How the US created a vacuum for the IS-linked cohort trying to return to Australia. By Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News

Years of scaled-back US presence and shifting political dynamics inside Syria led to a shot at returning home last week for a group of Australians held in Syrian camps, before their window closed again.

After seven years of harsh conditions in the camp and an uncertain future, they found an opportunity to leave amid a shifting political climate in Syria.

Reportedly, they followed a decision by officials at al-Roj camp to allow detainees with valid travel documents to leave — a significant shift in how camps are managed.

Previously, the camps had been run by Kurdish forces, with support from the US. But, as the US announced it would pull back support for the Kurds earlier this year, power is transitioning to Syrian government forces.

How the US created a vacuum for the IS-linked cohort trying to return to Australia. By Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News

In 2022, Labor MPs urged compassion for Australian women and children stuck in Syria. Now Albanese has only contempt. By Dan Jervis-Bardy, The Guardian

Just after question time on 23 November 2022, the federal parliament debated a motion relating to the repatriation of four Australian women and 13 children who had been stuck in a Syrian detention camp since the fall of Islamic State three years prior.

One after another Labor MPs argued with passion, clarity and logic about why it was not just acceptable, but necessary and morally right, for the federal government to assist the return of its own citizens from the squalid and dangerous camps.

In 2022, Labor MPs urged compassion for Australian women and children stuck in Syria. Now Albanese has only contempt. By Dan Jervis-Bardy, The Guardian

Video: Australian group stranded in Syria release photo of youngest girl held in detention. SBS News

As controversy and political debate swirl over the future of women and children stranded in a Syrian detention camp, a family has released a photo of one of the youngest girls. The Opposition is trying to apply political pressure to have the group stopped from coming to Australia, claiming they pose an ongoing threat. The operators of Al-Roj camp say that if they get the greenlight from Syrian authorities they are willing to assist the group to attempt to leave the camp again.

Video: Australian group stranded in Syria release photo of youngest girl held in detention. SBS News

'Green light to violence': Anti-racism commissioner denounces Hanson's remarks. By Alexandra Jones & Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News

Australia's race discrimination commissioner has denounced One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's remarks about Muslims, saying they gave a "green light to violence".

Hanson said there were "no good Muslims" in an interview with Sky News on Monday, days before the start of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.

She later partially walked back her comments, which the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said had been the subject of criminal complaints.

In an interview with SBS News, race discrimination commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said he was deeply concerned by Hanson's remarks.

'Green light to violence': Anti-racism commissioner denounces Hanson's remarks. By Alexandra Jones & Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News

Islamophobia and strategic blindness: Australia in the Asian century. By George Adams, P&I

Indonesia alone has over 230 million Muslims – the largest Muslim population in the world and its closest islands sit just 130 kilometres from Australia’s northern coastline, across the Arafura Sea and the Torres Strait. No other western‑aligned nation sits this close to such a large Muslim‑majority neighbour.

These societies are overwhelmingly peaceful, moderate, and cooperative. Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah promote pluralism and interfaith coexistence. Malaysia and Brunei embed Islamic values within stable constitutional frameworks. Bangladesh and the Maldives maintain strong traditions of religious moderation. Across the region, governments invest heavily in deradicalisation, community cohesion, and social harmony.

In this environment, cultural respect is not symbolic. It is a strategic requirement.

Domestic incidents in Australia, such as police confronting Muslims while praying, are therefore not interpreted as isolated events. They are read through religious solidarity, historical memory of colonial policing, expectations of respect toward Islamic practice, and public sentiment that governments cannot ignore.

For neighbours only a short sea crossing away, these signals matter.

Islam has been present in Australia for centuries. Makassan fishermen from Sulawesi traded with Indigenous communities in northern Australia from at least the 1700s. Afghan cameleers were essential to the development of inland Australia in the 19th century. Muslim communities have been part of the national fabric long before Federation.

Islamophobia and strategic blindness: Australia in the Asian century. By George Adams, P&I

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