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This newsletter begins with a radically new South Australian Government sponsored Concessional Competent English program for several visa categories. Human Rights with a strong emphasis on Equal Opportunities for all Australians are also prominently featured. A new section on Resources has been added.
The South Australian Government has just announced it will now sponsor applicants with Concessional Competent English for visa subclass 475 and 487 from 24 September 2008. Applicants who have obtained an IELTs result within the previous two years of overall 5.5 or more, and with no less than 5.0 in listening and reading, 4.5 for writing or speaking may now apply for S.A. state sponsorship under these visa categories, provided they meet the other S.A. Sponsorship criteria. An English Tuition Fee is payable prior to visa lodgement.
For more information please click here
South Australian Government revised the provisional visa (subclass 475 and 487) occupation list as of 23 September 2008.
For the updated list please click here
Changes are also expected to permanent visa subclass 175 and 886 categories by the S.A Government soon.
Potential applicants interested in our assistance in lodging their sponsorship application should contact Jack in our office.
Changes relating to the provision of evidence of English language ability for the Skilled - Graduate (Subclass 485) visa are being introduced from 27 October 2008. People who have made an application for a Skilled - Graduate (Subclass 485) visa before 27 October 2008 will not be affected by the changes.
People lodging an application for a Skilled - Graduate (subclass 485) on or after 27 October 2008 must provide evidence at the time they lodge their application that they have met the relevant English language standard. Previously this was a time of completion requirement requirement. the new rule brings this visa into consistency with the english requirement for other GSM visas.
Read the full notice of this changes from the DIAC's website.
Senator Evans said that under Labor’s reforms, detention in immigration detention centres will only be used as a last resort and for the shortest practicable time.
The Government will retain mandatory detention to support the integrity of Australia’s immigration program.
Senator Evans announced on 29 July 2008 the Government’s new policy will see the Department of Immigration and Citizenship take a risk-based approach to detention.
‘A person who poses no danger to the community will be able to remain in the community while their visa status is resolved,’ Senator Evans said.
‘The department will have to justify why a person should be detained. Once in detention, a detainee’s case will be reviewed every three months to ensure that the further detention of the individual is justified.
‘Children will not be detained in an immigration detention centre.’
Read the full media release
See also: New Directions in Detention - Restoring Integrity to Australia’s Immigration System
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, recently visited some South-East Asia countries to discuss regional cooperation on border security and anti people-smuggling initiatives with his counterparts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.
Senator Evans and the Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus, will lead a senior Australian Government delegation which included the Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues, Michael Potts, and senior officials from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the Australian Federal Police and the Attorney-General’s Department for the eight-day trip.
‘Control and management of borders is integral to regional security and it takes the collaborative efforts of all countries in the region to ensure strong border security.’
Senator Evans said, ‘We take a very firm stance against people-smugglers and the dangers they submit desperate people to in hazardous sea journeys,’ ‘Australia’s national interest demands we increase our efforts to combat people-smuggling in the region, including through close cooperation with our neighbours.
Read the full media release
On 22 July 2008, Senator Chris Evans released new data showing a 27 per cent increase in the temporary skilled migration (subclass 457 visa) program for 2007-08.
The 2007-08 report on the subclass 457 visa program also reveals:
- New South Wales was the biggest user with a total of 20 480 primary visa grants
- Western Australia is now the second biggest user with a total of 11 800 primary grants – a 41 per cent rise on last financial year, the largest increase in Australia
- 81 per cent of 457 visa holders were employed in professional occupations and highly skilled jobs
- computing professionals, registered nurses, and business and information professionals were the top three listed occupations for temporary overseas workers
- nearly a quarter of the 457 visa holders came from the United Kingdom, followed by India (14 per cent), the Philippines (9 per cent), South Africa (6 per cent) China (6 per cent) and the USA (6 per cent)
- the average nominated base salary was $73 100 – up two per cent from last year
- nearly 25 000 subclass 457 visa holders became permanent residents, up 30 per cent on the previous year.
The full 457 state and territory summary report for 2007-08 is available at the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship website
Applications for temporary skilled (457) visas will be processed faster and more efficiently at three new dedicated Centres of Excellence now up and running in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.
