This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and signing of the Refugee Convention. The Refugee Convention is the key legal document in defining who is a refugee, their rights and the legal obligations of states. Australia is a proud signatory and was one of the first countries to
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On the flight from Cairns to Weipa, a burly young bloke boarded wearing his “WE BUST OURS so WE CAN BUST YOURS” T-shirt with attitude. We were later to recognise him as a guard at Scherger Immigration Detention Centre in north Queensland. The drive from Weipa to the Scherger took us through clouds of red
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Sarah* arrived at Tullamarine with her 10-month-old baby late on a Sunday night. She had a valid passport and a valid visa. She came from one of the North African countries where people are protesting for Western-style democracy against a dictatorship. A house raid and threats to her safety forced the decision to leave her
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Yesterday, the Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, announced that the Government had met its promise made in October last year to release the majority of children from immigration detention by June 30th this year. While congratulating themselves on their ‘great achievement’, the Government failed to acknowledge what will happen to the 329 children still left
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‘It is an extravagant waste and it needs to stop’ [1] (Stephen Smith, 2004 (ALP Shadow Immigration Minister on Manus Island). Today’s announcement of the restarting of Howard’s failed ‘Pacific Solution’ is a dark day for human rights in Australia. The Labor government which condemned the Pacific Solution is now intending to use former Prime
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