In the media
In detention
The ABC profiled the situation of a refugee, with an intellectual disability, who has been in detention since he was 15 years old, while his mother lives in the community. The government says that his ongoing detention is based on character grounds.
In Court
A Federal Court judge ordered the government to reassess their refusal of a citizenship application which effectively caused a child to become stateless. The High Court agreed to hear an appeal by a convicted people smuggler who was denied a protection visa. The case will test whether Australia’s deterrence policy is punitive.
In Nauru
Leaked documents revealed that Wilson Security collected intelligence for the Australian government on the people detained in Nauru. A company that runs prisons in America was awarded the contract for detention centre operations in Nauru.
In the community
SBS profiled business start-ups by refugees in Australia, highlighting the fact that they are more likely to start their own business than other migrant groups.
International
NGOs in France argued that the lack of support to asylum seekers in France is causing people to attempt the channel crossing. The war in Ukraine and conflict in Myanmar appears to have caused the Japanese government to consider accepting more refugees. Refugees in Cameroon will get national ID cards that will enable them to access basic services including education, banking and healthcare. Documents revealed that of the 16,000 people who were issued with notices of their potential removal under the UK’s new inadmissibility policy, only 21 were removed have been removed.
In policy
MP Andrew Wilkie re-introduced the Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Immigration Detention bill to Parliament and MP Dai Le said she will push the government to increase the humanitarian quota and speed up refugee processing. Advocates called for the government to implement measures that will enable skilled asylum seekers already in Australia to more easily contribute to the workforce shortage. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, more than 211,000 people applied for resettlement to Australia. Australia welcomed the first group of refugees under the new community sponsorship program. An Australian former refugee co-founded a global organisation that advocates for refugees to have direct input into policies that affect them.
In research
The Refugee Council of Australia published its review of access to asylum, its first report under the new global Refugee Response Index. The UNSW Kaldor Centre released a Data Lab containing data on Tribunal and Court matters concerning asylum seekers and refugees. The Comparative Network on Refugee Externalisation Policies (CONREP) published a paper into the harmful narratives used to discuss refugees, and proposed a better way forward. The Refugee Law Initiative published the webinars from their 2022 conference. Michelle Foster and Cathryn Costello examined the question of differing reactions to refugee situations against international law that prohibits discrimination. The Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness opened registrations for their 2023 intensive course.
New releases
Unpacking the Australian offshore processing policy, an episode in the Australia: Inside Out podcast, published by Menzies Australia Institute, Kings College London.