The centres were established on July 1 to deal with the increasing demand for overseas workers by Australian companies to meet skills shortages. More than 100 000 subclass 457 visas were granted in 2007-08.
The 457 visa enables employers to employ skilled overseas workers to fill nominated positions in Australia on a temporary basis for a period of between three months and four years.
Senator Evans said subclass 457 visa applications were already being processed faster. ‘The 457 program is critical to meeting the current labour market demands and the new Centres of Excellence will continue to improve the effectiveness of the processing of visas.’
Read the full media release
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, has welcomed a $174 000 fine imposed on a Western Australian construction company for exploiting migrant employees.
The Federal Magistrates' Court in Perth fined Hanssen Pty Ltd for 21 breaches of the Workplace Relations Act after the Commonwealth Workplace Ombudsman found that 15 workers from the Philippines and Ireland employed by the company on 457 visas had been exploited.
‘This penalty should send a strong message to employers that the exploitation of migrant workers will not be tolerated by the Government,’
‘Exploitation of migrant workers is totally unacceptable and rogue employers should expect authorities to come down hard on them.
The Government has commissioned a full report into various aspects of the 457 visa programme, which in the past will look at the issue of worker exploitation, and breach by employer sponsors of sponsorship undertakings.
Read the full media release
The minimum salary level (MSL) for occupations that are eligible for the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) increased by 3.8 per cent from August 1.
The MSL increase for the ENS follows the recent announcement by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, of a similar increase to the MSL for the subclass 457 visa program.
The ENS is a common pathway to permanent residence for skilled workers who are working in Australia on a temporary basis, such as 457 visa holders.
The MSL changes will ensure the program closely aligns with the 457 program and helps to maintain the integrity of Australia’s skilled migration programs.
The standard MSL will increase to $43 440, while the MSL for ICT professionals will increase to $59 477.
These increases will only apply to positions that are nominated under the ENS from August 1.
Existing ENS visa holders, as well as employer nominations for positions lodged before August 1, will not be affected by the MSL increase.
Senator Chris Evans, has urged the states and territories to boost their use of state-sponsored skilled migration to meet labour market demands.
There is the capacity within the Federal Government’s permanent skilled migration program for states and territories to sponsor overseas skilled workers in occupations in demand,’
The Rudd Government’s May Budget added an additional 31 000 skilled migrants to the 2008-09 Migration Program to help employers with the skills shortage.
Overall, permanent skilled migration will make up 133 500 places in the migration program, which totals 190 300 for 2008-09.
See the latest figures on the General Skilled Migration category
The Rudd Government will undertake a transparent, merit-based selection process to recruit five senior members for the Refugee and Migration Review Tribunals instead of just re-appointing existing members.
‘It is crucial to ensure these tribunals operate to their maximum potential and in an open and accountable way,’ Senator Evans said.
‘They have a very important role in maintaining an independent, fair and equitable system. We are looking for applicants who possess a strong sense of fairness and an understanding of the principles of administrative law and an ability to apply these in determining review applications.’
See the Tribunal's website
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THE Federal Government has decided to implement only one of its promised changes to freedom-of-information law this year and to consult widely before introducing more extensive reforms, a move that will delay major changes until well into next year.
The Cabinet Secretary, John Faulkner, announced that Cabinet had agreed to legislate in the next session of Parliament to fulfil an election promise to abolish conclusive certificates - the right of ministers and senior bureaucrats to block access to documents by certifying release is not in the public interest.
Announcing the decision to scrap the contentious certificates, Mr Faulkner outlined the Government's plans to overhaul the 25-year-old law, which has not been updated and has been criticised for restricting access to documents routinely available in other Western democracies.
Read the full article from SMH
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A Sydney college specialising in courses that help international students get residency visas has been ordered to close after state authorities discovered it was providing overcrowded cookery classes in unauthorised kitchens.
The Sydney International College of Business (SIC), which charged up to $14,000 for its hospitality courses, must shut its doors on its remaining students by September 5, the Administrative Decisions Tribunal ordered last week.
An audit of the college found it was teaching 797 students in a kitchen meant to cater for only 20 students at a time.
Across all courses, just 10 teachers were training 848 students.
More than 1000 students did not have access to adequate kitchens for 11 months.
