Australia Immigration Issues

Australia opens its doors and welcomes immigrants around the world at the express invitation of the government, often rescuing people from difficult situations of abuse and danger in foreign countries. However, there is a different, and often abusive procedure in place for those who seek asylum uninvited. These people quite often leave oppressive situations by boat in perilous conditions and endure untold hardships on the journey across the sea. Upon arrival in Australian waters, their welcome is uncertain and their treatment varies.

The Human Rights Watch, which monitors civil rights abuses around the world, decries the double standard applied to desperate immigrants seeking asylum in life-threatening circumstances:

"These people are not 'queue jumpers' -many are refugees in need of protection who have been failed by the system at every stage," said Rory Mungoven, global advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "They should not be treated differently from the refugees Australia invites to resettle from refugee camps overseas." (Human Rights Watch, www.hrw.org/press/2002/12/australia1210.htm.)

Australia experienced a sudden influx of unauthorised arrivals of refugees a few years ago, mostly arriving by boat, in need of protection from oppressive situations. The best known case is the Tampa Crisis in 2001. [link to story which follows.] Claiming that people were misusing the asylum process, the Australian government created the Temporary Protection Visa (TPV). The TPV is issued to all persons who have been given legal “Refugee” status and are leaving temporary detention centers. The visa expires in three years, and those holding the visa can be deported at that time if they are no longer in need of “protection.” The burden of proof is on the immigrant. The psychological impact is devastating. Immigrants are unable to make long range plans and live under the threat of deportation back to nations which are hostile to them.

According to the UN, once a person is granted refugee status, they are entitled to this coverage forever, and are not to be removed by any state. The Human Rights Watch reports:

“Australia is the only country to require refugees who have already been recognized as genuine refugees, as a result of rigorous and demanding determination procedures, to re-prove their claim in light of new circumstances, several years later... Nothing in the drafting or preparatory notes for Article 1A of the Refugee Convention suggests that States would determine status over and over again in each individual case”.

The government’s justification of this practice can be read on the following website: http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/64protection.htm. 

In addition, the government passed an act in 2001 to change the Migration Zone to exclude anything but the mainland. Previously it included scattered islands throughout the pacific and to the north that still fall in Australian waters, such as Christmas Island. As a result, refugees already in danger, having faced difficult, often life-threatening water voyages, are barred from landing on available islands. Instead they are required to land on the mainland of Australia, to facilitate monitoring.

The Tampa Crisis, 2001

In August 2001, a 200-metre wooden fishing boat carrying mostly Afghan men, women and children, became stranded about 140 kilometres north of Christmas Island. The vessel was only designed to carry 27 crew members, but 438 refugees were on board. The living conditions can be imagined and medical attention was necessary for many. Australian rescue authorities became aware of the distressed boat and sent their vessel (the Tampa) to check out the situation. According to International Law, shipwrecked survivors are to be taken to the closest port for medical treatment and processing. The closest port was Christmas Island, 4 hours away.

While the Tampa was heading toward the fishing boat, the Australian Government communicated with Indonesians asking them to attend to the rescue and tow the Afghans to Indonesia. The closer the Tampa got, the more obvious were the signs of “SOS” and “HELP” being sent by the occupants of the fishing vessel. In the meantime, Australian rescue coordinators communicated to the Tampa that Indonesia had accepted responsibility for the stranded boat, despite the fact that all efforts to contact Indonesia had been ignored. The Tampa, however, went ahead and rescued the Afghans, removed them from the fishing vessel, and proceeded toward an Indonesian port.

On the way there, a group of the asylum seekers talked to the captain of the Tampa and demanded that he take them to Christmas Island (the closest land) to receive much needed medical help. The Tampa turned toward Christmas Island, but Australian soldiers boarded the Tampa, and the Australian Government refused the Tampa permission to re-enter Australian waters. They denied International Law obligations to tend to a distressed vessel and provide the necessary services. Norway warned Australia not to force the ship to turn around against the captain’s will, and reported Australia to the UN, UNHCR, and International Maritime Organization. In the meantime the government continued trying to convince Indonesia to accept responsibility; they refused.

The captain continued to plead for permission to enter, as many of the people were needing urgent medical attention. In the end, he declared a state of emergency and arrived at Christmas Island without permission. The Government continues to maintains that this was illegal and it had no obligation to help these people. As soon as the people set foot on the island, they were legally able to apply for asylum, which the government didn’t want.

While all this was going on, Parliament was desperately trying to introduce an emergency bill, the “Border Protection Bill 2001”, which would basically allow the government to remove any ship by any means necessary, return people to ships, deny asylum applications by people on the ship, and not allow any legal action to be taken against Australia in any of these circumstances. It was designed to be retroactive, making its actions in the case of the Tampa completely legal. The Opposition and other political parties voted strongly against the bill, and were criticized by the government for doing so. It passed the in the House of Representatives but was defeated in the Senate. Since then, however, Australia has successfully excised Christmas Island from it’s Migration Zone, which means that anyone arrives there cannot apply for protection from the Australian government.

While the political controversy raged, most of the Afghans were transported to Nauru and Papua New Guinea and a few to Indonesia, as part of Australia’s “Pacific Solution” to boat people problems. Interviews with those who experienced the detention centers indicate that some received inhumane treatment, beatings, and unnecessary force. They were held in detention for a couple of years while they were processed, without due process or legal recourse. About 150 people were diverted to New Zealand where they were granted asylum. In 2004, 92 Afghans were granted refugee status and 11 were refused. The 92 were given TPVs (Temporary Protection Visas), and not afforded normal refugee rights. In 2005, 32 people were still in detention on Nauru. It is our understanding that all have now been granted asylum or deported. It’s worth noting that Australia paid New Zealand a sum of money for accepting the 150 refugees rejected by Australia.

A Personal Account

Mustafa, a friend of the Australian Community of Christ member who provided the above summary, was on board the Tampa. He is of a particular ethnic Afghan group called Hazara who have been heavily targeted by the Taliban and other oppressive groups. The Hazara consider themselves the original indigenous people of Afghanistan. Mustafa has absolutely no grudge against Australia. He loves it and is very happy there. He tells his story openly and gently. His only purpose is to help other refugees in his position.

He escaped with nothing but the clothes on his back and cash. He hasn’t seen his family since he left and cannot go back to visit-- in part because of his visa status and in part because he would be killed if he returned. He spent two years in detention on Nauru. Only about a month ago he finally received a letter in the mail from the government, acknowledging his refugee status and granting him permanent protection in Australia. He’s been studying at the university but hasn’t been able to access basic services such as medicare, Centrelink (the Australian welfare system), jobsearch, English language lessons etc., due to his TPV status. It is to be hoped that with the documentation providing permanent immigration status, he can now access the social services that will assist him in both developing his understanding of Australia and also improving his lifestyle.

—Karli Smith with Susan Skoor