Scapegoating migrants is as old as history itself. By John Menadue, Pearls and Irritations

Scapegoating migrants is designed to distract our attention from the truth and real issues – the abuse of corporate and media power and failure to tackle housing shortages for younger generations.

The Liberal Party looks like following the rot that set in with John Howard – Tampa and dog whistling about Asian migration. But this time the Liberal Party might be kicking an own goal because of the electoral clout of our migrant communities.

The warning signs for the Liberals are clear. It has offended voters with Chinese and Indian backgrounds. It paid the electoral consequences at the last two federal elections.

Scapegoating migrants is as old as history itself. By John Menadue, Pearls and Irritations

Opinion: Racist rhetoric is warping the Liberal party’s moral compass. We are destined to fail unless we govern for all. By Andrew McLachlan, The Guardian

Opinion from Liberal Senator Andrew McLachlan :

Since my own service in Afghanistan and subsequently entering public life I have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the Afghan community. These families have escaped oppression after supporting our military engagement in their country. Now they are proud Australians making an outstanding contribution to the state.

Therefore I find it very difficult to accept the musings from certain conservative commentators this week, including those within my party, questioning the value of multiculturalism and a society that cherishes diversity.

I’m talking of course about comments such as those from Tony Abbott, who said he has “serious concerns” about multiculturalism, preferring how our immigration policy was run in the “50s, 60s, and 70s” – during the White Australia policy. “Our character is essentially Anglo-Celtic and Judaeo-Christian. That’s what has made our country attractive to migrants, and we should keep it that way,” he said.

Opinion: Racist rhetoric is warping the Liberal party’s moral compass. We are destined to fail unless we govern for all. By Andrew McLachlan, The Guardian

An eight-year-old Australian girl with rotten teeth, trapped in a desert camp, did not make her own bed. By Matt Tinkler, CEO Save the Children, SMH

When I travelled to Roj camp in 2022, I looked into the eyes of an eight-year-old Australian girl, whose frame was so small and frail that she looked much younger than my own daughter, who was five at the time. Many of her teeth were rotten or missing, and she was showing signs of stunting from poor nutrition.

Behind the debate about these families, this is the reality. Australian children living in tents exposed to baking hot summers and freezing winters, denied adequate healthcare, their education disrupted.

It was then that I vowed to redouble our efforts to support these families to return to Australia.

Save the Children does not fund or conduct repatriations, nor do we ever intend to play such a role. We have not been involved in any extraction of Australians from camps in Syria. But for more than six years, we have engaged in sustained advocacy, calling on the Australian government to bring these children home. This has not always been a popular choice, but it is the right choice, in keeping with our mission to fight for every child’s rights, no matter who they are.

When we acted as a litigation guardian in a Federal Court appeal in 2024, the full bench of the Federal Court found that it would be a “relatively straightforward” exercise for the Australian government to bring these children home if it “had the political will”. But that political will is nowhere to be seen.

Although the Morrison government repatriated eight orphans in 2019 and the Albanese government followed suit by repatriating three families in 2022, official channels slammed shut once this was deemed too unpopular to continue.

An eight-year-old Australian girl with rotten teeth, trapped in a desert camp, did not make her own bed. By Matt Tinkler, CEO Save the Children, SMH

Why Australia needs a plan to repatriate citizens detained in Syria, Women's Agenda by Dr Thomas Mulder and Professor Jane McAdam

For more than a decade, tens of thousands of foreign nationals—many of them women and children—have been held in camps such as al-Roj and al-Hol. The conditions in these camps are “dire”. They are overcrowded and lack adequate sanitation, and detainees have limited access to healthcare and face significant security concerns.

https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/why-australia-needs-a-plan-to-repatriate-citizens-detained-in-syria/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQDbPlleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJUbzRVSm5raUJOSE1pM05rc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpfeDCI8th4AtIenB9o6kteyl0Hw5rR32BnE5Iz-kl4mqKqIpSZxAqAmJoFm_aem_QYCVAfnvwu0IRftaOf5SKQ

Australia has ruled out repatriation for ISIS families. This isn’t a safe or coherent plan. By Se Youn Park, THe Conversation

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government will not help repatriate the 34 Australian women and children with links to Islamic State fighters who were released from a detention camp in Syria and are reportedly trying to return to Australia.

The women and children were among more than 2,000 people from 50 different countries detained at al-Roj camp in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria. The Australians were turned back by Syrian officials when trying to reach Damascus this week, with the goal of returning to Australia.

The Albanese government’s stance on the Australian women and children in Syria has never really been clarified, which is fuelling a lot of uncertainty at the moment.

Australia has ruled out repatriation for ISIS families. This isn’t a safe or coherent plan. By Se Youn Park, The Conversation

Australian women and children sent back to Syrian detention camp after initial release. By William Christou and Ben Doherty, The Guardian

Australian women and children held for years without charge were forced to return to a detention camp in northeast Syria on Monday after being released by Kurdish authorities for their expected repatriation to Australia.

