Refugees in CRISIS

Catholic Commission for Justice, Development and Peace (CCJDP), ‘Hordes or Human Beings, A Discussion of Some of the Problems Surrounding Australia's Response to Asylum Seekers and Possible Solutions to Those Problems’, Discussion Paper, 8 March 2000.

CCJDP, above, footnote 1, p.16.

For example, see ‘Illegals Force Refugee Freeze’, Australian, 15 February 2000. The Australian reported in the article regarding the ‘freeze’ in the processing of overseas refugee cases that ‘the minister … ruled out lifting the refugee quota from 12,000 because an additional 1000 would cost tax payers $23 million dollars per year’.

For example see ‘Ruddock to Target Illegal Refugees’, Canberra Times, 14 October 1999. The newspaper stated that ‘Most of those were from Iraq, Turkey and Afghanistan and many had been outside their countries for decades. It is clear that most of these people are being trafficked to Australia by criminal elements’.

See ‘Australian Government: Ruddock announces tough new initiatives’, M2 Presswire, 14 October 1999. The Minister is quoted as saying, ‘In a growing trend that has become known as “forum shopping”, these people are trying to exploit Australia's generous arrangements for refugees to gain residence in their country of preference’.

Article 14(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

See ‘Australian Government: Ruddock Announces Tough New Initiatives’, M2 Presswire, 14 October 1999. The Minister is paraphrased as saying ‘Mr Ruddock said the proposed legislation would put an end to this abuse that undermines the refugee process and takes places from genuine applicants who are languishing in refugee camps around the world’.

CCJDP, above, p.22.

For example, see ‘WA — Illegal Immigrants “selfish” — MP’, Australian Associated Press, 16 February 2000. Senator Ross Lightfoot is quoted as saying ‘Illegal immigrants were selfish, ungrateful and “possibly unsavoury” and should be fined’.

Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, ‘Consultations on the 2000–2001 Migration and Humanitarian Programs’, Discussion Paper, December 1999–March 2000.

See Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, ‘Australia Day brings 6000 into the Family, Press Release, 26 January 2000. The Minister for Immigration, Philip Ruddock in his Australia Day address stated that 'Australian citizenship has a special meaning, the commitment of new citizens is special and it makes a special statement to become an Australian on Australia Day’.

See Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Australian Citizenship, 1996 Census, Statistical Report No 26. It was noted that people born in the Middle East and North Africa had the highest rate of Australian citizenship (93.1%) of all regional groups.

Fitzpatrick J. , ‘Flight from Asylum: Trends Toward Temporary Refuge and Local Responses to Forced Migrations’, (1994) 35 Virgina Journal of International Law 13.

See ‘All Sides Give Intake Plan a Net Zero’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 July 1998.

See Amnesty International, ‘Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee Concerning Australia's Refugee Determination System’, June 1999.

For example, see ‘Australians all for Govt's Hard Line on Illegals’, The Straits Times, 27 January 2000. It was noted that Mr Ruddock had pointed out that queue jumpers prejudiced the chances of those whose applications had been filed legally.

CCJDP, above.

‘Australian Minister Seeks Pakistan Cooperation in Combating Human Smuggling’, Pakistan Press International, 21 January 2000.

See ‘Iranian Leader Khamene'i Reportedly Eases Measures Against Iraqis in Iran’, BBC Monitoring Service, 4 September 1999.

See for example ‘Minister's Likely to Snub UN Committee’, Age, 2 April 2000, p.4.