Boats, borders and bad guys: How a super department has come unstuck. By Michael Bachelard and Nick McKenzie, SMH

Two official inquiries, one by former police chief Christine Nixon and the other by former public servant Martin Parkinson, are equally scathing. Commissioned by Labor’s Home Affairs Minister, Clare O’Neil, they found criminals can eke out a 10-year crime spree on temporary visas alone. The number of people in visa limbo has been rising for years, and appeals are slowing processing times almost to a halt.

As for technology, Parkinson found at Australia’s borders it was, in some cases, 40 years old.

Nixon concluded that the laser focus over the past decade on stopping boat arrivals had taken attention from the department’s core business of helping legitimate migrants arrive and settle, and repelling or expelling the rest.

Boats, borders and bad guys: How a super department has come unstuck. By Michael Bachelard and Nick McKenzie, SMH

‘No one’s indispensable’: Former minister takes aim at Home Affairs. By Michael Bachelard and Nick McKenzie, SMH

In an interview, Andrews said she had observed unease among senior public servants about attempts by Pezzullo to centralise power in his office, poor results in the visa processing system and a “massive” staff morale issue. If she had been returned as minister she would have made some “pretty significant” changes, Andrews said.

Asked if the dysfunction was Pezzullo’s responsibility, Andrews said: “It has to be, simply because he’s the secretary of the department.” Quizzed on whether Home Affairs could operate without him she said: “Well, no one’s indispensable.”

‘No one’s indispensable’: Former minister takes aim at Home Affairs. By Michael Bachelard and Nick McKenzie, SMH

The money trail of human misery. By Rachel Withers, The Monthly

We don’t need to wait for tomorrow’s story to know that something has gone deeply wrong here. As with robodebt, obscene amounts of money have been wasted on a system designed to inflict harm, to punish desperate people for having the temerity to seek help. In this case, many appear to have enriched themselves off the back of it, lining their pockets with blood money. Australian politicians have long profited politically off this trail of human misery. But perhaps only a royal commission can get to the bottom of where the money has gone, and measure the true cost of the system we all enabled.

The money trail of human misery. By Rachel Withers, The Monthly

‘Love is the answer’: the Kurdish refugees finding art and healing in a country that imprisoned them. By Susan Chenery, The Guardian

A new documentary about their journey, Freedom Is Beautiful, will screen this weekend in Melbourne. Directed by Angus McDonald, the film follows their flight from Iran, through the years in detention, to finally being able to make new lives in Australia – albeit still not fully free.

‘Love is the answer’: the Kurdish refugees finding art and healing in a country that imprisoned them. By Susan Chenery, The Guardian

Nauru doctor: Where did all the millions go? By Michael Bachelard, Nick McKenzie and Amelia Ballingerr, SMH

Jones says that after his arrival on Nauru on August 5, 2018, many of the children aged 11, 12 and 13 he was treating had been detained for five years. Their every moment – showers, meal times, movements – was timed and monitored by Australian contractors in ways they say were humiliating and debilitating. All were called by their boat number, not their name – a policy he denounces as dehumanising.

Nauru doctor: Where did all the millions go? By Michael Bachelard, Nick McKenzie and Amelia Ballingerr, SMH

Our cruel and costly offshore processing system was a failure. We have a better solution on asylum policy. The Conversation.

As the number of people in need of protection grows every year, it is imperative that unlawful and unsustainable efforts to push the problem elsewhere be reversed. Bringing Australia’s offshore processing policy to an end is an important first step.

But Australia must also look ahead to the challenges and opportunities that forced migration will create in the coming decade.

There is considerable goodwill right now, with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand all signalling a desire to improve their legal frameworks in this area. For instance, Thailand is developing a new “national screening mechanism” to identify refugees, while the Philippines recently revised its systems for determining refugee and statelessness status and has pending legislation on a number of issues.

In return for governments in Southeast Asia adopting reforms, Australia should significantly increase the number of people it resettles from these countries and create other “complementary pathways” to protection. We should also develop more strategic responses in acute crises, just as we did for people fleeing Ukraine last year.

Our cruel and costly offshore processing system was a failure. We have a better solution on asylum policy, The Conversation

Manus contractor boss paid $1.2m to mother working at Home Affairs. By Nick McKenzie and Michael Bachelard, SMH

The majority owner of the company that ran Manus Island’s immigration detention centre insists he was only trying to help his mother, who works in the Home Affairs Department, when he transferred more than $1.2 million to her in a series of payments.

The forerunner to the new National Anti-Corruption Commission has investigated the payments and is due to report its findings soon. Some payments were made while the $500 million asylum seeker contract was under way, and several were incorrectly invoiced as “consulting services” and charged via PayPal.

Manus contractor boss paid $1.2m to mother working at Home Affairs. By Nick McKenzie and Michael Bachelard, SMH

Peter Dutton briefed on bribery investigation before his government signed contract with target, The Guardian, Daniel Hurst

The Australian federal police says it briefed the then home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, on an investigation into alleged bribery one month before his department entered into a new contract with the target of that investigation.

The revelation has prompted the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to demand an explanation from the opposition leader, although there is no suggestion Dutton was personally involved in the contract decision. The Greens called for a royal commission.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/25/peter-dutton-briefed-by-afp-on-bribery-investigation-before-contract-signed-with-probe-target

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.

Refugee advocates call for federal government to ease family reunification process. ABC Ballarat / By Rochelle Kirkham

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.

Millions of dollars in detention money went to Pacific politicians. By Nick McKenzie, Michael Bachelard and Amelia Ballinger, SMH

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

Video [2:04] : Human rights group urge end to offshore detention. Reported by Kath Landers, SBS World News (!9 July 2023)

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.

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

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.

Refugee mental health: temporary visas don't improve depression. By Isabelle Dubach, UNSW (University of New South Wales)

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