Category Archives: Australian immigration and asylum

Labor accused of caving to Dutton to pass ‘draconian’ bill restricting people released from immigration detention

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The Albanese government has agreed to a raft of Coalition amendments, including criminal penalties for breaching restrictions

Labor has been accused of caving to Peter Dutton after it agreed to a slate of Coalition amendments to toughen restrictions on people released from detention so as to pass “draconian” emergency legislation on bridging visas.

The bill, introduced on Thursday by the immigration minister, Andrew Giles, adds conditions, including electronic monitoring and curfews, to bridging visas issued to those who are required to be released due to the high court’s ruling on indefinite detention.

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Immigration detention: Labor to rush through emergency legislation after high court ruling

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Home affairs minister says it’s ‘garbage’ that legislation could completely reverse high court decision that led to 81 leaving immigration detention

Labor is set to rush through emergency legislation this week to deal with the fallout of the high court’s decision that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful.

The move follows demands by the Coalition that parliament “should not rise” until legislation is passed, upping pressure on the government by demanding a response even before the high court gives its full reasons.

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Australia politics live: students protesting over climate crisis ‘are being the adults’, Adam Bandt says

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Follow the day’s news live

Shorten reiterates support for two-state solution

Patricia Karvelas then raises with Bill Shorten what was said on Q+A last night, when Nasser Mashni, the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, argued that hopes for a two-state solution “ended years ago”.

Oh, no, our policy has been to support a two-state solution.

There was a policy which we developed many, many years ago about respecting the security of Israel and the right of Palestinians to have a say in controlling their own land. I don’t think that’s a radical policy.

I think it’s unexceptional what the foreign minister said. We’re in very close step to the United States and other western nations. We’ve called for humanitarian pause, but we completely recognise that Israel’s dealing with Hamas who don’t want to negotiate, so the idea that we want an enduring peace, as Penny said, of course, is what we want.

We all know we’re a long way off that and Hamas should be prevailed upon by world opinion to hand back the hostages to say that they’re going to stop trying to kill Israelis and destroy Israel.

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‘None’ of 81 people released from immigration detention arrived during Albanese government, Labor says

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Immigration minister Andrew Giles hits back at Peter Dutton, saying parties have ‘shared rejection and revulsion’ at criminal conduct of those released

Labor has hit back at Peter Dutton for politicising the high court’s ruling on indefinite detention, arguing that “none” of the 81 people released so far arrived on the Albanese government’s watch.

On Tuesday the opposition leader claimed the government should not have released people from immigration detention on the basis there was “another” – unspecified – “option available” to prevent their release and still comply with the court ruling.

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More Australians support providing assistance to Palestinians than Israel in Gaza conflict, Essential poll finds

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But majority want Australia to stay out of the conflict entirely as less than a third of those polled approve of federal government’s response

Australians’ sympathies in the Israel-Gaza conflict have flipped, with more now wanting to provide assistance to Palestine than Israel and a big drop in those who say Israel’s reaction to the 7 October attack by Hamas is proportionate.

The Guardian Essential poll of 1,150 voters, released on Tuesday, also found that Anthony Albanese’s approval rating is now negative for the first time in his prime ministership.

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Eighty people already freed from Australia’s immigration detention since landmark high court ruling

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Minister seeks to allay community concern about releases but admits ‘full ramifications’ of decision yet to be determined

The immigration minister has revealed that 80 people have so far been released from immigration detention since the high court ruled it is unlawful to hold those with no realistic prospect of deportation.

On Monday Andrew Giles sought to allay community concern about the releases, which have included Malaysian hitman Sirul Azhar Umar, by saying “all [80] are on appropriate visa conditions” including regular reporting.

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Malaysian hitman released from Australian immigration detention after high court ruling

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Sirul Azhar Umar, sentenced in Malaysia over a politically charged murder, cannot be deported by Australia because he would face the death penalty

A Malaysian bodyguard sentenced over the politically charged murder of a pregnant woman is among dozens of people released from immigration detention after Wednesday’s high court ruling.

Sirul Azhar Umar, a bodyguard to former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, has languished in immigration detention in Australia since having his claim for asylum in Australia rejected in 2019.

