Weekly media wrap - 10 November

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told a NSW Liberal party function that the Abbott Government would not reconsider its policy of turning back asylum seeker boats. Mr Morrison said that '[t]he government will never, ever move away from the policies that we know work'.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs claimed that Scott Morrison is using children in detention as 'bargaining chips' to facilitate the passage of the Abbott government’s proposed changes to the Migration Act. A report delivered by the Parliamentary Committee into Human Rights states that the proposed changes are incompatible with Australia's human rights obligations.

A high-level roundtable that was run in July 2014 by the Centre for Policy Development, Australia 21 and the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law released its report. The report's key recommendations include lifting Australia's humanitarian intake to at least 25,000, processing asylum seekers in their home countries before they flee, and better treatment of asylum seekers in Australia.

Tensions at Regional Processing Centres on Nauru and Manus Island continue to rise, with reports from Nauru that an Iranian refugee was stoned and then beaten by a group of local men. The PNG Government has announced that it will begin the process of finalising refugee status determinations and will provide training to refugees in English, the national language of Tok Pisin and PNG culture in a purpose built facility.

In other international news, a boat carrying asylum seekers has capsized off the coast of Istanbul with reports that at least 24 people are dead. UNHCR welcomed a new set of international guidelines calling for countries to adopt a more gender-sensitive approach to dealing with female refugees, asylum seekers and stateless people in order to take account of the abuses they frequently suffer.

Weekly media wrap - 3 November

Australia will persist with its plan to resettle asylum seekers found to be genuine refugees in Cambodia

Four teenage refugees were allegedly assaulted by on Nauru this week. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and other government MPs are reluctant to interfere in the security matters of another sovereign nation. Calls continue for improved medical assistance to be provided to detainees held in offshore detention .

Australia has deported another Hazara asylum seeker. The Refugee Review Tribunal believe he can live safely in Kabul, rather than his home-town in the Afghani provice of Ghazni.

Labor party MPs have watered down suggestions that their policy on ‘turn backs’ has changed, after Shadow Immigration spokesman Richard Marles backed away from his suggestion that Labor would consider ‘turn backs’ when in government

According to The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the Assad regime has attacked a refugee camp in Abedin, killing at least ten civilians.  At an international conference in Germany convened last week world leaders urged greater investment to tackle the ongoing humanitarian crisis and increased intakes from host countries.

In other international developments, the UNHCR is planning to ramp up operations to support displaced persons in eastern Ukraine as winter approaches. Italy is winding down Mare Nostrum, their search and rescue operation, after a boat disaster in which more than 300 migrants drowned. It will be replaced by Operation Triton, a more limited border security operation that does not have a search and rescue function, and is run by the European Union. It has received support from the UK, who perceive such functions as “pull factors”, encouraging people to make the dangerous crossing. 

Weekly media wrap - 27 October

Australian Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie wrote to the International Criminal Court to seek an investigation into the treatment of asylum seekers, to determine whether Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the 19 members of the cabinet have contravened international conventions.

The Guardian obtained information that Immigration Minister Scott Morrison employed a rarely used clause in the Migration Act that allows him to issue a ‘conclusive certificate’. The certificate blocks permanent protection on grounds of national interest. Asylum seeker advocates say that refugees are being denied natural justice and there is a lack of clarity on how national interest is being defined.

The future of the migration and maritime power legislation amendment bill is uncertain, as it is facing difficulty passing through the senate. Minister Morrison said failing to pass it would add to budget costs and keep children in detention. Critics claim that this bill will allow an increase to the powers of the immigration minister and will limit the role of the courts by bypassing the review process.

A group of asylum seekers won a Federal Court appeal against the immigration department over the unintentional exposure of their personal details in a significant data breach in February 2014. The Immigration Minister has been ordered to pay the asylum seekers' costs.

Further delays are expected for refugees to be resettled in Papua New Guniea, as Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced plans for a new policy with increased focus on consultations and building public awareness of the scheme.

A senate estimates hearing was told that the Abbott government spent more than one billion dollars this financial year to house approximately 2200 asylum seekers in offshore detention centres in PNG and Nauru. A spokeswoman for the Immigration Minister defended the costs as almost $100 million less than the previous financial year.

Cambodian officials reportedly travelled to Australia this week, prior to flying to Nauru to meet refugees to discuss their option to be resettled in Cambodia. Cambodian Interior Ministry said that refugees would be given a 'realistic' picture of contemporary Cambodia.

