Shoebridge noted the minister “doesn’t need to have any regard to the best interests of children when issuing a direction to their parents”, which he labelled a “breach of international law, and also basic dignity”.
State Labor MPs call on Albanese government to expand visa access for Palestinian refugees. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
Seventeen state Labor MPs have called on the Albanese government to expand visa access for Palestinian refugees escaping violence in Gaza, warning of “distressing reports” of practical difficulties coming to Australia.
Detained immigrant takes bid for freedom to High Court. By Kat Wong, The Canberra Times
The scheme will be abolished on July 1 but the Human Rights Law Centre accused the government of failing to help those refused visas under it.
Sanmati Verma, a legal director at the law centre, said the government was using indefinite detention as a way to "coerce people into returning to danger".
"People in detention are deprived of their freedom, separated from their families and communities and routinely subjected to violence, isolation and deplorable conditions," she said
Detained immigrant takes bid for freedom to High Court. By Kat Wong, The Canberra Times
People smugglers could exploit visa black ban: Home Affairs. By Angus Thompson, Sydney Morning Herald
Home Affairs officials facing the inquiry said there were up to 200 people in immigration detention who were refusing to co-operate with moves to deport them, nearly 4500 people on a pathway-to-removal visa in the community and about 250 more people – including those released following the High Court decision in November – who could be affected.
Former immigration department deputy secretaries Abul Rizvi and Peter Hughes warned that black-banning entire nationalities would not persuade their governments to take back citizens who don’t wish to return.
Kaldor Centre explainer: 3 things to know about displacement in Gaza, UNSW
Egypt and Jordan are concerned that Israel may be using the war to effect a mass transfer of Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt, which the Jordanian Foreign Minister has called unacceptable. If Israel refuses to accept a two-State solution or an end of occupation, then ‘the third option is to try get rid of as many Palestinians as possible. That is the real concern.’
Kaldor Centre explainer: 3 things to know about displacement in Gaza, UNSW
Refugee Becomes Victim of Horrific Bondi Junction Stabbing Tragedy While Defending Others. By Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia, Medianet
Members of the community will come together at 6pm on Sunday 14th @ Westfield Bondi Junction (500 Oxford St, Bondi Junction NSW 2022) for silent prayers and a vigil commemorating the innocent lives lost during the Westfield Bondi Junction tragedy.
It is with heavy hearts that we also mourn the loss of Faraz Tahir, a cherished member of our community and a dedicated security guard who tragically lost his life while serving the public during this attack.
Faraz Tahir, aged 30, sought refuge in Australia just a year ago, fleeing persecution in his home country of Pakistan. He quickly became an integral part of our community, known for his unwavering dedication and kindness.
The silent death of asylum-seeker Aref. The Saturday Paper
Children watched as people began to self-harm and expressed their wish to die. The years rolled on in this hellhole where there appeared to be no end in sight because Australia had adopted laws – becoming the only country in the world to do so – that allowed for the indefinite detention of people who were not Australian citizens and who were seeking asylum.
The urgent call to halt the Migration Amendment Bill 2024. By Jane Salmon, P & I
Offshore processing persists, and the Immigration Department’s processes are a nightmare for those caught in its web. We’re stuck in a cycle of scapegoating, sensationalised media, and a race to the bottom between political parties.
Yes, the Department of Immigration faces a daunting task. Some exploit the system, claiming protection after initially arriving on student visas. But does that justify indefinite detention and deportation without rehabilitation?
The impending Migration Amendment Bill 2024 is a dangerous step. It paints all seeking protection visas as manipulators of a flawed system. If that were true, most would have given up after twelve gruelling years.
The urgent call to halt the Migration Amendment Bill 2024. By Jane Salmon, P & I
Refugee Sayed Abdellatif freed after almost 12 years in Australian immigration detention. By Sarah Malik, The Guardian
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre with human rights concerns as Nauru detention centre fills with boat arrivals. By Erin Parke & Rosanne Maloney, ABC News
'Black box' hearings prejudice refugee claims: research. By Farid Farid, Canberra Times
A refugee who escaped armed captors in Myanmar was interrogated at an Australian tribunal hearing into her protection claim about why she used the toilet before fleeing soldiers.
‘ Black box' hearings prejudice refugee claims: research. By Farid Farid, Canberra Times
Labor’s big deportation miscalculation – Full Story podcast, The Guardian
Presented by Jane Lee with Paul Karp
TheLabor’s big deportation miscalculation – Full Story podcast, The Guardian attempt to rush through new legislation designed to give the government extra powers to deport individuals from Australia has been rejected by the Senate.
Labor’s big deportation miscalculation - Full story podcast, The Guardian
Australia claims it is a multicultural success story. So why does it want to use godlike law to ringfence the nation? Julianne Schultz, The Guardian
Australians are rightly proud that the White Australia policy, once described as our Magna Carta, withered and finally died 50 years ago.
But the constitutional power to deport “aliens” that gave the exclusionary policy its real clout endures.
The parliament, as it has done repeatedly since 1901, is again tinkering with laws to better “ring fence” the nation. This month yet another Australian government will turn itself in knots as it seeks to convince the high court that it can detain unverified refugees who fail to cooperate with their .involuntary removal.
Meet the Sydney volunteers who are feeding families fleeing Gaza. By Mostafa Rachwani, The Guardian
Palestinians arriving in Australia on visitor visas are facing hardship and community organisations are stepping in to help.
Meet the Sydney volunteers who are feeding families fleeing Gaza. By Mustafa Rachwani, The Guardian
Forget ideology, it's a battle between politicians and lawyers that is shaping immigration policies By Annabel Crabb, ABC
For Dutton, who believes vividly in the forces of good and evil and believes lawyers side too regularly with the forces of evil, it is a lifelong hostility. And for the Albanese government in recent months – confronted with the spectre of High Court judges freeing convicted criminals from detention – Politicians vs Lawyers is a showdown it's joined through sheer existential, electoral desperation.
Government has 'moral duty' to repatriate Australian detained in Syria, Kylie Moore-Gilbert says, SBS, By Anna Henderson, Christy Somos
Academic and author Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was arrested and jailed in Iran for over 800 days
, is now using her platform to push for other Australians detained abroad — including Zahab.
She too thought he had died in the 2022 airstrike, telling SBS News "at the time I was utterly horrified".
News of his survival and continued incarceration in a Syrian prison "affected her deeply".
"I think the government has a moral duty to help Yusuf, and to help the other — in particular underage children — who are Australian citizens," she said. "These children are not culpable for the alleged crimes of their parents or their older siblings."
Refugee delegation visits Canberra to end decade of uncertainty, Jane Salmon, IA
The delegation of eight Tamil, Iranian and Rohingya refugees, aged 17 to 27, addressed MPs from Labor, Greens and Independents at a series of briefings in Parliament House on Tuesday, calling for a fair and fast pathway to permanency for hundreds of young people and the 9,000 refugees who continue to be overlooked by the Albanese Government.
Refugee delegation visits Canberra to end decade of uncertainty. By Janet Salmon, IA
Labor senators join criticism of the government's rushed immigration legislation, ABC, Matthew Doran
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.