Need more evidence how dysfunctional and undemocratic is the relationship between Serco and the Australian government? Detainees who protested on the roof of a Sydney detention centre this week have been put in maximum security isolation as punishment, a refugee advocate says. Nine Chinese nationals, including five men and four women, one of whom is…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
The Rajapaksa dictatorship
The ongoing pain in Sri Lanka, the rise of Sinhalese authoritarianism and Tamil oppression. Former UN spokesman in Colombo Gordon Weiss explains on Australian TV:
International SOS just here to help refugees
Villawood detention centre in Sydney, run by Serco, remains deeply on edge. Much is outsourced, including the provision of health services, by International SOS. And here’s a job description from the company: Mental Health Nurse – Villawood Location: Sydney Job Code: JRMHNV # of openings: 1 Description THE COMPANY International Health & Medical Services is…
Serco love and respect everybody, says Australian government
Here’s Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O’Connor, defending the reputation of the firm running Australia’s detention centres: Serco has a long-standing interest in this area. It manages other centres and indeed it employs dedicated staff that have the skills to deal with these situations.
Private contractor Serco escapes scrutiny in the detention debate
My following piece appears today in Crikey: I visited Villawood on Sunday”‰—”‰alongside a delegation of union leaders and Greens Senator-elect Lee Rhiannon”‰—”‰and met several asylum seekers subsequently involved in the protest that ended peacefully last night with the arrival of UNHCR officials. We spent hours conversing with men in their 20s and up from Iraq,…
Serco provide “security” in Australia so let’s all relax
Behold! The local media (in today’s Australian) briefly mention the role of British multinational Serco but watch how quickly it’ll be buried again. Nothing to see here, all hail privatised cruelty: The government has ruled out using the military as a crisis response force in the event of trouble at a new immigration detention centre…
Talking on ABC TV News24 about refugees, Afghanistan and some common sense
Last night I again appeared on ABC TV’s News24 The Drum panel alongside the Australian Financial Review’s David Crowe and The Daily Grind’s Joe Stella (vision here for two weeks and here’s info about my August appearance). YouTube video here. The main topic up for discussion was the asylum seeker crisis at Sydney’s Villawood detention…
Hello media, what are Serco doing to asylum seekers in Australia?
The Australian media is filled with coverage of the refugee protest at Sydney’s Villawood detention centre and yet virtually no journalists seem to be reporting about the role of Serco, the company running the place. It’s always simply assumed that privatisation of detention centres is a jolly good idea for all concerned. For a lack…
Asylum seekers all over the news but Serco’s role remains covered
From this morning’s ABC AM: TONY EASTLEY: A police investigation will continue today into the death of a Fijian man at the Villawood Immigration detention centre in Sydney. The 36-year-old, who jumped to his death yesterday morning, was due to be deported back to Fiji. Overnight, tensions remained high at the centre when a group…