Lebanon has closed its borders to Syrians fleeing their country's civil war as refugees, with the exception of ‘emergency cases’. The border will remain open for people traveling for other purposes.

Weekly media wrap - 20 October 2014

Asylum seeker advocates claim the Australian government’s proposed bill to reintroduce temporary protection visas contains controversial hidden laws. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the bill ‘reinforces the Government’s powers to undertake maritime turnbacks and introduces rapid processing and streamlined review arrangements’. Critics claim that hidden laws would limit scrutiny of the Government’s actions and may reinterpret Australia’s obligations under the UN Refugee Convention.

The High Court considered the matter of 157 asylum seekers who were detained on the high seas earlier this year. Lawyers for the defendants produced evidence to show the asylum seekers were given no opportunity to claim asylum during their detention.

In a separate case, the Federal Circuit Court found that infants born to detained asylum-seekers do not have the right to an Australian visa.

A group of 50 Vietnamese asylum seekers will be released to live in the Western Australian community. The group, who are predominantly catholic, fled religious persecution in Vietnam.

In an interview with Fairfax, incoming Indonesian president Joko Widodo said that it is unacceptable for the Australian navy to enter Indonesian waters uninvited while turning back asylum seeker boats.

The Italian government operation to rescue asylum seekers at sea concludes in two weeks. The operation has rescued 140,000 asylum seekers in the past year. Critics are concerned that the closure of the operation will lead to more asylum seeker deaths at sea.

Weekly media wrap - 13 October 2014

The Australian government will investigate reports that Zainullah Naseri, an Afghan Hazara asylum seeker, was kidnapped and tortured by the Taliban after he was deported from Australia in August. The Saturday Paper last week reported that Naseri was kidnapped by the Taliban at a roadside checkpoint and tortured for two days before escaping.

The High Court of Australia is hearing an appeal from a 51-year-old Hazara man who was told by the Refugee Review Tribunal in 2013 that he could return to Kabul and avoid persecution if he changed his occupation from truck driver to jeweller.

The Australian Federal Police will investigate claims that staff of Immigration Minister Scott Morrison leaked part of a confidential security report from the Nauru detention centre that included allegations staff from the charity Save the Children were encouraging asylum seekers to self-harm.

A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia found more than 80 per cent of 139 pediatricians believe the mandatory detention of asylum seeker children amounts to "child abuse". 

A representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees praised Germany for agreeing to take 20,000 Syrian refugees, while criticizing other European countries for not accepting more.

Weekly media wrap - 6 October 2014

The UNHCR appealed for the rethink of global humanitarian financing, as worldwide displacement numbers reach 51.2 million. Since the beginning of 2014, the number of asylum seekers in industrialised countries has increased by one quarter, to 330,700.

The UNHCR and international human rights organisations criticised Australia’s deal with Cambodia, which provides refugees on Nauru the option to resettle there.

The Australian government will launch an inquiry into misuse of official information by Save the Children workers on Nauru. CEO Paul Ronalds has denied the claims, while Greens Senator Sarah Hansen-Young has suggested the inquiry is intended to distract attention from investigation of claims of sexual abuse of children by guards. Data from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection shows that of the 1102 asylum seekers currently held in detention on Christmas Island, 128 children self-harmed between January 2013 and March 2014, while 89 adults did the same.

Outgoing administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean territories, Jon Stanhope, heavily criticised the government’s asylum policy. Former WA Liberal Party MP Barry Haase will replace Stanhope when his term ends next week.

Two asylum seekers alleged they were tortured after being returned to Sri Lanka by Australia. The Sri Lankan high commissioner to Australia rejected these, and other similar claims.

Expansion of the Manus Island detention centre has stopped amidst unrest among the local population in relation to its impact on the community.

Weekly media wrap - 29 September 2014

In his ‘State of the World’ address this week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon warned of ‘turbulence’ ahead: ‘Not since the end of the Second World War have there been so many refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers’.

Asylum seekers on Nauru found to be refugees will now have the option of resettlement in Cambodia, after an agreement was reached with the Australian government. A memorandum of understanding outlined that the initial duration of the arrangement will be four years, for which Cambodia will receive $40 million in assistance from the Australian government. 

Advocates and refugees in Nauru reported that news of the Cambodia deal resulted in seven children and teenagers attempting self-harm. The reports come amid an announcement by the government of Nauru that health, legal and other services may no longer be delivered to detained asylum seekers due to the country’s dire financial situation.