The college, which is also being investigated by the Immigration Department, opened in 1995, originally catering to business students. But it changed its focus to cookery and hairdressing after the Federal Government gave those courses visa preference to fill a workforce shortage.
Read the full article at SMH
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans said agreement had been reached on the content of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia.
Once the MoU has been signed and comes into effect, university-educated Australian and Indonesian travellers aged between 18 and 30 will be able to work and holiday in the other country for up to 12 months.
The work and holiday visa differs from a working holiday visa as it requires an applicant to have the support of their government, hold or be studying towards tertiary qualifications and to speak functional English or Indonesian respectively.
Read more
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced that Australia would continue to work together with Malaysia and other regional partners, to strengthen their borders against people-smuggling, human trafficking, terrorism and other forms of trans-national crime.
These initiatives include collaborative forensic document examination training programs and increased information sharing and cooperation to improve border security, migration management and people-smuggling issues.
The ministers also announced that Australia and Malaysia had agreed to introduce reciprocal work and holiday visa arrangements.
It will enable 100 university graduates or students from each country who have completed two years of their course to work and holiday in the other country for up to 12 months. They must be aged between 18 and 30 and have the support of their government, meet health and character requirements and have no dependent children.
Read more
More young people will be able to holiday and work in Australia and Chile after the governments of both countries agreed to treble a reciprocal visa program.
Chile was the first Latin American country to enter into a reciprocal Work and Holiday visa arrangement with Australia in July 2005.
Read more
Snippets
The Ombudsman reports that the Safeguards System is a risk management system that DIAC uses to inform its decision makers of the types of checks or steps that need to be undertaken for particular visa applications and for applicants with certain characteristics. However, there is a public interest in knowing the basis on which DIAC makes its decisions, including decisions to scrutinise some applications more closely.
Read more
THE Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has brushed off East Timor's request to include its fruit pickers in Australia's guest worker trial.
After meeting East Timor's Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, in Canberra on 25 August 2008, Mr Rudd skirted the issue and highlighted increased funding for training and scholarships on the island nation instead.
"We have agreed to launch a joint education, training and employment initiative which will come back to us with specific recommendations for action by year's end,"
Ministerial Statement delivered at Australian National University, Canberra, Tuesday 29 July 2008
Read full report at media speeches 2008
SZLGP and SZLGQ v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP and REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL
This is an appeal against an order of Federal Magistrate Smith of 29 February 2008 dismissing an application for judicial review of a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal ("the Tribunal") of 9 August 2007. The Tribunal had affirmed a decision of a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship ("the first respondent") to refuse to grant the appellants a protection visa under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("the Act").
Read full decision
Tian v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2008] FCA 1334 (29 August 2008)
This appeal concerns the construction of provisions of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) (the Regulations), which were made under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act). In particular, the meaning of r 5.19 is in issue in relation to the criteria for the grant of a subclass 856 visa under the Employer Nomination Scheme. Regulation 5.19 deals with approval of nominated positions for the purposes of certain subclasses of visa, including subclass 856 visas.
Read full decision
Shrestha v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2008] FCA 1296 (21 August 2008)
The appellants are citizens of Nepal. On 22 March 2005, the husband appellant (the first appellant) applied for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU 572) visa. Included in the application were his wife (the second appellant) and daughter. At the time that he made the application, the first appellant was part way through an Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management (Commercial Cookery) course at an institution named, ACTH Management.
Read full decision
THE new United Nations high commissioner for human rights,the South African judge Navanethem Pillay, has spent a lifetime toppling barriers and exceeding expectations.
So when human rights groups and some American officials expressed scepticism before her appointment on Thursday, she said she was used to it. As a member of a minority from a poorIndian neighbourhood in apartheid-era South Africa, she was long kept from becoming a judge by the colour of her skin. For years, although she was a lawyer, she could not even sign a contract without her husband's consent.
A lifetime of facing injustice had made her sensitive to the plight of victims
Ms Pillay said she was ready to stand up against human rights violators in instances where it would be impolitic for the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to speak out. For example on a recent visit to Burma to ensure aid for hurricane victims, Mr Ban declined to call for the release of the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Rudd Government will extend a standing invitation to United Nations human rights experts to visit Australia, demonstrating its willingness to engage positively with the international community to implement human rights obligations.