The 34 women and children in the group are the wives, widows and children of dead or jailed Islamic State fighters and were being held at al-Roj camp, which is controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

They were initially handed over to relatives who had helped arrange for their repatriation and were on their way to Damascus to leave the country when they were asked to stop on the way and turn back to the camp.

Australian women and children sent back to Syrian detention camp after initial release. By William Christou and Ben Doherty, The Guardian

Liberal Party divided over policy direction as Angus Taylor plots right-wing political shift Exclusive. By Patricia Karvelas and Amy Donaldson, ABC News

Senior sources have told Four Corners that the Liberal Party is discussing an immigration approach inspired by a controversial UK Labour policy.

It is part of a broader realignment taking place in right-wing politics in Australia amid the rise of populism overseas.

Liberal MPs are divided over whether to overhaul the party's direction or maintain tradition to win back voters who have abandoned them.

Liberal Party divided over policy direction as Angus Taylor plots right-wing political shift Exclusive. By Patricia Karvelas and Amy Donaldson, ABC News

Rohingya boats: Out of mind but still coming. By Gerhard Hoffstaedter, Antje Missbach & Chris Lewa Erik Ramadhanil, The Interpreter, Lowy Institute

Law enforcement misses the point

Regional governments have responded with intensified law enforcement, particularly in Aceh, where arrests of alleged smugglers have surged over the past three years. But the targets are overwhelmingly the “hired hands” – fishermen who brought rescued refugees ashore, or locals facilitating short segments of longer journeys. These individuals have little connection to the logistics of operations spanning Bangladesh to Malaysia.

The architects of these networks remain untouched, and the structural conditions that sustain the trade – including persecution in Myanmar, warehouse camps in Bangladesh and Thailand, pushbacks at sea, detention in Malaysia – remain unaddressed.

Law enforcement that targets the bottom of the chain while ignoring the root causes is window dressing at best and pure theatre at worst.

Thus, the business of transporting Rohingya across the Andaman Sea has not diminished. It has adapted, becoming more clandestine, more dangerous, and once again entangled with the jungle camps and extortion networks that produced the torture camps and mass graves of Wang Kelian. Regional states may prefer not to see what is happening, but wilful blindness does not make the boats disappear.

Rohingya boats: Out of mind but still coming. By Gerhard Hoffstaedter, Antje Missbach & Chris Lewa Erik Ramadhanil, The Interpreter, Lowy Institute

UK decision to ban Palestine Action as ‘terror group’ unlawful, court says. Aljazeera news

The High Court in the United Kingdom has ruled that the government’s ban on the campaign group Palestine Action as a “terror group” was unlawful and disproportionate.

Th group’s cofounder declared the ruling a ‘monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people.’

UK decision to ban Palestine Action as ‘terror group’ unlawful, court says. Aljazeera news

Albanese government’s position on ISIS brides unchanged since Bondi attack: estimates. By Nathan Schmidt, News.com.au

Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster said the government’s position was “very clear” on not repatriating ISIS brides, but that there were legislative obligations enabling self-managed returns.

“That is a right of any Australian citizen,” she said.

Ms Foster said the government had a “fairly robust system” of managing “Australians of interest” overseas.

“(That) contains a number of provisions which allow us, working in collaboration with colleagues, to manage the security implications of that of anyone who is categorised in that definition,” Ms Foster said.

Asked by Senator Duniam whether the Department had had any conservations with third-parties outside of government on providing assistance to ISIS brides, Ms Foster said “the answer is unquestionably no”.

Instead, the Department had been in discussion with AFP and ASIO officials to ensure “appropriate safeguards” on any returnees.

Albanese government’s position on ISIS brides unchanged since Bondi attack: estimates. By Nathan Schmidt, News.com.au

New initiative to resettle LGBTQI+ refugees in Australia. By Gretel Emerson, RACS

In an Australian first, LGBTQI+ refugees in Asia and the Pacific who face serious harm simply for who they are, will be able to access priority processing in Australia’s humanitarian program. 

For many LGBTQI+ people facing persecution, fleeing their home country is the only way to survive. But for too long, they have fallen through the cracks of the international refugee system. 

While Australian policies allow LGBTQI+ cases to be prioritised, there is a gap between policy and reality. For example, a queer person cannot be registered as a refugee if their country criminalises being LGBTQI+ – which effectively blocks their access to safe pathways. 

That’s where this new, life-saving initiative called Bridge to Safety comes in. 

Our friends at the Forcibly Displaced People Network (FDPN) will lead the program, identifying, evaluating, and prioritising cases through self-referrals and regional partners.  

RACS will be the official legal partner for this life-saving work, preparing and lodging applications for priority processing by the Department of Home Affairs. 

The Bridge to Safety will give LGBTQI+ refugees support to escape danger and resettle in Australia. 

