As the global refugee crisis continues, Australians can help by participating in a sponsorship program.
VIDEO: Community sponsorship brings relief and support to refugees. ABC News
After growing up Iranian in Ballarat, I know it to be a welcoming place – a hate march won’t change that. By Dellaram Vreeland, The Guardian
Nowadays there are several organisations dedicated to multiculturalism and interfaith promotion and schools are starting to acknowledge a variety of cultural celebrations. The narrative is changing. Migrants are not viewed as foreign entities with everything to take and nothing to give; communities are rallying around refugees and assisting with resettlement, which then has a flow-on effect on the overall economy.
Many rural Australians are dedicating their time to sponsoring refugees from afar. Our food, businesses, the health and education sector, the arts and entertainment scene — all flourish thanks to the contribution of our multicultural communities.
Immigration detention fallout: People released are 'set up to fail', experts say. By Madeleine Wedesweiler, SBS
Dickinson said clients the centre had spoken to were getting headspins from hunger.
"They're not sure how long they're staying in their current accommodation. They're not sure what support is available to them, and they're in limbo and in fear. And then on top of that, they're subjected to incomprehensible conditions and quite extraordinary public debate suggesting they should be locked up forever, more or less," she said.
Some clients said they feel too ashamed to go outside and were significantly impaired by the nature of their release, she added.
Fifth immigration detainee arrested after release due to high court ruling. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
On Thursday the Courier Mail reported that a man was arrested in Queensland after it was realised there was a warrant to return to jail for allegedly breaching his parole conditions before being placed in immigration detention in 2012.
Labor’s preventive detention regime passes Senate as third freed immigration detainee arrested. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
After Labor and the Coalition voted together to bring the bill on, Cash said the government are “finally” doing what the opposition leader had demanded, to allow “law enforcement agencies to lock up high risk individuals who have been roaming free”.
Cash revealed the Coalition will move a “modest” amendment requiring the minister to “report to parliament every time one of these dangerous individuals is released into the community”.
The amendment was voted down, but the Coalition and Labor combined to pass the bill shortly after 6:30pm. It will go to the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Earlier, the Greens senator, Nick McKim, accused the major parties of “a race to the bottom” to demonise refugees, with “xenophobic” legislation that “only applies to foreigners”.
Dutton’s border protection rhetoric is nothing like his border protection record. By Abul Rizvi, P&I
Dutton will know the vast majority of these people will never be removed from Australia and are likely to live in the Australian community for the rest of their lives. But he will nevertheless enjoy making life hell for the Government for as long as he can.
Dutton’s actual border protection record
Most Australians would be surprised to learn that while Dutton was Home Affairs Minister, Australia experienced the biggest labour trafficking scam abusing the asylum system in our history.
Dutton’s border protection rhetoric is nothing like his border protection record. By Abul Rizvi, P&I
Labor’s new laws to re-detain migrants at risk of reoffending to be modelled on Coalition’s anti-terror orders. By Daniel Hurst, The Guardian
The Albanese government is close to finalising new laws to re-detain migrants and refugees deemed to pose an “unacceptable risk” of reoffending, amid an escalating political fight.
High Court reasons on immigration ruling pave way for further legislation. By Daniel Ghezelbash and Anna Talbot, UNSW
The court made it clear that a person must be released from detention when there was no real prospect of them being deported in the foreseeable future. Previously, there was no limit to the length of time people could be detained in immigration detention in Australian law. In fact, people could legally be detained for the rest of their lives without ever being found guilty of a crime.
Opinion : The Australian detention system was established to destroy us, but we refugees are still here. By Behrouz Boochani, The Guardian
This week, I, alongside a group of advocates, refugees and politicians, stepped into the Australian parliament to launch a campaign for a royal commission into the Australian detention system. For me, this moment marked the culmination of a decade of waiting and fighting to expose this system – a surreal and historic moment for refugees who have experienced the brutality and violence of the detention industry.
Labor blames Peter Dutton’s decisions as immigration minister for ‘mess’ of indefinite detention. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
Peter Dutton as immigration minister exercised a discretion allowing the plaintiff, whose case overturned indefinite immigration detention, to reapply for a visa after he was convicted of raping a 10-year-old, the government has revealed.
After weeks of Coalition attacks for its handling of the fallout from the high court’s ruling that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful, the immigration minister, Andrew Giles, hit back in question time on Wednesday by claiming “this ultimately is [Dutton’s] mess”.
Labor to enact ‘preventive detention’ regime after high court reveals reasons for immigration ruling. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
In the reasons published on Tuesday, the judges stated that was when “the constitutionally permissible period of executive detention of an alien who has failed to obtain permission to remain in Australia” comes to an end.
