Good on those brave souls raising the issue of privatised asylum seekers. In a real democracy, we would be able to visit people technically under our care: Protesters have knocked over a fence at the Curtin Detention Centre near Derby [in Western Australia], with as many as 40 defying police orders to stay away from…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Wikileaks reveal how Hicks and Habib were abused in our name
The cases of two former Australian Guantanamo Bay prisoners, Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks, have received fresh oxygen after the release of their files by Wikileaks today. I’ve extensively covered them both over the years (Habib and Hicks) and one thing stands out; the sheer dishonesty of Western defenders of the policy and the callous…
Asylum seeker anger explodes across Australia (while Serco ignores humanity)
What do we expect when we treat people like animals to be locked up indefinitely while our too-few-officials manage the problem, often receiving “intelligence” from the very regimes from which people are fleeing? A number of asylum seekers are continuing a hunger strike into a second day at the Curtin detention centre in Western Australia’s…
Serco’s rhetoric and reality in Australia vastly different
I’ve reported over the last months the very difficult situation for staff and refugees at Sydney’s Villawood detention centre due to federal government bungling and Serco mismanagement. The Australian reported my comments today about the latest uprising in Villawood. Welcome to Australia’s dysfunctional (and entirely avoidable) asylum seeker “crisis”. In light of these troubles, it’s…
Marrickville BDS debate showed how little Palestine is understood in Australia
This has been the week of Sydney’s Marrickville council putting Palestine on the national and global map by daring to support Palestine (though sadly giving in to bullying and rescind BDS). At this week’s fiery public meeting, it was clear how many Zionists have vested interests in not acknowledging the devastating effects of Israel’s occupation…
Australian officials witness to Colombo-led torture
In how many countries is this kind of thing happening? Anything to keep those asylum seekers away from our shores is clearly the idea, whatever the human rights cost: The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) has expressed concern over the conduct of security forces working in cooperation with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in Sri…
Australia’s immigration detention abused by Serco and government
This is what Australia currently faces; a system for asylum seekers that simply can’t cope with the inevitable anger, fear and prolonged detention of those fleeing persecution. Mental trauma is rife. British multinational Serco are unwilling to spend the required funds to service human beings but the fault largely lies with the federal government. Privatised…
Footage of my speech at Marrickville council on Palestine and BDS
Some background here and here.
What happens when you hire Serco to run detention centres; profit before care
As the Australian government is criticised for its detention centre system facing ongoing violence and chaos – the likely response is to be “tougher” on asylum seekers, a wonderfully humane outcome – Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young focuses on the culpability of Serco, the company that’s allowed to escape scrutiny: TONY JONES: Alright. We’ll come to…
Aussie mainstream media needs to understand that Israeli democracy is a contradiction
Following this week’s Marrickville BDS decision, today’s Sydney Morning Herald publishes an editorial that shows a profound ignorance of the conflict. The word “democracy” is thrown about so carelessly when describing Israel that many in the West continue living under the illusion that Israel proper gives full rights to its citizens. Arabs are profoundly discriminated…