Hundreds of protesters gathered outside of State Library Victoria on July 22 to demand permanent visas for refugees.
Refugee advocates call for federal government to ease family reunification process. ABC Ballarat / By Rochelle Kirkham
Earlier this year the federal government created a new visa pathway, called Resolution of Status, for 20,000 people who held or applied for a Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) and Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) before February 2023.
About 4,000 of these have been granted since February and the Department of Home Affairs promises to process the remaining 16,500 applications within the next seven months.
Ms Dahal says receiving their Resolution of Status ends 11 years of torture and punishment.
But the real celebration will begin the day her family is reunited.
Millions of dollars in detention money went to Pacific politicians. By Nick McKenzie, Michael Bachelard and Amelia Ballinger, SMH
Financial data, internal emails and whistleblower testimony implicate Home Affairs’ lead contractors – Broadspectrum, Canstruct and Paladin – in suspected systemic misuse of taxpayer dollars in Nauru and Papua New Guinea…………..
………….Home Truths, an investigation series by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes, can reveal that, on Nauru, a money trail that began in Home Affairs ended with multimillion-dollar payments to businesses controlled by powerful politicians and suspected kickbacks to the island’s political kingmaker, David Adeang…………
……..Queensland-based family company Canstruct, which was paid $1.82 billion over five years to run the Nauru centre after Broadspectrum pulled out, confirmed that one arrangement – to pay millions to a company linked to Nauru’s then president to deliver water – had the backing of Home Affairs.
Australia’s immoral asylum policies. By Roderick St George, P & I
Whereas once upon a time Australia was regarded as a country of goodwill, tolerance and decency, it is now reputed, worldwide, to be the country with the most inhumane treatment towards refugees.
Australia’s immoral asylum policies. By Roderick St George, P & I
Morrison government struck secret deal to pay PNG to take refugees and asylum seeker. By Ben Doherty, The Guardian
In December 2021, Australia announced it had ended offshore processing in PNG but did not declare it had signed a secret agreement to pay PNG to provide welfare and support for the people still held there.
Video [2:04] : Human rights group urge end to offshore detention. Reported by Kath Landers, SBS World News (19 July 2023)
It’s been 10 years since the Rudd Government pledged to put an end to asylum seekers arriving by boat, setting in motion a policy that left many lives in limbo.
A decade on and human rights groups continue to call for the permanent resettlement of those impacted, and a royal commission into Australia’s handling of offshore detention.
Story features : Ogy Simic (ASRC), Elnaz and Ella (asylum seekers). Reported by Kath Landers. News presented by Janice Petersen
This man plans to walk 1,000km from Ballarat to Sydney. Here's why. By Biwa Kwan, SBS News
Neil Para says he hopes to raise awareness of the plight of thousands of refugees who are living in the Australian community with limited or no access to working rights, Medicare or educational support.
Margaret O'Donnell from Ballarat Rural Australians for Refugees. said "The uncertainty is just no good for people's mental health. They can contribute - and are contributing - to society. They've suffered long enough."
This man plans to walk 1,000km from Ballarat to Sydney. Here's why. By Biwa Kwan, SBS News
This was published 10 years ago (19 July 2013) : Kevin Rudd to send asylum seekers who arrive by boat to Papua New Guinea. By Bianca Hall and Jonathan Swan, Sydney Morning Herald
In the strongest line a modern Labor prime minister has taken against asylum seekers, Mr Rudd said: ''As of today, asylum seekers who come here by boat without a visa will never be settled in Australia''.
This resulted in the regime of cruelty under which thousands of men, women and children suffered years in appalling conditions in detention on Nauru and Manus Island.
Ten years on, approximately 80 individuals still remain in a state of abandonment and statelessness in Papua New Guinea. These individuals, who have also been subjected to offshore detention, require immediate action to ensure their safety and well-being. Grandmothers urge the government to prioritise the evacuation of these individuals, providing them with the necessary support and care they desperately need.
Refugee mental health: temporary visas don't improve depression. By Isabelle Dubach, UNSW (University of New South Wales)
UNSW psychologists have compared the long-term psychological and social consequences of changing visa status, showing that any form of temporary visa is associated with worse mental health in refugees compared to permanent secure visas.
Yousuf and his dad provide for more than a dozen family members — some are refugees, thousands of miles away. By Nibir Khan and Craig Fitzsimmons, ABC News
"If I stop supporting my families back home, there's a lot of consequences to bear …”
Myanmar refugees granted resettlement in third countries are stuck in Thailand. Frontier Myanmar
Khin Nyein Thit was jailed in 1995 for participating in a peaceful demonstration, spending seven years in prison, and also helped organise protests during the Saffron Revolution in 2007. After the military overthrew the elected National League for Democracy government in February 2021, she immediately went into hiding, and fled to Thailand with her family in September that year.
