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
Read moreOn October 18, 2010, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that the majority of asylum seeker children and their families would be released by June 30, 2011, prioritising unaccompanied minors and vulnerable children. At the time of the announcement, there were 738 children in detention. Of these 276 were unaccompanied minors. In the months after the
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The Contracting States shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened in the sense of article 1, enter or are present in their territory without authorization, provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities and
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The announcement by the Gillard Government that asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia will be granted Bridging Visas to live in the community heralds the beginning of a more humane approach towards asylum seekers. An approach that has been advocated for by academics, human rights defenders, grassroots organizations, medical and mental health experts, religious
Read moreThe detention system in Australia is broken. Last night’s Four Corners program showed graphically how the current detention policy is destroying people’s mental health. There is a solution. It is being done in a small way right now. The ASRC is calling for an immediate extension of onshore, community based processing. We are doing it
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