On Wednesday morning a large group of asylum seekers walked out of the Darwin detention centre and stood quietly by the Stuart Highway holding up bed sheets so that passing cars could read such messages as “Give us mercy.” Pamela Curr, campaign co-ordinator, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, was there: Like many small towns, Darwin leaks
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I often think everyone should ask themselves the basic question that I pose to myself each day: What would I do if I was fleeing for my life and trying to save my family? I know I would do whatever it took. I would get on a boat no matter how dangerous and would pay
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The protests of 88 Afghan men yesterday at the Darwin Immigration Detention Centre was a symbol of an immigration system that continues to fail asylum seekers. The fact that these men were denied water for 8 hours as they peacefully protested in blistering heat as a negotiation tactic of the Department of Immigration is telling.
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As of the 25th of June 2010, there were 4116 people in immigration detention. This included 1662 in immigration detention on the mainland and 2454 in immigration detention on Christmas Island. Of the total people in immigration detention, there were 566 children being detained. Five-hundred and seventy five of all individuals had been in detention
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As part of its 2010 immigration election platform, the Liberal Party announced that it would reintroduce the ‘45-day rule’ for onshore protection applicants. The 45-day rule (which came into force in 1997 and subsequently abolished by the Labor Party in 2007) required asylum seekers who had arrived in the country legally by plane and on
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