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Australia news live: ‘we let him down,’ WA corrective services minister admits after death of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd

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Aboriginal teenager died in a hospital in October, a week after being found unresponsive inside a maximum security prison. Follow live

This morning Guardian Australia revealed that the Albanese government will immediately begin releasing people from indefinite detention after receiving a flurry of demands from long-term detainees to be set free due to Wednesday’s landmark high court ruling.

In question time on Thursday the government confirmed it had released the plaintiff in that case, a stateless Rohingya man known as NZYQ who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old, but claimed it needed to wait for the court’s full reasons and legal advice before making a call on others.

Yesterday the government assured the Senate they would not be releasing any other detainees before the court published its reasoning. The fact they are doing so less than 24 hours later shows how unprepared they were for this case. Sadly the Australian people cannot rely on their assurances about community safety if they are not even across fundamental legal questions like this.

It is the duty of journalists to seek out sources, including documentary evidence, in order to report to the public on the activities of the government. The United States must not pursue an unnecessary prosecution that risks criminalising common journalistic practices and thus chilling the work of the free press. We urge you to ensure that this case be brought to a close in as timely a manner as possible.

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Documents reveal details about the 92 people facing release from indefinite immigration detention in Australia

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Exclusive: document tendered in high court shows half a dozen have been in detention for more than a decade

More than half of the 92 people in immigration detention the Australian government warned it would have to release if it lost a landmark high court decision had their visas cancelled by ministers due to serious concerns about criminality.

A document tendered in the high court, seen by Guardian Australia, reveals the majority (78) are owed protection, including citizens of war-torn or authoritarian countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Sudan. Half a dozen have been in detention for over a decade.

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The standfirst of this story was updated on 10 November 2023 to clarify the number held in detention for more than a decade was six not 46.

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Almost 200 asylum seekers returned by Albanese government since May 2022, new details show

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Seven vessels have been turned back or returned to their place of origin as Labor quietly continues Coalition policy of operation sovereign borders

The Albanese government turned vessels back or returned asylum seekers aboard them on seven occasions in its first nine months in office, quietly continuing the Coalition’s operation sovereign borders policy.

New details of the ventures to Australia reveal that almost two hundred people, including 14 children, have attempted to come by boat since Labor’s election in May 2022.

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PNG to investigate corruption claims in Australia-funded refugee program

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Papua New Guinea’s immigration minister John Rosso says whistleblower’s ‘serious allegations’ revealed by the Guardian have prompted audit

Allegations of widespread corruption and mismanagement within the Australia-funded refugee support program in Papua New Guinea will be formally investigated by the Port Moresby government.

After allegations from a whistleblower inside PNG’s immigration authority that millions of dollars had potentially been misused, PNG’s deputy prime minister, also the minister for immigration, John Rosso, has ordered an audit into where the money has gone.

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Poorer Australian regions lose out in ‘flawed’ allocation of doctors, GP body says

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System of identifying shortages leads to skewing of resources towards wealthier areas, according to Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

Several poor rural regions are being disadvantaged by the way the Australian government identifies significant doctor shortages, while some wealthy areas are being classified as needing extra resources.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has argued that the system – which determines which regions need additional resources – is flawed and is exacerbating rural GP workforce shortages.

Doctors trained overseas are crucial to easing GP shortages across the country because for their first 10 years in Australia they must work in areas of need, known as a distribution priority area, to access Medicare benefits.

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‘Unjust and cruel’ lack of clarity still hangs over 64 refugees exiled in PNG

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Questions remain following whistleblower claims of corruption and nepotism in the Australian-sponsored program

Refugees exiled in Papua New Guinea have labelled the lack of clarity about their fate “cruel and confusing” after explosive claims of “missing” Australian funds and assurances of resettlement from Port Moresby that have not been actioned by the Australian government.

Questions remain unanswered for the 64 refugees, many of whom were sent to Manus Island’s illegal detention centre more than 10 years ago. One refugee in Port Moresby, who wished to remain anonymous, said the lack of clarity about his fate was cruel.

