June refugee news in Refugee Week 2009

Reform of detention debt regime under threat - your help urgently needed

Many of you will know that Australia is the only country in the world that charges asylum seekers for the cost of their detention (even if they are proven to be refugees) which is a contravention of Article 29 of the Refugee Convention.? The practice of imposing detention debts can have huge negative impacts on the lives of refugees, burdening them with debts reaching into the hundreds of thousands when they are trying to build a new life in Australia.? The scheme does not result in any financial benefit to the government since administrative costs outweigh or are roughly equal to the debts recovered.? Several bipartisan committees have recommended ending the detention debt regime, describing it as ?an extremely harsh policy?.? Thus in March this year the government introduced a Bill to abolish the practice of detention debts.? Yet in a move that has no perceivable basis other than political point-scoring, the Coalition has decided to block the Bill if the government tries to pass it.? The Coalition will succeed only if all Liberal Senators and independent Senator Steve Fielding vote to block the Bill (The Greens and independent Senator Nick Xenophon are likely to support the Bill).

What you can do: Write to Senator Fielding and the Liberal Senators, asking them to support the Migration Amendment (Abolishing Detention Debt) Bill 2009 to end this unjust practice.? The sooner the Bill gains enough support in the Senate, the sooner the government will move to pass the Bill.? The contact details of Senators can be found at www.aph.gov.au/Senate/Senators/index.htm.

Second parliamentary report into immigration detention released

On May 25, the Joint Standing Committee on Migration (JSCM) released its second report on immigration detention in Australia.? This report focuses on community-based alternatives to detention.? The report recommended that, where possible, a reformed bridging visa framework should be used in lieu of community detention.? The framework would give work rights and Medicare access to bridging visa holders, allowing them greater opportunity to support themselves in the community and avoid destitution.? The Committee recognised that a holistic framework of support services also benefits the immigration system by encouraging greater transparency, fair process and case resolution.? To see the full list of recommendations and the report, go to www.aph.gov.au/House/committee/mig/detention/report2.htm.

Overall, AJA welcomes the Committee?s recommendations as they represent a fairer, more humane and more cost-effective approach.? We encourage DIAC, when implementing the reformed bridging visa framework, to continue to consult with service providers and the NGO sector on how to best achieve this implementation. We applaud the recommendation to expand the Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme in order to provide means-tested legal and migration advice to all asylum seekers whether in detention or in the community, and look forward to seeing the nitty gritty of such a policy.? However, it is disappointing that the report does not specifically address the issue of children held in detention-like conditions within secure facilities (e.g. Immigration Residential Housing).? The report also omits to specify that when departmental decisions on bridging visa grants are reviewed, they should be reviewed by an independent and external assessor.? But in general, the report?s recommendations are another major step in the right direction.

Liberals split on policy approach

The JSCM?s second report showed a clear divide between the Liberal members within the bipartisan committee.? The Shadow Immigration Minister, Sharman Stone, stated in a minority report that she did not agree that asylum seekers should be given bridging visas whilst waiting for their application to be processed.? This is despite the fact that asylum seekers have never yet proven to be a security risk (see Myth 8 in the Myths and Facts section of AJA's website) and that an overwhelming majority of recent boat arrivals have? been found to be refugees (over 90%).? Meanwhile, the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, would neither support nor dissent with the report, citing her late entry into the Committee (from 4 February) as reason.? Whilst we acknowledge her late entry, we note that transcripts and written submissions from the consultations are readily available.? We also note that the Committee?s third report will again be drawn from the findings of the consultation process ? will Senator Fierravanti-Wells feel that she must again withhold her judgement?

On a positive note, Dana Vale MP (Committee Deputy Chair) gave her support to the Committee?s recommendations.? Petro Georgiou MP went further, arguing in his dissenting report that the recommendations did not go far enough in protecting the rights of children and in providing sufficient transparency of departmental decision-making.

Australia signs the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture

On 22 May 2009, the federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, announced that Australia has signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).? While the original Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) has no power to allow inspections or visits of a country?s detention facilities without the government?s permission, the OPCAT does.? In signing the OPCAT, Australia has agreed to allow greater oversight and inspection of its places of detention, including immigration detention.? More information about the implications of the OPCAT will be discussed in a later newsletter.

Letters to asylum seekers on Christmas Island

Michelle Dimasi is a researcher from Swinburne University who has visited Christmas Island numerous times.? Last week, she put out a call for people to write letters to asylum seekers on Christmas Island as a means of support and contact.? She writes:

?There are currently over 400 asylum seekers on Christmas Island. The majority of these people have left war-torn Afghanistan and Sri-Lanka. Most asylum seekers on the island are detained in the maximum-security detention prison where no opportunities for excursions outside the centre exist.
Over the years, letter writing to detainees has been an integral part of assisting asylum seekers held in remote locations where the likelihood of receiving visitors is minimal.
If you would like to write to someone in detention on Christmas Island please email me and I will forward you the name of someone to write to. Alternatively, you could forward this email on to friends, students and colleagues who may be keen to write.?