But the judges warned that “release from unlawful detention is not to be equated with a grant of a right to remain in Australia”.
Hysteria: Putting the 12 asylum seeker boat arrivals into context. By Abul Rizvi, P&I
While there is much hysteria from Peter Dutton and the Murdoch press associated with the 12 asylum seekers who recently arrived by boat (it’s a catastrophe apparently), there was less excitement about a new post-pandemic monthly record for primary asylum applications set in October at 2,322. That is now approaching the monthly record of over 2,700 asylum applications set when Peter Dutton was Minister. It seems asylum seekers arriving by boat are much more exciting than those who arrive by plane.
Hysteria: Putting the 12 asylum seeker boat arrivals into context. By Abul Rizvi, P&I
The pain for Labor on immigration detention is not over – especially if the Coalition and Greens team up. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
While their motivations are different, the opposition parties have the numbers to force an inquiry – and prolong the fallout from the high court decision.
… the bipartisan lock-step against some form of inquiry into detention could be about to be broken by the high court’s ruling this month that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful.
Suddenly the political dynamic is very different because the Albanese government is being attacked from left and right about its preparation for the decision and handling of the aftermath.
The Coalition has peppered Labor with questions about why conditions weren’t placed on visas from the moment 92 people in addition to the plaintiff were released; why legislation took a bit over a week to be presented and pass parliament; and why an even more draconian preventive detention regime wasn’t implemented.
The Greens come at the issue from a different perspective: human rights and trying to put a stop to the practice of indefinite detention altogether.
Another 45 people released due to high court ruling on indefinite immigration detention. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
O’Neil said the reason a “second cohort” had been released in addition to the initial 93 was that “we have received advice that this all needs to apply to people who have some kind of legal matter on foot with the commonwealth”.
“So for people, for example, who might be appealing an aspect of minister Giles’ decision-making – those people, we have been advised, we are also required to release.”
“The entire detention cohort has been assessed against the criteria,” she said. “What now awaits us is a period where the reasons for the decisions will be released by the high court.”
Former home affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo sacked. The Guardian
Former home affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo sacked
Anthony Albanese has confirmed that the former home affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo has been sacked.
In a statement, Albanese says:
Earlier today the Governor-General in Council terminated the appointment of Michael Pezzullo as Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs.
This action was based on a recommendation to me by the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Public Service Commissioner, following an independent inquiry by Lynelle Briggs. That inquiry found breaches of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct by Mr Pezzullo. Mr Pezzullo fully cooperated with the inquiry.
I thank Ms Briggs for conducting the inquiry.
Stephanie Foster will continue to act as Secretary of the Department until a permanent appointment is made.
Federal government to introduce funding to help police people released from immigration detention. By Chantelle Al-Khouri, ABC News
A joint operation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) — Operation AEGIS — will receive millions in funding, with the government claiming it will provide safety in the community.
The funding will include $150 million for the ABF to provide additional staff in "compliance, investigations, removal and surveillance functions", and $88 million for the AFP that will include funding to investigate breaches of visa conditions.
Labor ‘cleaning up mess’ left by Peter Dutton on national security, Tony Burke says. By Amy Remeikis, The Guardian
The government will introduce laws into parliament this week which will give courts the power to strip dual nationals of their Australian citizenship if convicted of terrorism offences.
Dutton has made immigration and border security two of the biggest political issues since the high court decision was handed down this month, and has kept the government on the back foot with accusations it was unprepared for the ruling.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, accused Dutton of politicising national security for his own benefit.
Immigration detention: Rohingya refugee NZYQ given sex offender counselling sessions in ‘very special deal’. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
Alison Battisson, the director of Human Rights For All, said that “given the law says these people must be released, all the money [the government is] spending on extra-judicial monitoring would be better spent supporting them … to become functioning members of the community and overcoming the trauma of indefinite detention”.
Has Australia always given visas to people in war zones? By Georgia Roberts, ABC News
On Wednesday, the ABC revealed that 860 visas have been approved for Palestinians with connections to Australia, and 1,739 for Israelis since October 7.
So, what do we know about the visas and is this something that's happened before?
Has Australia always given visas to people in war zones? By Georgia Roberts, ABC News
Australian authorities investigating Indonesian boat arrival in remote Western Australia. By Andrew Greene, Eddie Williams & Rosanne Maloney, ABC News
Authorities are investigating how a group of 12 people landed on a remote part of the West Australian coast after travelling by boat from Indonesia.
The ABC has confirmed Australian Border Force is yet to establish how the group got to the north-west of the Australian mainland without detection.