Murugappan family to return to Biloela on bridging visas

Tamil family can return to Queensland town while their immigration status is resolved, Labor’s Jim Chalmers says

The Murugappan family is set to return home, to the rural Queensland town of Biloela.

The interim home affairs minister, Jim Chalmers, said on Friday afternoon that he had exercised his powers under the Migration Act to give them bridging visas, fulfilling a pre-election promise to let them go home.

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Scott Morrison’s staff urged border force to publicise Sri Lankan boat interception on election day

ABF officials made it clear publication of the interception could only proceed on the authority of the home affairs minister, Guardian Australia understands

Scott Morrison’s staff conveyed a clear message to border force officials through Karen Andrews’ office on election day that they wanted the department to publicise the interception of a boat from Sri Lanka, Guardian Australia understands.

While an investigation into the politically charged incident is ongoing, people familiar with the events last Saturday have confirmed that on current information, staff working for Andrews made it clear to officials that Morrison wanted the boat interception publicised. They also conveyed that they wanted the opposition briefed about the incident, given the caretaker convention was in force.

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Refugee children handed anti-illegal migration playing cards, Australian charity says

Cards branded with Australian government’s ‘Zero Chance’ logo and QR code to border force website distributed in Indonesia

Playing cards adorned with the Australian government’s “Zero Chance” campaign against “illegal migration” were distributed to refugee children in Indonesia by people trespassing on school grounds, the charity running the school alleges.

The playing cards were allegedly given to children during break time at the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre in west Java.

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Election day press release about asylum seeker boats ‘a disgrace’, Richard Marles says

Acting prime minister says information released by Liberal party about Sri Lankan boats being intercepted should not have been made public

The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, says the issuing of an election day press release about the interception of an asylum seeker boat was a “disgrace” and has demanded an explanation from public servants.

The media release paved the way for a last-minute scare campaign run by the New South Wales Liberals, which pushed texts to voters across key electorates, warning them the only way they could maintain secure borders was by voting Liberal.

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New Zealand woman held in Villawood detention centre found dead, detainees say

Activists say woman’s death is an example of people with serious mental health problems being detained without adequate care

Advocates and detainees say a woman’s body was found at Villawood detention centre on Sunday morning.

The New Zealand woman was found dead about 10.45am, shortly after a room search had been conducted by Serco officers. She is believed to have killed herself.

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Labor victory means Murugappan family set to return home to Biloela

After four years in immigration detention, the election would produce an all-or-nothing result for the Tamil asylum seekers

About 11pm on election night in the central Queensland town of Biloela, Angela Fredericks phoned her absent friend.

“Priya, you are coming home,” she said.

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Scott Morrison breaks own rule against commenting on ‘on-water matters’ to confirm asylum boat intercepted

PM says Australians ‘need to vote Liberal and Nationals’ so he can stop future boats, despite Labor’s identical policy on boat turnbacks

Scott Morrison has breached his own rule against commenting on “on-water matters”, confirming an asylum seeker boat from Sri Lanka has been intercepted.

In a last-ditch pitch to voters on election day, Morrison told Australians they “need to vote Liberal and Nationals” for him to be there to stop future boats, despite Labor having an identical policy to intercept and turn back boats where safe to do so.

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Australian federal election 2022 live: Plibersek says Albanese has a ‘tough job’ as polls tighten

AEC concedes some Covid-positive Australians ‘may not be able to vote’: prime minister responds after Labor announces policy costings; Covid and illness lead to drop in working hours; nation records at least 52 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s developments live

Scott and Jenny Morrison are visiting Whitemore in the Labor-held electorate of Lyons in Tasmania this morning.

Brian Mitchell holds Lyons on a margin of 5.2%, although his buffer was inflated by the disendorsement of his Liberal opponent mid-campaign in 2019 for anti-Islamic social media posts. Morrison is still on the offence, seeking gains to offset expected losses elsewhere.

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Immigration detainees transferred from Melbourne to Christmas Island amid heated protests

Australian Border Force confirms 12 detainees, including one refugee, had visas revoked under Migration Act on character grounds

The Australian Border Force has confirmed the transfer of 12 immigration centre detainees to Christmas Island, 24-hours after a heated clash between police and protesters outside a Melbourne detention centre on Tuesday.

Guardian Australia understands that 12 detainees, including one person whose refugee status has been approved, were woken by guards at the Melbourne International Transit Accommodation centre early yesterday morning and told they would be moved to Christmas Island.

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Expert warned against wrist X-rays used by AFP to prosecute children as adult people smugglers

Radiologist James Christie’s court evidence said technique had no scientific validity and was never intended to assess age

An expert radiologist says Australian federal police continued to use wrist X-rays to prosecute children as adult people smugglers after he had given unequivocal evidence of the technique’s unreliability, something he now says was “just wrong” and akin to “child abuse”.

Last week, six Indonesian boys won a major case overturning their convictions as adult people smugglers in 2010 amid the highly charged political atmosphere around border protection.

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‘They were tiny’: the Indonesians still fighting their conviction as adults in Australia

Anto and Samsul Bahar were 15 when they were jailed in a maximum security facility in Western Australia

Staring at the camera, Anto’s face, wide-eyed and child-like, invites a simple question.