The Australian government will seek to reintroduce three-year temporary protection visas (TPVs) after a deal was struck between Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and Clive Palmer. Also negotiated in the deal was a five-year ‘safe haven enterprise visa’, which will require asylum seekers to work in designated regional areas for a period of time.

The Guardian obtained six letters written by gay asylum seekers on Manus Island, describing their fears of being resettled in Papua New Guinea, where homosexuality is illegal. Meanwhile, Greens Leader Kim Booth called for a billion dollar asylum seeker centre to be built in Tasmania to boost the economy and address human rights issues.

Weekly media wrap - 22 September 2014

The Australian Government released a report one year after the launch of Operation Sovereign Borders, confirming that 12 asylum seeker boats have been turned back under the policy. These boats carried a total of 383 asylum seekers. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison referenced the release to reaffirm the success of the policy.

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney renewed calls to increase the humanitarian refugee intake from 13,750 to 20,000, given the lower number of boat arrivals to Australia. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said that the Labor party would consider the policy.

The United Nations called upon Egypt and other North African and European nations to investigate the allegations that people smugglers deliberately sank an asylum seeker boat in the Mediterranean. It emerged that two other asylum seeker vessels also sank during the week while attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The International Organization for Migration estimated that 700 people died in these incidents. 

Weekly media wrap - 15 September 2014

The High Court of Australia ruled that asylum seekers cannot be prevented from applying for a permanent protection visa if they have already accepted a temporary visa. The Court judgment set further limits on the circumstances in which the Australian government can detain asylum seekers. In other detention-related news, a Guardian Australia investigation revealed that asylum seekers were placed in solitary confinement for days on end at Villawood detention centre.

Asylum seekers who arrived after 19 July 2013 could be offered temporary protection visas (TPVs) and be allowed to live in the Australian community. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison is in negotiation with crossbenches to allow the use of such TPVs. Fairfax media described the policy announcement as a ‘backflip’ as the Minister previously said all asylum seekers arriving by boat after 19 July 2013 ‘will not return to live in Australia’.

Mr Morrison declared the asylum seeker policy debate ‘over’, saying Operation Sovereign Borders has achieved ‘extraordinary results’ by effectively stopping the boats. Meanwhile, Fairfax media reported that ‘scores’ of asylum seekers continue to arrive in Jakarta each week.

In Geneva, incoming United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, criticised Australia’s asylum policy for ‘leading to a chain of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention and possible torture following return to home countries’. Mr Morrison rejected the criticism.

Weekly media wrap - 8 September 2014

The Manus Island detention centre is being ‘wound down’ as it emerged Immigration Minister Scott Morrison ordered asylum seekers be sent to the Republic of Nauru instead. Leaked reports from the island described increasing self-harm, fighting, and the use of isolation rooms, although government accounts state the centre returned to normal following the death of Iranian man Reza Barati during violence in February. This week, Hamid Kehazaei, a 24-year-old asylum seeker from Iran, died in a Brisbane hospital after a cut to his foot suffered at the Manus Island detention centre became infected.

The Australian Red Cross told staff that 500 jobs will be cut as the immigration department reduces client numbers in its asylum seeker assistance scheme and community assistance support programs from 12,000 to 5000 by June. Security firm Serco retained preferred bidder status for the contract to operate Australia’s onshore immigration detention facilities. Prime Minister Tony Abbott appointed Immigration Secretary Martin Bowles to head the Department of Health for the next five years.

 Mr Morrison announced 412 asylum seekers had returned to their countries through voluntary return packages last month, including one person from Syria, six Iraqis and 48 Iranians. 

The former chief of the Australian Defence Force, Admiral Chris Barrie, criticised Australia’s immigration system, likening detention centres to jails and saying that the government’s policies were a ‘mess that reflect badly on all of us’. The Russian activist rock band Pussy Riot also compared detention centres to modern-day Russian gulags.

Internationally, a court in Sri Lanka found the government did have the right to deport 60 Pakistani refugees despite the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees arguing this breached the principle of non-refoulement. The UNHCR reported more than one million people have been displaced by the conflict in Ukraine, including 814,000 Ukrainians now in Russia. And Uruguay became the first Latin American country to offer full resettlement to Syrian refugees, accepting 120 people from camps in Lebanon who will start arriving at the end of the month.