, and is not necessarily due to subjective bias. The research only looked at asylum seekers who arrived by plane and had access to a review by the AAT.

Weekly media wrap – 5 March 2020

A boat carrying 8 people was intercepted and returned to Indonesia in mid-January 2020. Home Affairs Minister reported that the people were ‘potential illegal immigrants’ and the boat was intercepted around 240km north of Broome. Minister Dutton reported that all onboard were safe. 

The Age and Sydney Morning Herald were given permission to release a suicide note left by a former security guard who was working on Manus Island during the riots of 2014 and subsequently suffered from PTSD. Diane Parker, ended her life in July 2019 before her claim for compensation reached the court. Her children and the executors of her will gave the media permission to release the note, which is understood to have not been sent to Mr Morrison. It has been reported that a compensation settlement was reached with another security guard in similar circumstances and a further 18 claims have been lodged or are being prepared for lodgement.   

The Sunshine Coast Daily published an in-depth story on how a teacher secretly documented the conditions of refugees held offshore in Nauru using spy glasses. Gabby Sutherland risked jail time to capture images and video of the hardship faced by people and families while she was based there in 2014/15. Many of her revelations were included in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Forgotten Children Report and were used to campaign to get refugees off Nauru. An exhibition of her work, titled Woven Secrets, has started a national tour.

The conversation published a snapshot into a 5-year study of forced relocations of people across Australia’s immigration detention network. The study, by Michelle Peterie, comprised more than 70 interviews with regular detention centre visitors. These interviews highlighted the harsh nature of relocations and the negative outcome in terms of cutting people off from support networks, lawyers and connections they have with communities. 

Weekly media wrap - 29 February 2020

The case of the Tamil asylum seeker family from Biloela was heard in the federal court this week by Justice Mark Moshinky. The family may have to wait between one and three months for a decision to be handed down on whether their youngest Australian-born daughter can have her asylum application assessed. Tamil asylum seekers Priya and Nades and their Australian-born daughters Kopika and Tharunicaa are detained on Christmas Island. The hearing focused on whether the immigration or home affairs ministers had considered lifting the bar under the Migration Act to Tharunicaa from applying for a visa because, despite being born in Australia, she is considered an unauthorised maritime arrival like her parents. The court is also considering whether the process of deciding whether to lift the bar was fair.

A Rohingya asylum seeker told his story for the first time to Australian media of his escape from Australia's offshore processing centre on Manus Island, and eventual resettlement in Canada. Refugee advocates are describing it as unprecedented. Mr Jaivet Ealom said he escaped from the Manus Regional Processing Centre in May 2017 and boarded a flight to Port Moresby by posing as an interpreter. He then lived for six months as a fugitive in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands before arriving unannounced in Canada, where he was granted protected refugee status.

In Greece, protests over plans for new migrant camps on two of its islands turned into violent clashes between police and local residents, some armed with Molotov cocktails and shotguns. Hundreds of residents attacked police officers guarding the sites of the future detention camps on the islands of Lesbos and Chios. A large crowd later laid siege for hours to a Lesbos army camp where riot-control squads were billeted. Dozens of police officers were injured during the unrest.

Weekly media wrap - 22 February 2020

The Commonwealth Ombudsman released its annual report on conditions in immigration detention facilities. Among the findings, the Ombudsman found that the high security wing of the Villawood Detention Centre (Blaxland compound) was unfit for use due to overcrowding and poor facilities. The government has stated that the compound is due to be demolished this year. The Ombudsman reported concern about the conditions of detention in hotels, which are being used as Alternative Places of Detention (in Brisbane and Melbourne). It found them to be inappropriate due to lack of outdoor space and the fact that medical consultations are being conducted in rooms that do not afford sufficient privacy. The public release of the report has come about since Australia signed the UN Optional Protocol on the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) in 2017.

A group of refugees were injured in an attack on their Port Moresby accommodation on Tuesday night. The refugees, who were previously detained on Manus Island, reported that they were accosted by a group of drunk men and the situation escalated into a fight as they tried to force their way into the accommodation yelling "we will kill you; get out of our country." According to the refugees the police were unable to respond immediately because they had no fuel in their squad car. A policeman reportedly arrived at the scene some hours later and dispersed the crowd with a gunshot fired into the air.

