The Nauru government has announced that the island’s Parliament this month passed a number of laws to bring the nation up to international human rights standards. A new act replaces a former criminal code that dated back to 1899 and was based on old Queensland laws. The law reforms come after a number of incidents at the Read more
Peter Dutton, what do you do between the hours of midnight and 5am? Do you sleep? If so, I really must ask – how can you? Dozens of Australians sit up all night, every single night, comforting asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru. You don’t have to, therefore the task falls to the advocates. Read more
The death this week of Omid, a young refugee held on Nauru, brought feelings of sadness but also great anger. News that a second refugee, a young Somali woman, has self-immolated and is fighting for her life in a Brisbane hospital only adds to this. These are tragic, entirely predictable and preventable consequences of our Read more
Ten Anglican and Uniting churches in Australia have offered sanctuary to traumatised and abused asylum seekers who are set to be returned to Nauru. A recent Australian court decision stated the lawfulness of the offshore detention regime on Nauru. This means 267 asylum seekers on mainland Australia could be returned there. But 10 Anglican and Read more
Foreign Minister Murray McCully has suspended the funding New Zealand provides to Nauru each year for its justice system because of ongoing concerns about civil rights abuses. New Zealand had been giving Nauru $1.2 million a year, paid out quarterly. Mr McCully said several incidents had caused him concern, including the removal of senior members Read more
Nauru’s former Chief Justice says New Zealand is continuing to support an unjust system and should speak more strongly against what he calls an appalling abuse of power. New Zealand provides 600-thousand US dollars a year to fund Nauru’s justice system. New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, says he’s deeply concerned about recent developments but Read more
Australia has sent 157 Tamil asylum seekers, including 50 children, to Nauru a week after religious leaders slammed policy in this area as child abuse. The group were held at sea for a month after their boat, which set sail from Pondicherry in India, was intercepted in June. They were moved to Australia’s mainland, to Read more
A former Salvation Army worker who provided welfare services at the Australian-run asylum seeker detention centre on Nauru says the situation of hopelessness at the camp was so bad he had to speak out. Mark Isaacs has described his experience in his book, The Undesirables which was due for for publication next month, but has Read more
Is there any ethical discussion to be had about stopping the boats, or is it just a matter of whatever it takes? Professor of law at Australian Catholic University, Fr Frank Brennan offers his seven points for stopping the boats ethically in this article first published in Eureka Street. Read More
Tony Abbott says Nauru is a “pleasant island” that can accommodate up to 5000 asylum seekers. During the election campaign he told Neil Mitchell the ‘tent city’ asylum seeker policy would cost about $50 million to set up. Abbott said reports of $75 a week in handouts for asylum seekers was incorrect – “we’re looking Read more