The committee was critical of the "broad discretionary powers" the bill would give to the immigration minister, to take action against other countries which do not accept their citizens deported from Australia.
Australian mum Zahra is stuck in a Syrian camp after living under IS. She fears her sons will be taken away. By Rhiona-Jade Armont, SBS
Originally from the northern suburbs of Melbourne, the circumstances of how Zahra’s family came to be in Syria are contested.
Some male members of her family reportedly joined the IS group, but Zahra maintains the women had no choice but to follow.
"I didn’t make this bed," she says.
"We are now forced to suffer for the decisions that other people – other male influencers – have made on our behalf, and now they're all gone and we are left to suffer with our kids."
Andrew Giles faces years of litigation as he fights to prevent another disastrous defeat on immigration Paul Karp, The Guardian
A conscientious man in a controversial portfolio, for the immigration minister being the respondent to literally hundreds of cases a year just comes with the territory.
When the high court ruled in the NZYQ decision that indefinite detention is unlawful if it is not possible to deport the person, overturning a two-decade-old precedent, the legal terrain got even rockier.
Penny Wong blames ‘Peter Dutton-Adam Bandt alliance’ for failure to pass Labor’s deportation laws. By Amy Remeikis,The Guardian
The Coalition supported a Greens motion in the Senate to send the deportation legislation to a Senate inquiry, despite having voted with the government to pass the legislation through the House of Representatives, after Labor failed to produce reasons for the bill’s urgency.
Nightmare of deportation: Labor tries on Dutton’s racist jackboots By Jane Salmon, P&I
The latest Migration Act amendments reflects the fact that Pezzullo’s protégées are still running the Department of Home Affairs. They are actively papering over the mess that their own indefinite detention decisions created. A sharp new broom is needed to clear out the departmental debris……..
So what is Labor’s real game: draconian policy or benign inclusion and compassion? If Labor intermittently apes the LNP just to get across the electoral line, more of the electorate may be tempted to flirt with independents and the LNP.
Nightmare of deportation: Labor tries on Dutton's racist jackboots. By Jane Salmon, P & I
The consequences of the government’s new migration legislation could be dire – for individuals and for Australia. The Conversation. By Jane McAdam, Daniel Ghezelbash, Madeline Gleeson, Tristan Harley
The bill also gives the minister a new power to “blacklist” entire countries and prevent their citizens from applying for Australian visas.
This is a discretionary power that requires little consultation and is unlikely to be subject to administrative or judicial review. The only limitations on this power are that the minister first consults with the prime minister and minister for foreign affairs. The immigration minister must also detail why they think it is in the national interest to make such a decision.
‘Worse than Trump’: Multicultural leaders shocked by immigration proposals. By Matthew Knott and Angus Thompson, SMH
Baffled, blindsided and distressed. That’s how Ali Elliin says members of the Iranian-Australian community feel about the Albanese government’s proposed immigration changes that could ban their extended family members and friends from entering the country.
Under the changes, the immigration minister could prevent foreigners from particular countries from entering Australia, even as tourists, if their home country refuses to accept the return of failed asylum seekers. Iran, Iraq, Russia, South Sudan and Zimbabwe are the countries most likely to be targeted as “removal concern countries”.
Labor blindsided after detainee documents tabled. By James Massola and Nick McKenzie, SMH
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles hoped to keep the document from public scrutiny, according to seven government sources who spoke to this masthead on background, planning instead for the recently appointed Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster to provide verbal answers to Paterson’s questions late on the Monday afternoon.
Labor blindsided after detainee documents tabled. By James Massola and Nick McKenzie, SMH
‘Ultra-marathon in incompetence’: Political chaos as Labor rams through latest High Court fix. By Angus Thompson and Olivia Ireland, The Age
Crossbenchers in the lower house warned that Australia would send people to their deaths under Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’ latest bill, which also denies visas to people from nations that don’t accept unwilling deportees and allows the Immigration Department to reverse protection findings after they are granted.
Labor to rush through beefed up deportation laws ahead of High Court challenge. By Angus Thompson and Olivia Ireland, The Age
The bill makes it a criminal offence not to co-operate, attracting between one and five years in prison. “Non-cooperation with removal processes demonstrates a disregard for Australian laws,” the explanatory memorandum states.
Piume hardly remembers her life in Sri Lanka, but lives in daily fear she will be sent back.By Pablo Vinales, SBS
A group of crossbenchers in parliament – led by independent senator David Pocock and independent MP Allegra Spender – are now demanding Immigration Minister Andrew Giles expedite the process and provide a permanent pathway for people like Piume.
