November 30, 2023
The Turnbull government has announced a deal that will see the remaining refugees held in offshore processing centres offered resettlement in the United States.
Speaking at a press conference this morning with Immigration and Border Protection minister Peter Dutton, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the deal is a “one-off agreement” that will only be available to people currently in the off-shore centres.
The Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, has offered to settle and house the families who were brought to Australia but now face return to Nauru.
In a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today, Andrews said: “I write to inform you that Victoria will accept full responsibility for all of these children and their families including the provision of housing, health, education and welfare services.”
Andrews said the circumstances were “clearly exceptional” and “a political argument is of no benefit” to the families concerned.
The High Court has rejected an attempt to strike down Australia’s policy of offshore processing, detention and resettlement.
In essence, the High Court has found that the asylum seeker arrangements with Nauru are legal. Asylum-seekers now face deportation to Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
The court found that the Bangladeshi woman who brought the case had standing but rejected her substantive argument.
This is the media statement from the Nauru Department of Justice on the sacking and deportation of Peter Law, the Resident Magistrate and Registrar of the Supreme Court.
The statement alleges inappropriate behaviour, drunk and disorderly behaviour, interference in cases and dereliction of duty.
Law was sacked and deported from Nauru yesterday. He was due to hear a case involving asylum seekers charged over riots at the Australian detention centre in July last year. He has indicated he will sue the Nauru government over the allegations contained in the media release.
Nauru’s president, Baron Waqa, also banned Geoffrey Eames, the Australian-based Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Eames attempted to prevent the deportation of Law, only to have his own visa cancelled.
The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, says there have been no boat arrivals for more than three weeks.
Morrison has abandoned his weekly media briefing in favour of releasing written statements. In today’s statement, he says: “It has been more than three weeks since the last group of illegal maritime arrivals were transferred to immigration authorities by Border Protection Command.”
Morrison acknowledged that January is usually a quieter period but claimed “the strong policies being implemented by the government mean that people smugglers are being denied the ability to ply their trade with any success”. He said boat arrivals numbered 419, 278 and 271 in the same period over the past three years.
A separate statement from the Customs and Border Protection Service says there are now 1259 people on Manus Island, 867 in Nauru and 2107 on Christmas Island.
Neither statement makes any mention of the towbacks reported by Indonesian and Australian media this week.
Media release from Scott Morrison, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.
No illegal boat arrivals for more than three weeks
Once again, there have been no persons transferred to Australian immigration authorities during the past reporting week under Operation Sovereign Borders, who arrived in Australia illegally by boat.
It has been more than three weeks since the last group of illegal maritime arrivals were transferred to immigration authorities by Border Protection Command.