“The Government supports both the promotion of human rights internationally and the development of international standards and mechanisms for the protection and enforcement of these rights,” Mr McClelland said.
“By extending a standing invitation, Australia joins 61 other countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada, who have adopted this positive approach with the United Nations,” This year is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
China and Russia have resolved a 40-year-old dispute over their border, in the latest sign of warming relations between the once bitter communist rivals.
Russia will return 174 square kilometres of territory on the north-east border with China, the newspaper China Daily reported.
An agreement was due to be signed during a visit by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, to Beijing yesterday, where he was scheduled to hold separate meetings with the Chinese President, Hu Jintao, and the Premier, Wen Jiabao.
China and Russia share a 4300-kilometre border. Their tug-of-war reaches back centuries to the competition for territory as imperial China and Tsarist Russia expanded towards each other.
The struggle over border areas resulted in violent clashes in the 1960s and 1970s, when Sino-Soviet relations were at their most acrimonious, feeding fears that the conflict could erupt into nuclear war.
Russia will return Yinlong Island and half of Heixiazi Island to China.
The swearing in of Ms Quentin Bryce as Australias 25th Governor General, is an historic day for the nation and one which augurs well for our journey towards true gender equality in Australia, federal Sex Discrimination Commisioner Elizabeth Broderick said. This is a wonderful recognition of Ms Bryces visionary and inclusive leadership style and signals to young women in particular that true gender equality in Australia is not a pipe dream but a real and tangible goal.
The Australian Government is examining how best to foster and promote the benefits of cultural diversity in the Australian community.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, Laurie Ferguson, announced that as part of this examination he has asked for a review of the community relations program, Living in Harmony, which has operated since 1998.
Mr Ferguson acknowledged the commitment and hard work of many individuals and organisations in combating racism and promoting the benefits of cultural diversity through the program and on Harmony Day each year.
However, he said it is time to take a fresh look at strategies for bringing Australians from all backgrounds together in a positive, productive way.
Read more
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Australia’s Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is being reviewed and community input is sought on how best to assist migrants and humanitarian entrants learn English to find a job, undertake further training and participate fully in the Australian community.
Learning English is one of the first and most important steps migrants can take towards successful settlement.
‘The AMEP has for 60 years played an important role helping migrants and humanitarian entrants learn English after they arrive in Australia and orienting them to life in Australia. It is this role which government is intending to strengthen through a greater focus in the key areas of employment, training and social participation,’ the parliamentary secretary added.
The AMEP discussion paper is available on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website
Federal Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot, gave in-principle support to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's launch of a new community education campaign to combat discrimination against mature age workers.
"Mature men and women offer a wealth of experience to the workplace and give employers an opportunity to harness their knowledge and expertise, especially in the present climate of skills shortages in many industries,” Mrs Elliot said.
"Australians are living longer and healthier lives and if they chose to remain in the workforce, have a number of years of productive worklife beyond the traditional retirement age.
"In fact Australians have the world’s second longest life expectancy after the Japanese. About 13 per cent of our population (some 2.8 million people) is aged 65 years or older right now.
“The knowledge, experience and wisdom of these older Australians will help improve our nation’s productivity.”
Read the full report
The Australian Government welcomed the launch of the Listening Tour Community Report and Plan of Action towards Gender Equality by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
The action plan focuses on the themes of women and leadership, balancing paid work and family responsibilities, sexual harassment in Australia, the gender gap in retirement savings and laws to address sex discrimination and promote gender equality.
The Commissioner’s work complements the Government’s priorities, particularly women’s economic security, safety, and full participation in every aspect of Australian life.
Under the Rudd Government's new workplace relations system, parents will have access to improved parental leave and flexible work arrangements. Under the Government’s new system each parent will be entitled to separate periods of up to 12 months’ unpaid parental leave.
Alternatively, one parent may request up to an additional 12 months’ unpaid parental leave. This means families will be able to have one parent at home with a child for the first two years of their child’s life.
Labor's new workplace relations system will also ensure parents have a 'right to request' flexible work arrangements to assist with caring for children under school age.
Read the Commissioner's full report
A new book which aims to dispel myths and misconceptions associated with the role of women in Islam has been launched by the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, Laurie Ferguson.