A federal court judge agreed that the government had been “overenthusiastic” in redacting the documents that were given to the lawyers representing the Biloela family. The comments were made in a pre-hearing for the family’s 22 February court date. The documents included discussions between Minister Dutton and the Sri Lankan Government, which the government argues required redacting due to national security concerns. The judge noted he was inclined to agree but reserved his decision about whether their full disclosure would be necessary until the full hearing was underway. The family remains detained on Christmas Island and are engaged in an ongoing legal case to stop their deportation.

The Australian newspaper published a detailed background on the case of the so-called ‘Biloela family’ who are fighting deportation. The article detailed how they came to be in Australia, their asylum history and their experience of detention. It published a follow-up report that the family could be moved into a house owned by the Commonwealth on Christmas Island in anticipation that the legal case may take atleast another year to conclude.  

Latest figures, reported in the Age showed that around 50,000 people who entered Australia by plane and have failed in their asylum claim, remain in Australia. The report stated that in the past month less than two dozen of them were deported, indicating the backlog is growing.    

A detainee at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA) complained of heavy handed treatment by security guards that resulted in him requiring treatment for broken bones twice in the past four months. The detainee claimed that his collar bone was broken when officers pinned him down after he had threatened self-harm. Additionally, he claimed that his elbow was fractured after he was restrained by guards following an altercation. Serco, the company responsible for security at immigration detention facilities in Australia, refused to comment on the first incident and stated that the second incident started when the detainee had damaged property.

Weekly media wrap - 15 February 2020

An International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation has found that the Australian offshore processing regime may have breached international law but there is not enough evidence to prosecute on grounds of crimes against humanity. While ‘cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment’ of asylum seekers was found, this varied over time, and was not done with the purpose of ‘attack’ or on discriminatory grounds, said the ICC. However, it noted that ‘the gravity of the alleged conduct thus appears to have been such that it was in violation of fundamental rules of international law’, but this is not within the jurisdiction of the ICC.  Independent member Andrew Wilkie MP has been raising these issues with the ICC for 5 years and brought the case for crimes against humanity to the ICC. He regarded the report as vindication of the complaint, being a ‘remarkable condemnation’ of the policy.

The Australian OPCAT Network laid out concerns about ‘cruel and arbitrary treatment’ in Australia’s immigration detention system. The report is to the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), ahead of their visits to Australia in 2020. Australia ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) in December 2017.

Further delays are likely in hearing the trauma compensation claims made by 63 people who were asylum seekers held at either Baxter or Woomera detentions centres after 2000. The Commonwealth government appealed to the High Court against a South Australian court decision to allow the lead claimant to re-file his 2012 claim with new evidence about the alleged mistreatment. The claims, mainly of de-humanising treatment causing ongoing psychological problems, are now unlikely to be resolved for another five years, say legal sources. In 2017, the Commonwealth paid $70 million to settle a class action taken on behalf of 1900 asylum seekers held on Manus Island between 2012 and 2016.

Tamils living in India have said are saying that changes to India’s citizenship laws in December last year are discriminatory, and likely to generate departures to countries such as Australia in future. Tamils who have fled Sri Lanka to India are unable to obtain Indian citizenship and restricted in their civil rights. The new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) offers citizenship to non-Muslims fleeing religious persecution from three nearby countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Sri Lanka and Myanmar are not included. The Sri Lankan Navy says irregular migration from Sri Lanka to Australia and New Zealand saw a sharp increase in 2019.

 A group of eight young Indonesian fishermen, jailed in Australia as people smugglers ten years ago, have sought are seeking the Federal Court to allow appeals which may quash their convictions. Their claim is that they were as young as 12 years old at the time, but the Australian government wrongly imprisoned, rather than deported, them. West Australian courts accepted wrist x-ray tests which suggested they were older, but the government ignored later advice from the Human Rights Commission that the tests were flawed, and 120 Indonesians were wrongly jailed in adult prisons. The Commission is also considering further complaints that they young men have been victims of racial discrimination.

In a wide-ranging interview with Patricia Karvelas on ABC Radio National, Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie was repeatedly asked about her secret deal with the Australian government on redeployment of offshore detainees. The main comment extracted was that she would like to see all moved to “where they need to go... so they can get on with their lives”, but not those who are security risks.

Journalist Osman Faruqi wrote a reflective article about the use of the Christmas Island detention facility for quarantine of potential coronavirus victims. The protection of “us” is the theme, which he believes that that still means white Australians.