"A lot of these people have made a big contribution … a lot of them came as young seven, eight, nine or 10-year-olds, they see themselves as Australian," Spender told SBS News.
"I think it's time to get them out of the slow lane. Let's make decisions and let everybody get on with their lives."
In 2022-23, onshore asylum seekers were 33% less than under Peter Dutton. By Abul Rizvi, P&I
In early October 2023, the Albanese Government announced a package of measures to address the asylum seeker situation. That was the first formal announcement of a package of measures to address this since before the biggest labour trafficking scam abusing the asylum system in Australian history. That started under Peter Dutton in 2015. Dutton ignored the issue while railing about the risk of asylum seekers by boat under a Labor Government.
But the problem has been allowed to grow so big that it will take many years and a fortune in taxpayer money to get things back under control. Even then, there is no chance of Australia ever getting back to the situation that existed before Dutton became Minister for Home Affairs when there were around 5,000 asylum applications at the AAT.
In 2022-23, onshore asylum seekers were 33% less than under Peter Dutton. By Abul Rizvi, P & I
‘Clutching his chest’: Inquest told of final moment of Sudanese refugee Faysal Ishak Ahmed before fatal fall on Manus Island, By Blake Antrobu, News.com.au
On Tuesday, the inquest was told Mr Ishak Ahmed was seen on CCTV clutching his chest moments before suffering the fatal fall.
Doctors had already given evidence the refugee had presented multiple times – up to eight times in December 2016 alone – with varying symptoms.
In their home country, Seema and Sania could not go to high school. By Mary Ward, SMH
The Year 11 students, whose surnames have been withheld for their families’ safety, both moved to Sydney’s west as refugees six years ago, where they met at Chester Hill Public School’s intensive English program.
In their home country, Seema and Sania could not go to high school. By Mard Ward
Labor is settling asylum cases to avoid High Court actions. By Mike Seccombe ,The Saturday Paper
A week after last November’s High Court decision, ruling against indefinite immigration detention, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil was, in the words of refugee advocate Alison Battisson, trying to “out-Dutton Dutton”.
It’s a fair description, because that’s pretty much how O’Neil described the government’s efforts in parliament.
“The leader of the opposition loves to present himself as a tough guy on borders,” O’Neil said at the end of last year. “He never wrote laws as tough as this.”
Labor is settling asylum cases to avoid High Court actions. By Mike Seccombe , The Saturday Paper
‘If anything happens to me, look after my family’: Manus Island death leaves unanswered questions on offshore detention. By Ben Doherty, The Guardian
“I am not pretending,” he reportedly told friends the day before he died. “I cannot breathe, my heart is not working.”
In 2016, the last year of his life, Ishak Ahmed presented to the doctors within the Manus Island detention centre 60 times. In December alone, he presented eight times. He would be dead before the month was over.
Indonesian crews rescue dozens of Rohingya refugees clinging to capsized boat. ABC News
An Indonesian search and rescue ship has located a capsized wooden boat carrying dozens of Rohingya Muslim refugees, pulling survivors who had been standing on its hull to safety.
The Associated Press said 10 people had been taken aboard local fishing boats and another 59 were being saved by the Indonesian craft.
Men, women and children, weak and soaked from the night's rain, wept as the rescue operation got underway and people were taken aboard a rubber dinghy to the rescue boat.
Indonesian crews rescue dozens of Rohingya refugees clinging to capsized boat. ABC News
Nadia thought she understood English. When she arrived in Australia, she was shocked. By Biwa Khan, SBS News
"There may be an existing view that migrants are not providing value to Australia, but our data is certainly showing that they're making contributions to address the challenges that we have with ageing populations and with skilled shortages, and that they are filling the gaps where they're most needed."
Clare O’Neil claims she relied on verbal briefings only for prediction of high court immigration detention win. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has claimed she relied only on verbal advice when declaring the government believed it would win the NZYQ high court case or succeed in deporting the plaintiff.
O’Neil’s claim is contained in a freedom of information decision from the home affairs department refusing access to “operational advice” about deporting NZYQ, the stateless Rohingya man who won a case overturning the legality of indefinite detention.
More than 170 immigration detainees could be freed if Australian government loses high court challenge. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
More than 170 people in immigration detention could be released if the government loses the next high court challenge on the legality of the program, according to a leaked internal estimate.