The Nundu family from Kenya have settled into their new community in southern Tasmania with the help of a program that pairs refugees with local buddies.
VIDEO: Refugee family from Kenya settles into southern Tasmania. ABC News
‘Hard to justify’: Albanese lashes Coalition’s handling of 2022 Djokovic detention. By Olivia Ireland and Broede Carmody, SMH
As Djokovic prepares his campaign for an 11th Australian Open title, Albanese criticised the Morrison government’s decision to refuse him access to religious ministration while in detention.
“I found it astonishing that in the lead-up to Christmas, Novak Djokovic was denied by the then-federal government the opportunity to see his Orthodox … priest,” Albanese said on Monday in Queensland. “That was something that I think was hard to justify.”
Fish trained in extreme conditions. It helps him cope with Australia’s toughest medical emergencies. By Sandra Fulloon, SBS News
Working in intensive care is a demanding career choice, especially for those who’ve experienced the horrors of war. But one refugee who fled Ethiopia says training in extreme conditions has many benefits.
It was a year of uncertainty for international education, and there's more to come. By Maani Truu, ABC News
Offshore student visa applications fell by almost 40 per cent in 2024, compared to the previous year. In real terms, that's roughly 120,000 fewer prospective students seeking to study in Australia.
These are not students who had their applications delayed or denied under the government's oft-changing visa processing rules — though visa approvals are also down — but those who never applied in the first place.
And according to the higher education sector, that's a by-product of a chaotic crackdown on an industry that has long been heralded as amongst the best in the world.
"The message has gone out to our key student source markets that they're not welcome here," says Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia. "And they're voting with their feet."
Lake Illawarra bike group SWIFT helps migrant women build confidence. By Brooke Chandler, ABC News
Each member of SWIFT has their own story: some had never learned to ride a bike due to cultural norms, while others are cancer survivors who credit their recovery to cycling.
SWIFT is an arm of the Sisters Cancer Support Group, which was started by cancer survivor and Wollongong local Nyan Thit Tieu.
Lake Illawarra bike group SWIFT helps migrant women build confidence. By Brooke Chandler, ABC News
Peter Dutton would need to cap partner visas to make his migration cuts, expert warns. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
The Coalition’s proposed cuts to Australia’s permanent migration would require Peter Dutton to legislate to allow a cap on partner visas, Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary of immigration, has warned.
Living Loss Revisited: Refugees: living with loss of identity, family, language, culture and home. By Catriona Stirrat, SBS News In Depth audio
Grief may be a universal experience but it’s felt uniquely across our multicultural landscape. This is a second chance to hear the SBS award-winning podcast series Living Loss. The series won the Radio Today Award for Best Society and Culture Podcast.
For refugees and asylum-seekers grief is often a multi-layered experience. In many cases, they are navigating the loss of family, home and identity, all while trying to forge a new reality.
Nearly 2,300 applicants died waiting for a parent visa to Australia with processing times of up to 31 years. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
The migration review warned that long waits make “the probability of successful migration virtually nonexistent for many applicants”.
“Providing an opportunity for people to apply for a visa that will probably never come seems both cruel and unnecessary,” it said.
Afghan who helped others escape the Taliban faces years-long visa wait By Will Jackson, ABC News
A member of the persecuted Hazara ethnic minority, Mr Sorosh served in the Afghan army — fighting alongside coalition forces — before the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
He then began working with foreign NGOs to help vulnerable people escape the country.
Mr Sorosh had been living in Iran with his mother, wife and three children since 2022 while waiting for the Australian government to process his application for a refugee visa.
Because Australia does not process refugee visas while the applicants are in their home countries, thousands of other Afghans are also waiting for a determination in neighbouring Iran or Pakistan.
Mr Sorosh told the ABC he was now in hiding in Afghanistan, seeking a way to get back to his family in Iran after being arrested by the Iraninan police because his visa had expired.
Afghan who helped others escape the Taliban faces years-long visa wait By Will Jackson, ABC News
Children among 58 killed in latest Israeli strikes on Gaza, say medics. By Lorenzo Tondo and agencies, The Guardian
Victims reported to include six people escorting aid convoy, and eight in tent encampment in humanitarian zone…….
….Tens of thousands of people are sheltering on Gaza’s exposed Mediterranean coastline, where they are facing harsh winter conditions with inadequate shelter, food and fuel. Temperatures are falling and a series of storms have destroyed makeshift tents.
Oxfam said only 12 out of the 34 trucks of food and water allowed to enter north Gaza over the last 10 weeks had managed to distribute aid to starving Palestinian civilians because of “deliberate delays and systematic obstructions” by the Israeli military.
Bangladeshi men found on Indonesian island claim they were intercepted at sea and turned back by Australian Border Force. By Indonesia correspondent Bill Birtles and Ari Wu, ABC News
A group of 15 men from Bangladesh found on Indonesian's southernmost Rote island say they were held on an ABF ship for a fortnight before being turned back.