Weekly media wrap – 9 February 2020

The government has committed to a revised and more flexible approach to English language programs offered to humanitarian refugees and alternative methods of connecting refugees with employment. This follows a recent review of Australia’s humanitarian refugee resettlement program which calls for significant reform to language and employment services. Only a small minority of refugees are completing the 1,000 hours of free English classes provided and the refugee unemployment rate remains high.

As part of these reforms, refugees will be incentivised to resettle in regional areas. While over 70 per cent of refugees are currently settling in the major cities of Sydney Brisbane and Melbourne, there is now a target of 50 per cent of humanitarian arrivals to be settled in regional centres by 2022. A new Refugee and Migrant Services Advisory Council is being established to engage businesses and encourage new training and employment programs. Refugee advocacy and service organisations have welcomed the government’s focus on employment as a key aspect of settlement.

Clashes erupted between of thousands of asylum seekers and security forces on the Greek island of Lesbos, amid escalating tensions due to poor and severely overcrowded conditions of the migrant camps and delays in processing. Extra squads of riot police were called in, and teargas was used on the protestors, who are mainly Afghan asylum seekers. The United Nations has called on authorities to move thousands of refugees currently on Greek islands to the mainland.

Weekly media wrap - 4 February 2020

Eighteen men who were held in Papua New Guinea’s Bomana immigration detention centre were released and moved to three hotels in Port Moresby. The eighteen men were the final remaining group of 53 men who had been arrested by PNG authorities in August 2019. Refugee advocates have expressed concern for the health and wellbeing of this group as a result of the detention conditions. 

New data from the Australian Department of Home Affairs shows expenditure of $6.1 million in 2018-19 on flights transferring refugees and asylum seekers interstate and between detention centres last year. The questions on notice also showed the department spent $111 million on legal costs in 2018-19, which is a $19 million increase from the 2017-18 spend. 

The Tamil family detained on Christmas Island were unaware that coronavirus evacuees from the Chinese city of Wuhan would be quarantined on the island, until they were told by a journalist. The family are currently the sole inhabitants of the island’s detention centre. 

A landmark decision by the United Nations Human Rights Committee found it unlawful to force ‘climate refugees’ to return to their home countries. The Committee considered a challenge brought by Kiribati man, Mr Ioane Teitiota. While the committee found he was not at imminent risk, it did find that such claims may be upheld in future as the impacts of climate change worsen. The decision is non-binding but is expected to pave the way for more claims from people in the Pacific.

Weekly media wrap - 24 December 2019

More than 40 people who were transferred from Manus Island to Australia for medical treatment under the recently repealed medevac law are reportedly being held on one floor of a Mantra hotel in the inner north of Melbourne under guard. The hotel is designated as an ‘alternative place of accommodation’. Reports from this group indicate that they have no access outside of the hotel unless they apply to visit the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation detention centre in Broadmeadows, and that some men have been in the hotel for months without adequate medical treatment. The Human Rights Commission condemned the detention of the transferees after inspecting conditions this week.

As part of an advertising campaign, the Department of Home Affairs created horoscopes to discourage Sri Lankans from seeking asylum in Australia by boat. The material, obtained under freedom of information laws, imagined various negative predictions for each star sign if they ‘illegally’ travelled to Australia by boat. 

A UNSW survey of more than 1000 refugees and asylum seekers found people with uncertain, temporary visas were more likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and depression than those with permanent visas. The survey also showed that people with these uncertain visas were also found to be more socially engaged and more involved in the Australian community.

In the US, the Trump administration proposed additional mandatory limits for asylum seekers, specifically targeting migrants who have committed certain crimes. Under the proposal, asylum seekers would be found ineligible for crimes committed in the US such as: a felony under federal or state law, alien smuggling or harbouring, illegal re-entry, crime involving criminal street gang activity, domestic violence (including with no conviction) and offences related to false identification.

Weekly media wrap - 16 December 2019

Finance Minister Matthias Corman denied there had been any government deal with Senator Jacqui Lambie about the Medevac repeal legislation passed last week. On national security grounds, Senator Lambie remains silent about what she believes was promised. Speculation has been that pursuit of the New Zealand resettlement offer will be resumed once alternative options, such as the US transfers, have been exhausted. Home Affairs Minister Dutton has downplayed the NZ offer, emphasising the need to keep refugee boats stopped. 