I cannot emphasise enough how significant this opportunity is. 

Wendy, after years of advocacy, we’re finally seeing tangible change. 

RACS Ambassador and former client Queer Habibi understands first-hand how much safety means for LGBTQI+ people: 

“It changed my life. I can be myself now forever in Australia, build my future and my dreams here.”  

I want to thank you for your solidarity with LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum. Your support has helped get us this far and I hope you will continue to stand with us to bring persecuted members of this community to safety here in Australia – starting today.

Gretel Emerson,
RACS LGBTQI+ Safety Program Lead

Was the violent Sydney protest avoidable, and what can police and demonstrators learn? By Simon Bronitt Professor of Law, University of Sydney, The Conversation

No doubt, there will be investigations into the legality and reasonableness of the police response. But what’s also needed to prevent a repeat of Monday’s violence is a rethink of police training and protocols in NSW that are explicitly based on a respect for human rights, or what policing scholars call “human rights policing”.

Was the violent Sydney protest avoidable, and what can police and demonstrators learn? By Simon Bronitt Professor of Law, University of Sydney, The Conversation

Australia's Untold Stories is a series of oral histories of 12 former refugees who have rebuilt their lives in Australia. By Refugee Council Of Australia

Australia's Untold Stories is a series of oral histories of 12 former refugees who have rebuilt their lives in Australia. Their first countries include Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Eritrea, Laos, South Sudan and Vietnam. These refugees are just a few of the million who have settled in Australia since the end of World War II through the Refugee and Humanitarian program. Through their stories, we reflect on the contributions refugees have made in shaping Australia over the last eight decades, and the role everyday Australians have played in receiving and welcoming refugees, enabling them to build new lives free from persecution.

Australia's Untold Stories is a series of oral histories of 12 former refugees who have rebuilt their lives in Australia. By Refugee Council Of Australia

Workers accuse new company managing Australia’s immigration detention centres of running them ‘like a prison’. By Ariel Bogle and Christopher Knaus, The Guardian

Australia’s new onshore immigration detention operator has been accused by workers and their union of unsafe and “deliberate” levels of understaffing, as the number of critical incidents increase in the centres.

The US private prison company Management & Training Corporation – which has played a key role in the US immigration crackdown – has operated Australia’s onshore detention network since March 2025.

Workers accuse new company managing Australia’s immigration detention centres of running them ‘like a prison’. By Ariel Bogle and Christopher Knaus, The Guardian

Stephanie Dowrick Australian doctors protest Israel’s destruction of health rights in Gaza, P&I

Israel remains a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ratifying it in August 1991. Israel is also a party to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in October 1991.

This public record underscores the breaches of international law by an occupying power (Israel) of a stateless occupied people (Palestinians), that has dramatically worsened since the Israeli response to the heinous attack on Israel by the military wing of Hamas in October 2023.

The most extreme religious-nationalist government in Israel’s history has eliminated any pretence of a two-state solution with a homeland for Palestinians, pursuing instead a territorial expansion well beyond 1967 once-were-borders. This has led to flagrant abuses of its military power or any obligations it have – under laws their own state ratified - to treat Gazans, including children, with the care mandated. (Fifty per cent of Palestinians living in Gaza are aged 18 or less.)

Stephanie Dowrick Australian doctors protest Israel’s destruction of health rights in Gaza, P&I

NSW chief justice criticises Tony Abbott's comments on Sydney Harbour Bridge protest. By Alexander Lewis, ABC

The New South Wales chief justice has criticised Tony Abbott's "misconceived" comments on a judge's decision to approve a pro-Palestinian march on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The former prime minister said it should not be for judges to decide when a political protest was justified, in a social media post following Justice Belinda Rigg's ruling last August.

In a speech to the legal profession on Thursday night, Chief Justice Andrew Bell said Mr Abbott's remarks were regrettable.

The chief justice said Justice Rigg's decision was not about whether a political protest was justified, as would have been clear "to anyone who took the time to read it".

"This comment was, with respect, misconceived," Chief Justice Bell said.

NSW chief justice criticises Tony Abbott's comments on Sydney Harbour Bridge protest. By Alexander Lewis, ABC

Indonesians wrongly deemed adult people smugglers by Australian police finally cleared to appeal convictions. By Christopher Knaus, The Guardian

The federal attorney general has used her mercy powers to pave the way for two Indonesian children to overturn a shocking miscarriage of justice that caused their wrongful imprisonment as adult people smugglers.

The boys, both aged 15, were among hundreds of Indonesian children who were found on asylum seeker boats between 2010 and 2012 and wrongly deemed adult people smugglers by Australian police.

Children who were suspected of crewing asylum seeker boats were supposed to be sent home. Many were from desperate backgrounds and had been either tricked or coerced into boarding.

Indonesians wrongly deemed adult people smugglers by Australian police finally cleared to appeal convictions. By Christopher Knaus, The Guardian