How could anyone, let alone Australia’s federal crime fighting agency, see an adult gazing back at them?

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Refugees resettled in New Zealand from Australia to be permanently banned from returning

Government says refugees will be stopped at border, even if they have become New Zealand citizens

Refugees resettled in New Zealand from Australia will be unable to return even if they’ve become New Zealand citizens, the Morrison government has announced.

The home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, revealed on Tuesday that Australia will prevent the resettlement deal for 450 refugees from becoming a “back door” by stopping would-be travellers at the border.

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Australia has ‘moral duty’ to take 20,000 more Afghan refugees, Catholic bishops say

Election statement also calls for a special intake of Ukrainians and a wider reassessment of refugee policies

Australia’s Catholic bishops have called for a special intake of 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan, saying the country has a “moral duty” to do more.

As part of its election statement, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said the country had an obligation to take more refugees from Afghanistan because of the support shown to Australian military forces.

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PM cancels afternoon campaigning – as it happened

Members of Scott Morrison’s security detail injured during campaigning in Tasmania; at least 45 more Covid deaths around Australia, with 21 in NSW. This blog is now closed

If you are in Sydney, you can have a little treat – free public transport (for 12 days).

As AAP reports:

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Morning mail: Putin confronted by Austria’s leader, flood-related scams, Sydney’s last video shop

Tuesday: Austrian chancellor becomes first western leader to hold face-to-face talks with Russian president since invasion of Ukraine. Plus: Australia’s top travel experiences

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Good morning. Putin meets Austria’s chancellor in his first face-to-face visit with a western leader since the invasion of Ukraine. Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese will be out campaigning in marginal seats, with jobs and healthcare on the election agenda. And Lonely Planet selects Australia’s top travel experiences.

The last Ukrainian soldiers defending Mariupol said they were “running out of ammunition” on Monday and expected to be killed or taken prisoner very soon by Russian forces surrounding the city. Writing on Facebook, the 36th brigade said its 47-day defence of Mariupol was coming to a tragic conclusion. “We were bombed from airplanes and shot at by artillery and tanks. We have been doing everything possible and impossible,” it said. Meanwhile, Austria’s chancellor, Karl Nehammer, said he told Vladimir Putin that “all those responsible” for war crimes must be brought to justice and warned that western sanctions would intensify as long as people kept dying in Ukraine. After becoming the first western leader to hold face-to-face talks with the Russian president since the invasion, Nehammer said his trip to Moscow was not “a visit of friendship” and that the two had had a “direct, open and hard” conversation.

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‘Absolutely due to upcoming election’: Australian government releases more refugees from detention

Iranian refugee Hossein Latifi is one of nine people released from Melbourne’s Park hotel a fortnight after 50 others were freed

Iranian refugee Hossein Latifi has been released from Melbourne’s Park hotel, along with nine other people, after nine years in immigration detention.

Latifi was released on Friday – his 33rd birthday. It was the first time in almost a decade he had been able to celebrate outside the walls of a detention centre.

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More refugees released from detention ahead of Australian election

Coalition releases detainees as it prepares to face independents calling for more humane treatment of refugees, advocates suggest

Refugee advocates have celebrated the release of at least 18 people from onshore detention centres in Australia, but say the secrecy and lack of notice around their release is a final piece of cruelty from the Australian government.

They have also called for the release of the 33 people who remain in detention.

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Australia live news update: man drowns at Sydney beach; Labor’s Katy Gallagher says ‘mean girls’ label ‘diminishes women’; 11 Covid deaths

Man drowns on Sydney’s northern beaches; Labor senator Katy Gallagher says she had no ‘difficult arguments’ with Kimberley Kitching beyond what was normal in politics; Victoria records five Covid deaths and 7,466 new cases; NSW records one death and 17,450 new cases; Queensland records 7,738 new cases and one death; Western Australia records 7,197 new cases, four deaths. Follow developments live

The NSW Labor opposition has outlined a plan for the state to rebuild and recover from the devastating floods that have left about 1,500 people in emergency accommodation and damaged or destroyed about 95,000 homes, AAP reports.

The federal and New South Wales governments were too slow to act in the immediate response and have been too slow in their support, NSW Labor has said in a statement today.

The difference is, David, we’re looking for maximum community benefit and economic benefit while the government’s looking for maximum political benefit.

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‘I was lost’: Kyiose faced homelessness after arriving in Australia from Myanmar – and he’s not alone

Half of all respondents say they had experienced homelessness exacerbated by language issues and other systemic barriers

Kyiose Han did not know where to go when his brother kicked him out of home two years ago. Aged 17 at the time, Han, an orphan, had only recently arrived in Australia from Myanmar.

He had no job, no money and knew very little English.

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Coalition urged to terminate Canstruct contract to end financial ‘black hole’ on Nauru

There is little sense keeping refugees on island at great expense following New Zealand resettlement deal, human rights groups say

The government must end the “moral and financial black hole” on Nauru by ceasing its contract with Canstruct and returning those on Nauru to Australia in the wake of the New Zealand refugee resettlement deal, human rights groups say.

Asked on Friday whether it would end the Canstruct contract for “garrison and welfare services”, the government declined to answer.

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