The Age - Mentally ill refugees ‘can seek payouts’
THERE is no doubt asylum seekers who develop mental illness in detention can seek compensation through Australian courts, according to legal experts.
Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre co-ordinator David Manne said there would be a case for people to seek redress under Australian law if they could show their mental health had been damaged by time in immigration detention.
The Age (22/05) – Asylum-seeker clamp breaches treaties: lawyers
THE federal government has breached three international treaties and may have broken its own domestic laws by suspending the processing of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, according to an opinion prepared by three Melbourne lawyers.
It says the dramatic toughening of border protection policy discriminates on the basis of race and country of origin, in contravention of Australia’s international obligations.
WAtoday - Challenge to asylum system
by Michael Gordon
THE Rudd government’s regime for offshore processing of asylum seekers who try to enter Australia by boat has been challenged as unconstitutional in the High Court.
Documents lodged on behalf of 10 Sri Lankan asylum seekers facing return assert they were denied the chance to establish they are refugees and deserving of protection under Australia’s international obligations.
”Our clients are claiming that the decisions in their cases were unfair, unlawful and ultimately unconstitutional,” the coordinator of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, David Manne, told The Age last night. More
Radio Australia – Australia under fire over asylum seeker clampdown
The Australian government has drawn a barrage of criticism for its decision to stop processing new immigration claims from Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers. Analysts believe Canberra has recognised that its political opponents are making ground with the electorate, as a steady stream of asylum seekers continue to arrive by boat. Now Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s government has taken action putting a stop on new claims for the time being, citing signs of improved conditions in both Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. But refugee and human rights advocates – including the government’s own Human Rights Commission – have been united in their opposition.
Speakers: Chris Evans, Australian Immigration Minister; Stephen Smith, Australian Foreign Minister; Rick Towle, UNHCR regional representative; David Manne, co-ordinator, Refugee and Immigration Resource Centre.