Labor’s Senator Keneally called for Minister Dutton to comment on how a national security briefing critical of the repealed Medevac legislation was leaked to News Corp and subsequently published. Home Affairs referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police, who have not been able to identify the source. Senator Keneally has asked the Minister to have all emails from one of his staff members who was in contact with the journalist who published the story handed over to police for examination.

In a speech at Deakin University, Labor backbencher Peter Khalil called for more tangible support for refugees from rich countries, including accepting significant numbers for resettlement, and substantial financial contributions from countries who refuse. He said the UN Global Refugee Forum next week is an opportunity to develop viable plans for the current crisis. 

At the International Court of Justice hearing in The Hague, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was present to hear the case against Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention through its actions against the Rohingya people. The case alleges mass murder, rape and expulsion and seeks emergency measures to prevent further violence. It has been brought by The Gambia, supported by Canada, Netherlands and the 57-country Organisation for Islamic Cooperation. Only once previously – in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia – has the ICJ ruled that genocide was committed. 

Weekly media wrap - 9 December 2019

The medevac legislation was repealed by the Senate following extensive debates and negotiations with crossbenchers. The repeal bill dismantles the legislation that was passed earlier this year which allowed doctors to determine whether refugees in offshore facilities should be transferred to Australia for medical treatment, with full discretion now to be returned to ministers. Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie, who held the crucial vote needed to repeal the laws, refused to reveal the details of her negotiations with the government, insisting it was a matter of national security and claiming that the outcome would improve medical treatment for refugees being held in offshore detention. 

The medevac repeal has been widely condemned by Australian doctors and human rights and refugee advocacy organisations. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed disappointment at the repeal and urged the government to accept New Zealand’s offer to resettle asylum seekers. 

Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that NZ’s longstanding offer to resettle refugees from Australia’s offshore detention locations remains on the table. When asked whether Australia would accept the offer, Prime Minister Scott Morison replied that Australia remains committed to ensuring those on Nauru are resettled. Further, Senator Lambie refused to respond to speculation regarding the New Zealand resettlement offer forming part of her medevac repeal negotiations. 

The Australian Senate called on the government to expedite the asylum claims for two gay Saudi journalists and sought acknowledgement for the significant risk they face due to their sexuality. The two men have been detained for over a month following their arrival at an Australian airport on valid tourist visas. International news organisations have urged the Australian Government to grant the men asylum and release them from detention, warning that many media outlets around the world are closely monitoring this case. 

A new report released by advocacy groups stated that Australia’s offshore detention regime will cost Australia taxpayers $1.2 billion over the next three years, on top of the $9 billion spent on offshore processing and onshore mandatory detention between 2016 and 2020. The ‘At What Cost’ report by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Save the Children and GetUp found the cost is equivalent to over $573,000 per year on each asylum seeker and refugee being held offshore, whereas detaining asylum seekers on the Australian mainland or keeping them in the community on bridging visas would be significantly cheaper. 

Weekly media wrap - 1 December 2019

Jacqui Lambie released a statement this week that outlined her position on the medevac repeal bill, saying she will support the repeal only if the government meets one undisclosed condition. This condition was not revealed on national security grounds. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported that Lambie canvassed with the government a potential third-country resettlement deal for those still on Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Sri Lankan asylum seeker Shaminda Kanapathi, who is in Port Moresby, made a last-minute appeal to Senator Lambie, saying to media that the repeal would have severe consequences. Meanwhile, 5040 doctors have signed an open letter to the Australian Parliament, advocating for the medevac legislation to remain in place.

The Guardian reports that there was no written record of the advice provided by the Australian Border Force commissioner that led to a family of Tamil asylum seekers from Biloela being kept in detention on Christmas Island while waiting for a court date. The court is expected to decide if the government properly considered whether the youngest child is owed protection. The rest of the family have had their claims rejected. The four asylum seekers are the only residents of the Christmas Island detention centre. 

Wilson Security settled out of court with a refugee who alleges she was raped while being held in detention on Nauru. The Australian Government contracted Wilson Security to operate security at the Manus Island and Nauru regional processing centres. The case was scheduled to begin in the Victorian supreme court, but the parties reached a settlement the day it was due to begin. This settlement ends a five year legal battle.

The Scanlon Foundation’s 2019 national Mapping Social Cohesion survey report was released this week. The survey found that 61% of Australians disapprove of asylum seekers making their way here by boat, and 47% have little or no concern about the treatment of asylum seekers in PNG and Nauru.