The book titled Did you Know? Refuting rigid interpretations concerning the position of women in Islam, and Muslims’ interactions with non-Muslims was researched and developed by the Muslim Women’s National Network of Australia.
‘While Australia is one of the world’s most successful culturally diverse countries, all Australians need to continue to step up to the challenges of living in a diverse society,’ Mr Ferguson said.
The publication is available at www.mwnna.org.au - contact for more details
AUSTRALIA'S progress towards becoming a truly equal society has stalled with "systemic" discrimination against women - as well as men who want to play a greater role at home - still rife.
The Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, has released the results of nearly a year of consultation on the state of gender relations, including the finding that many young women are still subject to harassment almost a quarter of a century after such behaviour was outlawed.
"Over the last 25 years we have been successful in getting rid of overt sexual discrimination," Ms Broderick said. "The formal part has been done. But now we're having difficulty getting rid of systemic discrimination."
One of the revelations most shocking to Ms Broderick was the number of young women telling her of their experiences of overt sexual harassment in their first or second jobs.
The challenge of finding a balance between work and family, and the related issue of paid parental leave was raised by people wherever Ms Broderick went on her national tour of capital cities and regional areas. Ms Broderick said there was little evidence to show that employers were encouraging employees to be more flexible in the way they worked.
"If you have caring responsibilities and you want to get promoted then forget about it. The ideal worker is a male with no caring responsibilities"
Read more
Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek says, 'Todays commitment is evidence that all Australian Governments are determined to strengthen gender eqauality and reduce violence against women in Australia.'
The eleven-member National Council is charged with the development of a National Plan to reduce the incidence and impact of domestic and family violence and sexual assault on women and their children, including the possibility of harmonising domestic violence laws.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland and Minister for Housing and the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek have welcomed a significant step forward in the protection and promotion of women’s rights in Australia.
The Rudd Government has tabled a National Interest Analysis, which proposes that Australia accede to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
“If Australia is to be taken seriously when it comes to international human rights, then it’s important that we impose on ourselves the same high standards we expect of our neighbours.”
The Optional Protocol allows Australians to make complaints to the United Nations about the protection of women’s rights and gender equality when all domestic avenues for review have been exhausted.
“By signing up to the Optional Protocol, Australia places itself as a global leader when it comes to women’s rights.”
The previous Government refused to become a party to the Optional Protocol, which came into force in 2000.
Read more
The Minister for the Status of Women has released a report that confirms that the Government is clamping down on people trafficking. Human trafficking affects and damages the lives of too many women and men around the world, including Australia.
The Support for Victims of People Trafficking Program is delivered by the Office for Women in partnership with the Australian Federal Police, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Attorney-General's Department.
Since the program started in 2004, 107 people have received support. Of these, 65 per cent are Thai nationals and 18 per cent South Korean.
This new research shows that cases relating to the trafficking of women for sexual purposes have come to official attention as result of government activity and also because of individual women seeking help.
The report is available from www.aic.gov.au or www.ofw.fahcsia.gov.au.
A POLITICALLY connected conservative group, the Australian Christian Lobby, has dropped its opposition to proposed changes to superannuation laws that would allow same-sex couples and their children equal access to superannuation benefits.
It remains concerned about wording in the legislation that removes the use of the terms husband and wife and replaces them with partner.
The Australian Christian Lobby now states it is not against the removal of unjust discrimination, particularly where dependents are affected and accepts that same-sex couples and the children they are responsible for should be able to benefit from one another's superannuation.
Read more
Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, called upon government departments and agencies to improve their adherence to government standards and legislation that requires them to provide equal access to public information for people with disability.
“This is about ensuring that people are not discriminated against on the basis of their disability when information – some of it very high profile – is released by government departments and agencies”, Mr Innes said. “Of all organisations, government departments and agencies know they should be making documents and information accessible to everyone."
Read full report
"At the recent MRCSA Conference on Social Inclusion in Adelaide, Race Discrimination commissioner Tom Calma urged the Australian Government to ensure that culture was an integral component of its social inclusion agenda and that "an approach of social inclusion should be a consultative one that brings new and emerging communities along from the outset."
Read full report
Three courses aimed at training Indigenous people for paralegal work have just been reaccredited, and Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner hopes that more training organisations will begin delivering the courses across Australia.
