In the media
In Court
A High Court decision on two cases involving Ministerial Intervention on visa matters will require a review of the Ministerial Guidelines and could impact visa decisions as far back as 2016. After a class action on the issue of detention was discontinued, people’s accounts of their experience in Manus Island were combined with AI imagery to tell their stories.
Afghanistan
A Sydney mother and son have assisted almost 100 Afghan children to evacuate to Australia in the past year. Meanwhile Canada is on track to achieve its aim of resetting 40,000 Afghan refugees by the end of the year.
International
New Zealand amended its immigration detention laws to enable asylum seekers who arrive ‘en masse’ by ship to be detained for up to 28 days for processing. Around 20,000 Sudanese people have fled into Chad, with 100,000 more expected if the conflict continues. Canada announced a new policy to settle more skilled refugees as one way to address their labour shortage. The UK government announced a plan to house asylum seekers on a barge off the Dorset coast. Documents obtained under freedom of information show the UK Coastguard ignored 19 distress calls from people on boats that were floundering in the English Channel.
In policy
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, expressed hope for a better approach to people seeking asylum in Australia. His address to the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness can be viewed here. The Refugee Council of Australia released the 2023 review of Australia’s refugee policy using the Refugee Response Index Methodology. Activists on the annual Palm Sunday rally called for permanent residency to the 12,000 people who were subject to the fast track assessment system.
In research
The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute published the findings of their work with children in immigration detention. A study by Murdoch University and University of South Australia found that the people found Australia’s asylum process as distressing as the circumstances that led them to flee their homelands . A survey of over 27,00 people across 26 countries found that people prefer to admit more asylum seekers into their country rather than provide financial assistance to host countries. The University of Melbourne released the Behind the Wire report into people’s experience of indefinite detention by Australia.
New releases
Cruel Care, a book by Jordana Silverstein, published by Monash University Publishing.
From Bhutan to Blacktown, a book by Om Dhungel and James Button, published by NewSouth Books.
Watander: My Countryman, a film by Muzafar Ali and Jolyon Hoff, produced by Light Sound Art Film