Police on Rote island say the men are among a larger group that was intercepted, and that there are approximately 26 others still unaccounted-for.
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of acts of genocide in Gaza over water access. By Raffi Berg, BBC
The 179-page report says that "since October 2023, Israeli authorities have deliberately obstructed Palestinians' access to the adequate amount of water required for survival in the Gaza Strip".
It says Israel intentionally damaged infrastructure, including solar panels powering treatment plants, a reservoir, and a spare parts warehouse, while also blocking fuel for generators.
It says Israel also cut electricity supplies, attacked repair workers and blocked the entry into Gaza of repair materials.
"This isn't just negligence," said HRW executive director Tirana Hassan. "It is a calculated policy of deprivation that has led to the deaths of thousands from dehydration and disease that is nothing short of the crime against humanity of extermination, and an act of genocide."
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of acts of genocide in Gaza over water access. By Raffi Berg, BBC
New international student order met with mixed reaction from university sector. AAP, SBS News
While some university sector bodies welcomed the new order, it was quickly criticised by the Group of Eight (Go8) — an organisation representing some of the nation's leading research-intensive universities.
Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said the government had replaced "one flawed process with another".
"We run the risk of confusing the international student market with these constant changes to policy settings. For too many potential students, it makes Australia look too hard and too unwelcoming as a higher education destination," she said.
New international student order met with mixed reaction from university sector. AAP, SBS News
Visa applicants in limbo as Newcastle's CatholicCare refugee hub closes. By Romy Stephens, ABC News
There are fears hundreds of people needing help to settle into life in Australia will be left in limbo as a refugee hub closes in New South Wales' second-largest city.
Visa applicants in limbo as Newcastle's CatholicCare refugee hub closes. By Romy Stephens, ABC News
European deportation of Syrian refugees – a sign of the times By Xiaochen Su, P&I
Syrians today, Burmese tomorrow?………….
The fluctuating situation today in Syria has parallels with another years-long civil conflict in the heart of Asia. Just as Syria became a kaleidoscope of government and rebel forces after anti-government protests broke out in 2011, the 2021 coup turned Myanmar into a hodgepodge of junta, pro-democracy, and tribal-controlled areas. Nearly 1.4 million Burmese people became refugees in neighbouring states, a much larger population than Syrian refugees in Europe.
European deportation of Syrian refugees – a sign of the times By Xiaochen Su, P&I
New immigration detention subcontractor accused of price-fixing on ADF contracts. By Ariel Bogle and Christopher Knaus, The Guardian
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said Labor had previously promised the detention centres would be operated directly by government.
“Contracting a prison operator sends a clear message that detention is punitive,” said the ASRC’s deputy chief executive, Jana Favero. “The human cost of this decision cannot be overstated.”
“We call on the government to honour its commitment and end the use of private companies in detention, starting with the review of this contract and honouring their other platform promise – establishing a parliamentary inquiry into immigration detention.
‘Embarrassing’ numbers see Albanese government likely to miss migration reduction target. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
The Albanese government’s plan to slash net migration to 260,000 this financial year is no longer achievable, according to one migration expert, with the rate of decline so far this financial year just over a quarter of what was projected.
Abul Rizvi, a former deputy immigration secretary, predicted a “very embarrassing” few days for the government, with data on Thursday expected to show the 2023-24 net overseas migration forecast was “missed by a long, long way”.
PNG asylum seekers stripped of government-provided housing and healthcare under new deal. By Eden Gillespie, ABC News
The new agreement will force PNG asylum seekers to cover all living expenses with a single allowance.
One prominent advocate is concerned it could drive the men into insecure or unsafe accommodation.
Government-provided accommodation is expected to remain until January 18.
Asylum seekers lose housing in PNG. By Karen Middleton, The Saturday Paper (from February 17th, 2024)
Asylum seekers sent to Papua New Guinea by Australia will be stripped of government-provided housing and healthcare under a new deal labelled a “death sentence”.
The asylum seekers were sent to PNG more than a decade ago under an offshore processing deal with Australia (ABC).
Convenor of the Refugee Action Coalition, Ian Rintoul, says that the agreement is a “death sentence”, and advocates have been unable to find secure accommodation in PNG for less than 1000 kina a week.
The Australian government has not been able to account for $80m paid to support the asylum seekers, after advocates revealed financial assistance stopped more than a year ago.
Labor to pay $2.3bn to controversial US prison operator subsidiary to run onshore detention. By Ariel Bogle & Christopher Knaus, The Guardian
The Australian government will pay $2.3bn to a subsidiary of a controversial American private prison operator to run the nation’s onshore immigration detention network, ending a longstanding deal with Serco.
It has faced serious allegations of misconduct in a series of civil and regulatory cases in the United States, which were revealed by the Guardian last year after MTC won the $420m Nauru contract.