Commissioner Tom Calma said the National Indigenous Legal Advocacy Courses (NILAC) developed by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by building their capacity to work in legal environments and increasing their understanding of human and legal rights protection systems. The courses also provide a pathway to further study options, including law courses.
“NILAC is the only course of its kind in Australia which provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the competency and skills to work in a white man’s legal environment,” Commissioner Calma said.
Developed after the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody called for improvements in legal skills, capacity and training opportunities for Indigenous people, the course has been completed by 100s of Indigenous people in Queensland, NSW and Western Australia.
Read more
AS AUSTRALIAN art continues its record-breaking run at auction, the Federal Government has come good on a promise to share the spoils with artists and their families.
It is determined to introduce a resale royalty scheme this year giving artists a percentage of the sale price whenever their work is sold. The details have yet to be finalised but some industry bodies have called for a flat rate of 5 per cent on all sales and for the royalty to apply to all works sold for more than $500. That would mean an artist who sold a work 10 years ago for $500 could reap up to $10,000 if it was sold again for 200,000.
For some artists, particularly big names such as the late Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and Brett Whiteley, whose work has sold for record prices since their deaths, the scheme will generate large sums of money as their paintings are sold again and again on the secondary market.
The Government has committed itself to the resale royalty yesterday as part of its response to last year's senate inquiry into the indigenous art market.
It says the scheme will not only benefit famous artists and their estates. If the threshold is set low it will also benefit thousands of less famous artists such as Jeffrey Samuels, 51, who has been painting since he was seven.
For Samuels, whose work is owned by the Art Gallery of NSW, it was "about time" the art industry developed a conscience. The Ngemba man from Bourke subsists on welfare and has never been informed of a resale of any of his works.
The Arts Minister, Peter Garrett, said the resale royalty and a new code of conduct to regulate the industry were cornerstones of the Government's efforts to bolster and clean up an industry blighted by exploitation.
Read more
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma, welcomed the decision by the High Court of Australia to recognise the Yolngu peoples exclusive possession rights over the intertidal zone along 80 percent of the Northern Territory coastline. The High Court dismissed an appeal by the Northern Territory Government to deny the Yolngu people exclusive possession rights to sea country, upholding the earlier decision of the Full Federal Court.
THE Rudd Government has done what its predecessor could not do in Alice Springs and is negotiating a deal to take control of 19 rundown Aboriginal town camps in exchange for federal funding.
Tangentyere Council, which manages the camps that ring Alice Springs, has agreed to an offer of $50 million in housing and infrastructure in exchange for signing over its leases to the Northern Territory or the Commonwealth for a minimum of 40 years.
Ms Macklin has assured the Council that under the proposal most of the money would go into housing, with maintenance and the collection of rents regulated independently and employment and training for local indigenous people a mandatory part of their construction.
Read full article
More than 13 000 people who have fled war, persecution or political strife in their troubled homelands began new lives in Australia last year.
The 13 014 humanitarian visas granted in 2007-08 shows our commitment to helping some of the world’s most needy people rebuild their lives in Australia,’ Senator Evans said.
Burmese people who had been living in camps on the Thai-Burma border and in Malaysia and India were among the major groups assisted last year.
During his trip to south-east Asia, Senator Evans visited a refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border about 450km north-west of Bangkok to see first-hand the plight of some of the Burmese refugees who had fled to Thailand.
The Rudd Government has approved $6.45 million for international aid projects to help thousands of people who have fled war, persecution or political strife in their troubled homelands.
The funding will contribute to humanitarian projects assisting displaced persons in Iraq, Syria, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Africa and Pakistan.
The funding is provided under the Australian Government’s Displaced Persons Program.
In Syria, $553 000 will go towards a UNHCR project supporting Iraqi women and girls who are victims of sexual or gender-based violence. It includes funding for a safe house where victims will receive counselling, support and other assistance in the case of emergencies.
Of particular concern are reports of women and girls forced to resort to prostitution or being involved in other forms of exploitation in order to survive,’ Senator Evans said.
The funding from the Australian Government will help more than 1000 vulnerable Iraqi women and girls who otherwise have no source of income.
Read full report
The seventeenth International AIDS Conference was held recently in Mexico City. About twenty-five thousand people took part in the six-day event. They included AIDS researchers, community leaders, policy experts, activists and delegations of young people from around the world.
