Press releases
Labor’s attack on air arrivals feeds government anti-refugee policies
The Refugee Action Coalition has called on the Labor party to end its campaign against asylum seekers arriving by air. The contradiction between the Liberals’ hardline attitude to asylum seekers arriving by boat and those arriving by plane has been a longstanding feature of the government’s discriminatory polices directed at boat arrivals. “Recent comments from […]
PNG refugee service provider sacks eleven case workers amid rort allegations
Eleven of the PNG nationals employed by JDA under contract with Australia have been officially terminated. The sackings follow the resignation of 29 case workers and office staff last Friday. The JDA workers had revealed gross underpayments and other discrepancies in their pay and conditions including travel allowance and medical insurance. It is not clear […]
Refugee case-worker dispute escalates in Port Moresby following mass resignations
Twenty-nine case-workers have resigned from JDA, the company contracted to provide services to refugees living in limbo in Port Moresby. The twenty-nine PNG nationals resigned last Friday in a dispute with JDA management over discrepancies over pay rates, travel allowance, medical insurance and other disputed conditions over the multi-million dollar contracts paid by Australia. “There […]
No justification for Christmas Island evacuation stunt or detention centre
The Refugee Action Coalition condemns the use of Christmas Island as a dumping ground for asylum seekers and Australian citizens and residents being evacuated from Hubei. “Using Christmas Island is a cynical attempt to legitimise the use of Christmas Island as an offshore detention centre by giving it a role as a quarantine centre. But […]
Medevac repeal shame—transfer them all now
The Refugee Action Coalition condemns the government’s repeal of the Medevac legislation. The repeal of the Medevac legislation means that the refugees in PNG and Nauru will once again be left without medical treatment. For over six years, the Coalition government has deliberately deprived refugees of medical treatment as part of its Operation Sovereign Borders […]
PNG refugees moved in the community face more danger, more uncertainty
After a false start a week ago, PNG Immigration began moving refugees from Port Moresby’s Granville Motel to ‘community placement’ in two other hotels in Port Moresby. The first ten people were moved today (Tuesday, 19 November) to housing in the Four Mile residential area, near Boroko. More people are expected to be moved tomorrow […]
Fiasco as PNG refugees returned to Granville
The first attempt at ‘community placement’ from Granville has failed. The refugees moved out of Granville Motel this morning (Tuesday, 13 November) were returned to Granville after a couple of hours. Among the problems: the rooms were too small (they couldn’t move inside them); the toilet and shower were inadequate; there were no laundry facilities; […]
More danger as PNG refugees pushed into the community
Refugees living in Port Moresby’s Granville Motel since being transferred from Manus Island (some for medical treatment that they never got), have been issued notices that they are being transferred into the community (see notice at right). The first 15 people are being moved today, Thursday 13 November; around 50 are still at Granville. It […]
National refugee rallies say ‘Hands off Medevac’
While the government ramps up the rhetoric and its misinformation campaign against the Medevac legislation, thousands of people will rally across Australia on Saturday 9 November to “defend the Medevac law”. In Sydney, the rally will start at Town Hall, 2pm. Speakers will include: Faith Black (acknowledgement of country), Carolina Gottardo, Co-Convenor of the Catholic […]
Bangladeshi asylum seeker on bridging visa suicides in Lakemba
A 33-year-old Bangladeshi asylum seeker, Mohammad Mohsin, has committed suicide, at a mosque in Lakemba, on Sunday, 20 October. Mohammad arrived by boat in 2013, but was only recently allowed to lodge his protection application. His initial application was rejected, but he has lodged an appeal with the Federal Circuit Court. Like so many others […]





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