You can contact Michelle on mdimasi@swin.edu.au.

Thank you to our members and donors for your support

AJA?s work is made possible through the generous financial support of our members and supporters - our only source of funding this year.? We take this opportunity to again warmly thank everyone who supports AJA, including those who responded to our recent membership drive.? We are still gratefully accepting donations and will be sure to process any further donations within this financial year, if received in the next fortnight.?

Update on other key asylum policy issues

Abolition of the 45-day rule
AJA warmly welcomes the government?s move to abolish the ?45-day rule?, announced in the 2009-10 Budget.? The new regulations, which will hopefully come into operation on July 1, will cease the arbitary punishment of asylum seekers who apply for protection after 45 days of arrival, by allowing them work rights and Medicare access if they can demonstrate a valid reason for their 'delayed' application. Shadow Minister Sharman Stone has decried the government?s move but her arguments lack any factual basis or supporting evidence.? In fact many of her claims are similar to those that we have debunked in the ?Myths and Facts? page of our website.

Christmas Island and offshore processing
As of 22 May, over 500 asylum seeking boat arrivals were being detained on Christmas Island.? AJA and other refugee groups have continued our opposition to the government?s policy of processing boat arrivals on Christmas Island using an assessment process that is not accountable under the Australian legal system.? And we stress again that Christmas Island is wholly unsuited to this purpose, for a range of reasons:
*?? The limited capacity of community-based accommodation on Christmas Island means that even asylum seekers who have passed health, security and identity checks are still being held in the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) despite the government?s commitment to use detention as a last resort. 340 men are now being housed in the IDC.? 68 children, (including 41 unaccompanied minors) are being held in a facility on Christmas Island known as the ?construction camp?, 5 km out of town.? The 'construction camp' has been described by Amnesty International as ?consist[ing] mostly of metal, concrete and gravel, with small claustrophobic bedrooms and no ways to communicate with the outside world.? Security guards oversee the facility at all times.
*?? The remoteness of Christmas Island results in severely compromised psychosocial, legal and spiritual support services for detainees.? Christmas Island is 2,650 km from Perth (and only 380 km from Indonesia) and return flights from Perth cost from $1000 to $1800.? This means that independent advocates and community members are largely unable to visit the detainees and provide external advice and oversight.? In addition, advocates have reported frequent breakdowns in phone and fax communications to the IDC.
*?? The cost of processing asylum seekers on Christmas Island is remarkably expensive and a waste of taxpayer?s money.

Children still in detention
In July 2008, the government promised that children would not be detained in an immigration detention centre.? However, this ignores the ongoing detention of children in secured facilities that are detention centres in all but name.? As well as the ?construction camp? on Christmas Island, children can also be detained in Villawood ?Immigration Residential Housing? (IRH) and Perth IRH.? Villawood IRH is located literally next door to Villawood Detention Centre and is distanced from the community.? Asylum seekers can only leave the IRH if accompanied by two registered escorts and if the necessary paperwork is submitted and approved.? The increased difficulty of organizing two registered escorts instead of one significantly lowers the opportunity for outings.? Entry and exit is via a security reception building and the complex is surrounded by fences. We call for the government to ensure that no children are kept in detention-like conditions.

Complementary Protection
Another welcome announcement in the 2009-10 Budget was the proposed reform of Australia's Refugee Status Determination to formally engage our Complementary Protection obligations.? Complementary Protection refers to protection for people to whom Australia has non-refoulement (non-return) obligations under international human rights treaties other than the 1951 Refugee Convention.? The government is currently drafting a Bill on Complementary Protection measures, which is expected to come before the Senate towards the end of 2009.? Recent comments by Sharman Stone suggest that the Opposition may choose to oppose the Bill.? We will update you when further news becomes available.

And finally, the numbers are still small
Whilst there have been some excellent articles in the media on asylum seekers, there has also been some poor and irresponsible reporting (as discussed in our last newsletter).? The use of terms like ?illegals?, ?floodgates? and ?surge? and the reporting of statistics in a myopic manner, are liable to give the impression that Australia is being 'swamped' with boat arrivals.? In fact, boat arrivals to Australia remain relatively low.? 4,700 people sought asylum in Australia in 2008 - far less than the numbers received earlier in the decade (13,100 claims for asylum in 2000, 12,400 in 2001).? Our asylum seeker numbers are also in line with global trends. UNHCR has reported a 12% increase in global asylum seeker numbers worldwide from 2007 to 2008, partly due to ongoing conflicts in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Sri Lanka.? And other developed countries have received far greater numbers of asylum seekers than Australia.? For example, in 2008 the US received 49,000 asylum applicatons, Italy 36,000 and Canada, France and the UK over 30,000 applications each.
?