There has been extensive reporting on the recent High Court decision concerning the impact of an adverse ASIO assessment on an asylum applicant. In its decision of 5 October 2012 in the matter of Plaintiff M47-2012 v Director General of Security [2012] HCA 46, the High Court ruled public interest criterion 4002, contained in Schedule 4 to the Migration Regulations 1994, to be invalid. This criterion provided:4002 The applicant is not assessed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to be directly or indirectly a risk to security, within the meaning of section 4 of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979.The plaintiff is a Sri Lankan asylum seeker with an adver... Read more...
Events in Myanmar continue to move fast. This brief update highlights some of the key developments over the last few months. It follows the recent visit to Australia by the Speaker of Myanmar’s lower house and the historic visits to the United States by President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi.Political developmentsthe prospect of a ‘second wave’ of reforms was bolstered by the 27 August re-shuffle of Myanmar’s Cabinet, which included the promotion of several reform-minded Ministers and the departure or demotion of well-known conservatives, including the resignation of Vice-President U Tin Aung Oo.meanwhile, the ongoing debate over constitutional reform was highlighted by the 6 Septemb... Read more...
The short answer is no. A series of emails have circulated in recent years asserting that refugees settling in Australia are entitled to higher rates of social security payment than other Australian residents, including pensioners. The emails also often claim that refugees receive free 'gifts' in the form of household items and even houses.However, as is explained in this updated Parliamentary Library Background Note, such claims are completely wrong. What's more, the original emails on which many of the Australian emails are based refer (again, falsely) to arrangements in Canada and have nothing to do with Australia. As highlighted in the Background Note, the information in the Australian... Read more...
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