She’s one of over a thousand refugees who have been approved for resettlement in either the US or Australia, but haven’t gotten permission to leave, possibly because Thailand fears encouraging a fresh influx of refugees. With exit permits seemingly stalled indefinitely, sources say resettlement approvals have also dried up.
Myanmar refugees granted resettlement in third countries are stuck in Thailand. Frontier Myanmar
From a refugee camp to qualifying for the Basketball World Cup, the Cairns Taipan's Bul Kuol is at the top of his game By Anthea Moodie, ABC News
Despite Kuol's busy schedule, he and eight other NBL players found time during the off-season to give back to Canberra's basketball community, which Kuol said had given him so much.
The sound of bouncing basketballs echoing across the court filled with children's laughter was a sign of the success of Kuol's community basketball clinic.
"I'm a people person, we have a huge community here, huge Sudanese community, basketball community," Kuol said.
Donald Trump Junior vs Novak Djokovic: A tale of two visas. By Abul Rizvi, Pearls and Irritations
While both Donald Trump Junior and Novak Djokovic were granted visas to enter Australia, the stark difference in how the two cases were managed highlight the difference in approaches of the Albanese and Morrison Governments to controversial visitors.
Donald Trump Junior vs Novak Djokovic: A tale of two visas. By Abul Rizvi, Pearls and Irritations
July Letter Writing Kit from Australian Refugee Action Network
Ten years on, thousands of people are still in limbo, having endured years of trauma in offshore detention in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, and ongoing uncertainty as they are denied permanent resettlement in Australia. Even though refugees were removed from Nauru in June, they continue to live with the uncertainty of not having permanent residence and a settled future.
July Letter Writing Kit from Australian Refugee Action Network
Home Affairs unlawfully held 115 people in five-year period, SMH & The Age, Home Affairs unlawfully held 115 people in five-year period. SMH. Charlotte Grieve
The Commonwealth Ombudsman also noted in 2018 that Home Affairs has relied on paper records for historical citizenship information, which contributed to unlawful detention cases.
Bradley said the fact that unlawful detention was ongoing demonstrated Home Affairs had not sufficiently invested in technology and management systems, which he said was symptomatic of a departmental culture that did not prioritise the wellbeing of detainees.
“It’s a department that became progressively more adversarial in outlook and approach to the people who fall under its control,” he said.
Advocates claim government has 'abandoned' election promise to bump up refugee quota for 2023-24, SBS Dari
The size of Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program is usually announced as part of the federal budget each year but despite coming to power with a commitment to almost double it over time, the Labor government is yet to come up with a number for the 2023-24 financial year.
Mapping the Use of Hotels as Alternative Places of Detention (APODs). The Kaldor Centre UNSW, Dr Andrew Burridge, Associate Professor Daniel Ghezelbash
This interactive map documents hotels known to be used for immigration detention across Australia, creating the first coast-to-coast visualisation of a practice that has operated largely in the shadows for two decades.
Australia first introduced Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) 20 years ago. Since then, hotels – including both major chains and independent operators – have been used as places of detention, including for people who have sought asylum. Yet, there is no publicly available list of APODs in current or previous use.
Dutch government collapses over immigration policy. SMH by Bart H. Meijer and Anthony Deutsch
Tensions came to a head this week when Rutte demanded support for a proposal to limit the entrance of children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands and to make families wait at least two years before they can be united.
This latest proposal went too far for the small Christian Union and liberal D66, causing a stalemate.
Dutch government collapses over immigration policy. SMH by Bart H. Meijer and Anthony Deutsch
Lacking 'human decency' but legal, judge rules in refugee hotel detention case, SBS By Biwa Kwan
[My finding of the legality of the decision] should not, however, be understood as my approving the immigration detention the applicant was required to endure," he said in his decision.
"I can only wonder at the lack of thought, indeed the lack of care and humanity in detaining a person with psychiatric and psychological problems in a hotel for 14 months.
Lacking 'human decency' but legal, judge rules in refugee hotel detention case, SBS By Biwa Kwan
Federal Court rules indefinite hotel detention legal. By Ryma Tchier, ABC News
The Federal Court has ruled that a refugee held in immigration detention in Melbourne hotels was not detained unlawfully. Mostafa 'Moz' Azimitabar was held in immigration detention in two Melbourne hotels for 15 months... before being released in January 2021.
Federal Court rules indefinite hotel detention legal. By Ryma Tchier, ABC News