New visa arrangement with Thailand forged
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone announced that the new Work and Holiday (W&H) visa arrangement between Australia and Thailand took effect on 1 September. The arrangement allows Thai and Australian nationals between the ages 18 and 30 who are college graduates to stay up to a year in both countries.
Beauty industry new target for unauthorized migrants
The Department of Immigration said there is a significant increase in the number of unauthorized migrants caught in South Australia working as nail technicians and hairdressers. Twelve were caught between July 2004 and March 2005. Other industries with high number of unauthorized migrant workers are: industry (agriculture, forestry, fishing), retail, personal (beauty industry included), and hospitality (hotels, cafes, restaurants).
Immigration using `people smuggling’ tactics
Phil Glendenning, director of the human rights agency Edmund Rice Center, said Immigration Department sources had admitted issuing false travel documents to deport asylum seekers. He accused the department of using the same tactics as human smugglers. He alleged the department issued false papers to two Serbian asylum seekers in order to deport them to Serbia. Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone clarified that new documents were ordered because the Serbian couple used false names.
Chinese, Koreans held in immigration raid
Immigration officials initially detained nineteen male Chinese and Korean nationals following a raid on a Tomago engineering firm. However, one of the foreign workers was given a bridging visa and was released. The remaining 18, a number of them unauthorized migrants and some with visa violations, were taken to the Villawood detention center in Sydney.
Asylum seeker deported, returned
The immigration department deported an asylum seeker known only as Hassan despite a UN request to Australia to defer his deportation until it has completed its investigation on his case. Hassan was initially deported to Dubai, with the intention of flying him to his home country from there. However, upon receipt of information about Hassan’s case from the UNHCR, the federal government decided to fly the man back to Australia three days later. Peter Job, spokesperson for the Victorian Greens party, said that thousands of dollars could have been saved had the immigration department complied with the UN request. The new information from the UN would now be assessed in relation to Hassan’s refugee status application.
Dreadful conditions at Baxter led to suicides
According to the Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR), several detainees at the Baxter detention center in South Australia are driven to commit suicide due to appalling conditions there. A 24-year old man from Zimbabwe held at Baxter tried to kill himself on 10 September by slitting his throat and wrists using broken glass. This was the fourth suicide attempt at Baxter in the past fortnight. The man is now in stable condition at a hospital.
Meanwhile, in response to complaints about the menu, including maggot-infested meat, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone promised that changes would be made. The detainees would be treated to two barbecue feasts a week and they would have a say in the menu.
Australia should shelter future Pacific refugees
Senator Bob Brown of the Australian Greens said the country should accept future Pacific island refugees who are affected by global warming. The senator said Australia has a responsibility to help victims of rising ocean levels because it is partly to blame for the problem. Brown accused Australia under the Howard administration of being the “worst polluting country per capita on Earth."
Lawyer says detainees exploited
David Mann, a lawyer from Melbourne’s Refugee and Immigration Legal Center, said asylum seekers in Australia were being exploited, in breach of the Migration Act. He said detainees were paid a measly dollar an hour for work which was supposed to be done by private contractors who get over A$100 million a year. The Immigration Department denied Mann’s accusations, saying that detainees were not paid wages and that money was used as a merit point system.
Taxpayers shoulder detention costs
A recently released report indicated that the government is able to recoup only four percent of the cost of detaining visa overstayers annually. The rest of the cost is shouldered by Australian taxpayers. According to the mandatory detention policy, visa overstayers and detainees who are not refugees are required to repay detention costs to the government. However, an immigration official admitted that these debts are usually written off.
Officers in wrongful deportation case barred from testifying
George Newhouse, lawyer for Vivian Alvarez Solon, was enraged by Amanda Vanstone’s decision not to allow three immigration officers to give evidence at a Senate inquiry. The three officers were involved in wrongfully deporting Australian citizen Alvarez to the Philippines. Vanstone explained that her decision was based on a warning issued by Ombudsman John McMillan, who is holding the inquiry into the wrongful deportation case, that a public hearing might deny the officers natural justice.
Govt not neglecting Australian workers
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews said the sharp drop in the number of students pursuing college degrees can be attributed to the greater choice available to school leavers. The government has been criticized for bringing in 20,000 foreign skilled migrants, while neglecting the training of Australian workers. Andrews said the government has been considering measures to encourage more Australians to go into skilled areas to plug labor shortages in skilled occupations. These include the 24 new Australian technical colleges and the new vocational education agreement with local governments.
Rural workers lured into mining
The lure of the booming mining sector allegedly makes it hard for Australian rural industries to retain their skilled and unskilled workers. Chris Evans of the Rural Management Partners (RMP) said the entry of workers into the mining industry was understandable because of higher salaries. He said some rural companies are now considering hiring migrant labor, particularly Filipinos and Brazilians.
Sources: Edith Bevin, “Illegal workers target SA’s beauty industry," The Advertiser, 1 September 2005; Nicolette Burke, “Public picks up visa bills," The Herald Sun, 1 September 2005; AFP, “We should accept Pacific refugees: Brown," The Age, 1 September 2005; “Immigration raid nets 18 foreign nationals," abc.net.au, 2 September 2005; Jewel Topsfield, “Vanstone stonewalling, says lawyer," The Age, 5 September 2005; AAP, “Government defends plunging uni enrolments," The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 September 2005; AAP, “Botched deportation costs thousands," The Age, 6 September 2005; AAP, “Mining boom luring rural workers away," The Age, 6 September 2005; “Man deported from Australia, flown back three days later," The New Zealand Herald, 6 September 2005; “Asylum seekers `exploited’," The Australian, 8 September 2005; “Baxter `drives detainees to suicide’," The Age, 11 September 2005; “Fresh claim of Immigration `people smuggling’ tactics," abc.net.au, 14 September 2005; Detainees given barbecue after maggot complaints," The New Zealand Herald, 14 September 2005