Australia鈥檚 ability to remain a signatory to the UN refugee convention would be put in serious doubt if the government succeeded in weakening protection for refugees in the migration act, prominent human rights lawyer Julian Burnside QC told 91自拍论坛 Weekly.
鈥淭he judgement was clear that the arrangement that had been made with Malaysia has been made legally invalid,鈥 he said.
鈥淭he question is whether the government thinks having signed the convention limits the range within they can change the act.
Jay Fletcher
Now that the Labor government has almost entirely reneged on its 2007 election promise to end Australia鈥檚 sickening abuse of refugees, the two big parties are united on an issue they have so vehemently pretended to disagree.
Unhappy with the High Court鈥檚 interpretation of the law 鈥 that Australia must uphold fundamental human rights when making policies on refugees, and that deporting them to a country that does not have such rights violates the law 鈥 the Labor government is cajoling the opposition to agree to water down Australia鈥檚 refugee protections.
Australian Solicitor-General Stephen Gageler, who defended the government鈥檚 Malaysia solution in the High Court, confirmed the court鈥檚 decision 鈥渃ast doubt鈥 on all offshore processing, immigration minister Chris Bowen said on September 4.
British-based multinational corporation Serco Group is bidding for more contracts with Australian federal and state governments. Worth 拢4.3 billion ($6.6 billion), Serco markets itself as a 鈥渟olution to government鈥, which takes over government services and runs them for profit.
It has run Australia鈥檚 disastrous and increasingly unstable refugee detention centres since 2009, owns two Australian super-prisons and took over Western Australia鈥檚 court security and custodial services in June.
A poll commissioned by new online campaign found 61% of Australian people agreed a 鈥減ublic inquiry into the Australian media is necessary so the public can better understand the relationship between politicians, corporations and media outlets鈥.
NewsStand, backed by GetUp, then launched an online on August 11 calling for parliament to 鈥減ublicly scrutinise the media landscape as a whole鈥, which quickly gathered almost 30,000 signatures.
The August 31 decision of the High Court to stop the Labor government鈥檚 bid to deport up to 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia is welcome news and a success for the refugee rights campaigners and the lawyers who led the case.
But the judgement has not, as many hoped, spurred the government to change direction.
In fact, immigration minister Chris Bowen said the government may even now consider reopening the Nauru detention centre and was 鈥渘ot ruling anything in or out鈥.
During the historic High Court challenge to the federal government鈥檚 so-called Malaysia solution, barrister Debbie Mortimer, representing refugees that face expulsion from Australia, said 鈥渇undamental rights were at stake鈥 in the case.
Federal Labor MP Anna Burke captured the Gillard government鈥檚 increasingly right-wing refugee policy when she said plans to reopen the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea would be 鈥済oing back to something we said we wouldn鈥檛 do, which is the Pacific solution鈥.
About 200 people have arrived on boats to claim refugee protection in Australia since the Australian and Malaysian governments signed a deal to 鈥渟wap鈥 refugees on July 25.
Federal riot police have the go-ahead to use Tasers, tear gas, batons, capsicum spray and handcuffs to force refugees onto a flight to Malaysia from Christmas Island. Immigration officials say they will film the ordeal to put online as a 鈥減otent message鈥 to other refugees.
The first asylum seekers to undergo this ordeal arrived in Australian waters less than a week after the 鈥淢alaysia solution鈥 came into effect. A boat carrying 55 Afghan, Iranian and Iraqi refugees was intercepted near Scott Reef on July 31.
More than one third of the asylum seekers on the boat are children.
Scenes were reported of people burying themselves in shallow graves in the Christmas Island detention centre on July 24, as refugees across the country continued defiant protests despite harsh crackdowns.
Hunger strikes and ongoing protests also took place in the Northern Immigration Detention Centre in Darwin and the Scherger military base detention centre in far-north Queensland.
At Christmas Island, after riot police assaulted refugees with tear gas and 鈥渂ean bag鈥 shootings, they raided rooms and rounded up supposed 鈥渞ingleaders鈥.
The Australia-Malaysia refugee 鈥渟wap鈥 deal, signed in Kuala Lumpur on July 25, further persecutes people who have escaped conflict and terror and have an international right to seek asylum in Australia.
The Australian government said the plan was intended to attack the 鈥減eople smugglers鈥 business model鈥. But, in reality, it is a high-priced human trafficking deal between two governments known for discriminating against refugees.
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