From Dehumanisation to Demonisation

Skehan Craig ‘Empty Manoora May help us’, Age, 5 October 2001, p.4.

Letter from James Neill (Aus Ship P & I) to Neville Nixon (Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs), 27 August 2001, p.1.

Mrdak Mike , First Assistant Secretary, Territories and Regional Support, ‘File Note: Handling of Possible Arrival of MV Tampa at Christmas Island’, 27 August 2001.

Letter from James Neill (Aus Ship P & I) to Philippa Godwin (Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs), 27 August 2001.

Victorian Council for Civil Liberties Incorporated v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2001] FCA 1297 (North J, 11 September 2001), (VCCL v Minister for Immigration) Transcript of Hearing, 2 September 2001, pp.170–1.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, para 35.

Conversation between Captain Rinnan and Niels Thomessen, 1 September 2001.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, para 56; Ruddock v Vadarlis [2001] FCA 1329 ( Black CJ Beaumont and French JJ , 18 September 2001) para 66 ( Black CJ ). See also Truth About Motorways Pty Ltd v Macquarie Infrastructure Investment Management Limited (2000) 200 CLR 591, 600 ( Gleeson CJ and McHugh J ), 627 ( Gummow J ) and 652–3 ( Kirby J ); Waters v Commonwealth (1951) 82 CLR 188, 190.

See generally VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5.

See generally Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8. Mr Vadarlis had, at the time of writing, lodged an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court from the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court. The VCCL opted not to join as a party to this application in light of the Border Protection (Validation and Enforcement Powers) Act 2001. This Act seeks to retrospectively legalise the government's actions in relation to MV Tampa and to preclude the initiation or continuation of any legal proceedings in the matter.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration above, ref 5, paras 123–137, 149, 161; Ruddock v Vadarlis above, ref 5, paras 160–1.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, para 54. See especially Liversidge v Anderson [1942] AC 206, 245; Re Bolton; Ex parte Beane (1987) 162 CLR 514, 528 ( Deane J ), 521–2 ( Brennan J ); Chu Kheung Lim v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1992) 176 CLR 1, 63 ( McHugh J ).

Jones v Cunningham 371 US 236 (1963), 243.

Jones v Cunningham, above, ref 13.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, paras 69–73.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, para 81.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 213.

[1953] StRQd 26, 30.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 212.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 213.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 213.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 213.

Letter from Neill James , above, ref 2, p.2.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, paras 110–111; ‘Appellants’ Outline of Argument' in Ruddock v Vadarlis, above ref 8, pp.2–5 (copy on file with authors).

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 181 ( French J ).

See especially ss.4, 189, 198–9, 200–6.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, para 121.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, paras 107–109.

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, opened for signature 28 July 1951, 1954 ATS 5 (entered into force for Australia and generally 22 April 1954). See especially Article 16 (refugees shall be accorded free access to the courts), Article 26 (refugees shall be accorded freedom of movement within Australian territory), Article 31 (no penalty shall be imposed on a refugee on account of their illegal entry), Article 32 (refugees shall not be expelled save for national security or public order) and Article 33 (principle of non-refoulement — that is, refugees shall not be returned to a state in which they fear persecution).

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature 19 December 1966, 999 UNTS 171 (entered into force generally 23 March 1976, entered into force for Australia 13 November 1980). See especially Article 9 (right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention), Article 13 (freedom from expulsion other than in accordance with law and right of access to a competent authority to submit reasons against expulsion) and Article 26 (equality before the law and right without any discrimination to its protection).

[1984] AC 74, 111.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 204.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 201.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 202. Cf para 61 ( Black CJ ).

Interview with Vadarlis Eric , Melbourne, 17 September 2001.

Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 28.

Craies W. F. , ‘The Right of Aliens to Enter British Territory’, (1890) 6 Law Quarterly Review 27, 27–9 as quoted at Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 26 ( Black CJ ).

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, paras 74–75; Ruddock v Vadarlis, above, ref 8, para 60 ( Black CJ ).

Gaita Raimond , A Common Humanity: Thinking About Love, Truth and Justice, Text Publishing, 1999, p.26.

Gregory Peter , ‘Canberra Push for Right to Expel’, Age, 14 September 2001, p.12.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, paras 98–106.

Skehan Craig , ‘Life Inside Camp Nauru’, Age, 14 September 2001, p.B2.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, para 81.

VCCL v Minister for Immigration, above, ref 5, para 103.

See generally Freire Paulo , Pedagogy of the Oppressed, first published 1970, current edition Penguin 1996, pp.39–40.

Yallop Richard , ‘Barrister Target of Public Hate Campaign’, Australian, 4 September 2001, p.6.

Ruddock v Vadarlis above, ref 8, para 216. Before North J, although successful, the applicants declined to seek costs orders against the government. This may be contrasted with the approach of the government following their successful appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court. On 2 October 2001, the government made submissions seeking to recover from the VCCL and Mr Vadarlis the full costs of both hearings. At the time of writing, the decision on costs had been reserved.

Kercher Bruce , An Unruly Child: A History of Law in Australia, Allen & Unwin, 1995, p.xx.

Wilde Oscar , The Soul of Man Under Socialism, quoted in Neal v The Queen (1982) 149 CLR 305, 310 ( Murphy J ).

Freire , above, ref 45, pp.25–6.

Steinbeck John , The Grapes of Wrath, first published 1939, current edition Penguin, 2000, p.439.

Steinbeck , above, ref 50, p.437.