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This website is in imminent danger of being shut down. It has been online since 1995, but the personal circumstances of the owner, Malcolm Farnsworth, are such that economies have to be made. Server costs and suchlike have become prohibitive. At the urging of people online, I have agreed to see if Patreon provides a solution. More information is available at the Patreon website. If you are able to contribute even $1.00/month to keep the site running, please click the Patreon button below.
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. [Read more…]
The United Nations Refugee Agency has produced a scathing report on conditions at the Regional Processing Centre on Nauru.
The report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said “the current policies, conditions and operational approaches” on Nauru “do not comply with international standards”. [Read more…]
This is a picture taken outside the Gosford Anglican Church in NSW today.
The federal government has released the text of the agreement with Papua New Guinea announced yesterday.
REGIONAL RESETTLEMENT ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA
This Arrangement outlines further practical measures Australia and Papua New Guinea will pursue together to combat people smuggling. It builds on the mutually agreed principles governing cooperation set out in the Joint Partnership Declaration signed in Port Moresby in May 2013, notes that Australia and Papua New Guinea have a common interest in addressing regional and global challenges, in collaboration with the wider region, including other countries in the South Pacific. The cooperation outlined in this Arrangement underlines the strategic importance and enduring nature of the bilateral relationship, and the commitment of both governments to ensure that the relationship remains relevant to contemporary challenges. [Read more…]