Human Rights: The criminalisation of asylum seekers

Abstract

There has been a raft of announcements from the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Bowen recently. They include the introduction of harsh amendments to character tests, the reintroduction of temporary protection visas ('TPVs')2 and the likely re-establishment of offshore detention on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island (closed since 2004). Even more-recent announcements have been the Malaysian solution and possibly a Thailand solution. Changes to how, where and under what legal regime Australia is processing asylum seekers has again been noted in a dissenting report from Amnesty International. Legally and morally they argue that Australia's refugee policies are 'going backwards fast'. Apart from changes to the character tests, again using TPVs to punish asylum seekers for protesting the condition in detention and the length of stay, as well as offshore processing, recent decisions to return failed asylum seekers to Afghanistan and the changes the government is making to the processing of asylum seekers who arrive by boat following last November's High Court judgment form the basis for Amnesty's criticism.