"Our goal is to build a smaller, better planned, more strategic migration system that works for Australia," Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said.
Points test system for skilled migrants set for overhaul. SBS News
Afghan social entrepreneur wins Les Murray Award for Refugee Recognition. SBS News
Hedayat Osyan is the winner of the 2024 Australia for UNHCR – SBS Les Murray Award for Refugee Recognition. Through his social enterprise, CommUnity Construction, Oysan trains and employs refugees in construction, empowering them to become self-sufficient.
Afghan social entrepreneur wins Les Murray Award for Refugee Recognition. SBS News
Creativity is freedom for detainees. By Behrouz Boochani, The Saturday Paper
BB You are right that we have different groups of people oppressed by different systems. However, oppression everywhere operates through the same mechanism of power, that’s why the concept of intersectionality is important.
Different minorities can understand each other better by sharing their stories – a Kurd in the Middle East, a Baha’i in Iran, an Aboriginal person in Australia. In my perspective, it’s crucial to recognise what these experiences have in common if we want to challenge the power structure that creates them.
Another point you raised is how colonisers create hate among people and divide communities. In the context of Manus, they not only divided refugees from the local community but they brought that division within the detainee community itself. The system in Manus fostered division by pitting individuals against each other in competition for access to necessities such as food and space. Detainees internalise the violence and humiliation they endure, which leads to self-hatred and hatred of others. However, in Manus, we had a culture of brotherhood at the same time. It is important to raise awareness about this internalisation process and empower people to challenge it.
Creativity is freedom for detainees. By Behrouz Boochani, The Saturday Paper
Bondi attack victim Faraz would have celebrated his birthday on 24 April. He'll be buried instead. By Rehan Alavi, SBS Urdu
Faraz Tahir is set to be buried more than a year after seeking asylum in Australia, after escaping persecution in Pakistan.
The student, who was working as a security guard at the busy shopping centre at the time of his death, leaves behind three brothers and two sisters, having previously lost both his parents.
Why this Coalition senator is calling for empathy in the immigration debate. By Angus Thompson, SMH
The Coalition’s assistant multicultural spokesman Paul Scarr says parliamentarians need to inject greater empathy into the debate over Labor’s controversial deportation bill and consider the futures of young working people who face mandatory jail terms if it is passed.
The Queensland Liberal senator said the proposed legislation had “real-world consequences” for traumatised and vulnerable people in multicultural communities, and passionately urged decision-makers from all sides of politics to register the distress being caused.
Why this Coalition senator is calling for empathy in the immigration debate. By Angus Thompson, SMH
Boost drug search powers, make immigration detention ‘last resort’, watchdog says. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
Immigration detention should be time-limited and “only be used as a last resort” if a non-citizen is a risk to the Australian community or of absconding, the Australian Human Rights Commission has said.
The AHRC made that recommendation in a report by the human rights commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, into the Yongah Hill immigration detention centre (YHIDC) in Western Australia, released on Monday.
Finlay wrote that although the “key concerns have been raised repeatedly for many years” there has been “an increase in critical incidents across the whole immigration detention network” as the population shifts from asylum seekers who arrived by boat to people whose visas have been cancelled on character grounds.
'Unsafe' immigration detention centre labelled 'not fit for purpose' in new report, SBS
The report, released on Monday, found there was a concerning "lack of access to healthcare", including emergency, out-of-hours, and mental health services, which presented "a very significant risk to people detained".
Many of those being held at the centre were detained due to visa cancellations based on character grounds.
Finlay said the cohort of people entering immigration detention had changed significantly over time.
'Unsafe' immigration detention centre labelled 'not fit for purpose' in new report. SBS
As we celebrate the permanent residency granted to Sydney’s ‘bollard man’, visa uncertainty looms over others. By Shankar Kasynathan, The Guardian
Those of us who have found refuge in Australia will be celebrating with Damien Guerot, just as we celebrate with anyone else who gets to enjoy all the promise that comes with calling Australia home.
At a time when this country and many of its citizens are searching far and wide for signs of the “fair go” that we are promised in Australia, the arbitrary nature of the good will of our prime minister threatens to reinforce a well-worn myth of deserving and undeserving migrants.
The High Court is hearing another high-stakes immigration case. Can people be forced to assist in their own deportation? By Sara Dehm & Anthea Vogl, The Conversation
While the case turns on a narrow question of Australian constitutional law, it also raises urgent concerns about the human consequences of a flawed and discriminatory “fast-track” legal process for determining the status of asylum seekers who arrive by boat.
Five Labor MPs call for wholesale changes to their government's migration bill. By Tom Crowley, ABC News
Three federal Labor MPs and two Labor senators have joined calls for large chunks of their own government's migration bill to be scrapped.
They say the bill, which would broaden the immigration minister's powers to force deportations, limits "numerous" human rights.
The comments were made by the parliament's human rights committee, which is tasked with scrutinising all bills to assess compatibility with Australia's human rights obligations.
Labor has the casting vote on the committee and five of its 10 members: committee chair Josh Burns, Alicia Payne, Graham Perrett and senators Karen Grogan and Jana Stewart.
Australia’s Border Farce. Stops a boat, ignores the planeloads, targets the 0.05%. By Duncan Graham, Michael West Media
The men who stepped onto the sovereign sands of their dream nation are said to have been arrested by ABF operatives who rushed north at the weekend to staunch the invasion. The prisoners were apparently whisked to Nauru for processing before refugee lawyers could blow in their ears.
If the unwelcome arrivals are Chinese Nationals, as believed, they’ll probably be sent back to their homeland. Runaways from the Middle Kingdom making it to the Lucky Country are rare. Past risk-takers have come from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Myanmar after spending stateless years in Indonesia, a nation that doesn’t settle refugees.
About 12,000 are in this situation mainly hanging around Jakarta and surviving on handouts from the UN High Commission for Refugees.
'Rather go to Gaza than Iran': High Court hears man fears certain death if deported. By Sara Tomevska, SBS
Solicitor-general Stephen Donaghue labelled assertions that the Commonwealth had failed to remove ASF17 to a third country as "perplexing".
"We actually did try to find somewhere else, but unsurprisingly for a citizen of Iran, who can be returned to Iran, we couldn’t find any," he told the court on Wednesday.
Given ASF17 is not a refugee, Australia is not obliged to seek third-country resettlement options. However, Australia also has a policy of not returning citizens to countries that do not accept forcible removals, like Iran.
Labor’s deportation bill could affect 375 children born in Australia, advocates warn. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
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