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Labor accused of ‘outrageous secrecy’ as border force confirms 11 asylum seekers sent to Nauru

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Officials refuse to answer questions at Senate estimates about the first transfer to immigration detention on the island in nine years

The Australian Border Force has confirmed it sent 11 asylum seekers to Nauru in September, the first transfer to immigration detention on the Pacific nation in nine years.

The evidence to Senate estimates on Monday from the head of operation sovereign borders (OSB) confirms a report in Guardian Australia revealing the Albanese government sent asylum seekers to Nauru just months after the last people were removed from detention on the island.

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Last refugees in Papua New Guinea to begin leaving ‘within weeks’ after Australian funding runs out

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Exclusive: Men left without healthcare and facing eviction, while local businesses are owned tens of millions of dollars

The final group of refugees still held in Papua New Guinea a decade after being exiled there by Australia will begin leaving “within weeks”, the country’s migration chief has committed, saying the majority will be resettled in New Zealand, while those suffering acute health problems will be brought to Australia for treatment.

There is an increased urgency to resolve the situations of the final cohort of refugees and asylum seekers left in PNG after the closure of Australia’s illegal offshore detention centre on Manus Island. The Australian public money provided to PNG to care for the men following the closure of Australia’s illegal offshore detention centre on Manus Island has run out, according to PNG officials, leaving the men without vital health services and facing eviction, while local businesses are owned tens of millions of dollars.

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Russian, South African and US athletes get rushed Australian citizenships ahead of 2024 Olympics

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Exclusive: Government fast-tracked applications of canoeist, wrestler and water polo player backed by AOC

The Australian government has fast-tracked the citizenship of three athletes from South Africa, Russia and the US, in an effort to boost the nation’s chances of winning gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

With the support of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), South African canoeist Pierre Van der Westhuyzen, Russian wrestler Georgii Okorokov and US water polo player Sam Slobodien, will receive citizenships ahead of the games after having their applications fast-tracked.

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‘Grossly irresponsible’: peak Islamic body condemns Peter Dutton’s comments on pro-Palestine rally

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Australian National Imams Council said opposition leader’s comments were ‘designed to inflame tensions’

Australia’s peak body representing Muslims has labelled comments by Peter Dutton over pro-Palestine protests “dangerous, divisive, misleading and grossly irresponsible”.

The Australian National Imams Council spokesperson, Bilal Rauf, also rejected the opposition leader’s “broad, sweeping” call for the visas of antisemitic protesters to be cancelled.

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PNG threatens to send refugees back to Australia unless it keeps funding humanitarian program

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Exclusive: Papua New Guinea official accuses Australia of abandoning 70 men but government maintains it has no responsibility for them

Refugees exiled to Papua New Guinea a decade ago will be sent back to Australia if the Australian government fails to continue funding PNG’s humanitarian program, Port Moresby’s most senior migration official has warned.

PNG’s chief migration officer, Stanis Hulahau, said the refugees had been abandoned by Australia and the PNG businesses that had been housing and caring for the men were owed tens of millions of dollars.

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Australia will pay $27m compensation to Indonesians held in adult jails when they were children

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Commonwealth agrees to settle with more than 120 Indonesians wrongly detained as adult people smugglers, some when they were as young as 12

The Australian government has agreed to pay more than $27m to Indonesians who were wrongly detained or prosecuted as adult people smugglers while they were children using a deeply flawed wrist X-ray technique.

The commonwealth this week agreed to settle a class action brought by the Indonesians, some who were as young as 12 when they were locked up in adult prisons and prosecuted in adult courts as people smugglers between 2010 and 2012 during the highly charged political climate around border protection.

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Labor to prioritise new asylum seeker claims as part of $160m package to tackle backlog

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Shift to ‘last in, first out’ processing aims to break the business model of those making unmeritorious claims, immigration minister says

The Albanese government will attempt to turn the tables on people making unmeritorious asylum claims by shifting to a “last in, first out” application processing system.

The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, will announce a $160m package to tackle the backlog of asylum claims, including $54m to prioritise processing new claims, an attempt to break the business model of those suggesting junk claims as a means to remain in Australia.

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