The conference called for improvement in the prevention and treatment of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. Delegates praised the greater ability of patients to receive anti-retroviral drugs. Several meetings at the conference examined efforts to discover a vaccine to prevent the disease.
An estimated thirty-three million people are living with H.I.V./AIDS. About seven thousand people become infected with H.I.V. every day.
There is no cure for AIDS. However, a recent report from a United Nations agency says fewer people are now dying because of it.
Read full report
The US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, will endorse a
$US20 billion ($22) plan to substantially increase the size of
Afghanistan’s army and will restructure the military command of US and NATO
forces in response to the growing Taliban threat.
Four million voters cast ballots in a referendum on whether President Evo Morales and eight of the country’s nine governors should stay in office.
pre-poll surveys suggest Mr. Morales will be reconfirmed, thanks to a huge support among the indigenous majority from which he hails
Radovan Karadzic the political leader of the Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-95 war
in Bosnia, who had been on the run for 12 years was recently arrested in Belgrade, recently
and taken to the International War Crimes tribunal at The Hague. He has been charged
with 1 count of genocide for the mass murder at Srebrenica in July 1995, 1 count of complicity in genocide, 5 counts of crimes against humanity and 4 counts of war crimes.
Three Fiji Labour Party cabinet ministers are pulling out of the military-led Government as international pressure mounts for a return to democracy in the volatile nation. One of the ministers, the Finance minister, Mahendra Chaudhry said the move “effectively ends” Labour’s participation in the Government.
In an effort to curb littering, Finland’s capital, Helsinki, will install
rubbish bins that say ‘thank you” in celebrities’ voices when they are fed rubbish. A detector activates a loud speaker as soon as rubbish is put in and the bin used is thanked.
India is celebrating the end of three decades of nuclear isolation after the body that controls global nuclear commerce granted a waiver that will allow the world’s biggest democracy to participate in nuclear trade.
Debt cancelled. The United Arab Emirates has cancelled almost
$7.3 billion of debt owed by Baghdad, including interest and arrears
becoming the first Gulf Arab country to forgive all of Iraq’s debt
Japan, which is part of the regulatory Nuclear Suppliers Group, has signalled it would approve a nuclear energy deal between India and the US, raising the chances the controversial pact will go ahead.
The Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has celebrated an historic election victory that will return him to parliament, ending 10 years of political exile and boosting his plan to take power.
Asif Ali Zardari will take on one of the world’s toughest and most dangerous political posts when he is sworn in as president of Pakistan. Mr Zardari, widower of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, won 481 out of the 702 votes cast by the electoral college, made up of national and provincial MPs, that selects the president. Mr. zardi will be the first president elected by a credible democratic process in more than 10 years.
South Koreaan staff began withdrawing from North Korea’s
Mount Kumgang resort following a North Korean statement that “unnecessary” South Korean personnel would be expelled from the tourist area. South Korea said the North’s move would escalate tensions over the July 11 fatal shooting of a housewife who strayed into a restricted military area at the resort.
Troops captured a huge Tamil Tiger training base with underground bunkers, lecture halls and a cemetery as government forces continued their offensive against the rebels Troops have broken through the rebels’ defences in recent weeks to seize crucial towns and bases.
New Books - Well worth reading
Author: Sr Aziza Abdel Halim, President MWNNA
This book is an opportunity for Australians to learn about Islam and clarify the often misunderstood role women play within Islam.
It not only aims to dispel myths and misconceptions but provides examples of the significant roles that Muslim women play as nurturers, educators and leaders not just in the Muslim community, but in the broader Australian community.
Read or download the book(PDF version) from www.mwnna.org.au
Author: Gareth Evans, President and CEO, International Crisis Group
After the Holocaust, the world vowed it would “never again!” permit such atrocities to occur. Yet many mass atrocity crimes have since gone unchecked, from the killing fields of Cambodia to the machetes of Rwanda to the ongoing nightmare in Darfur. In this new book, International Crisis Group President Gareth Evans shows how the emergence of the new Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm has fundamentally changed this landscape and can effectively mean an end once and for all to such large scale suffering.
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To be without
some of the things
you want is an
indispensable part
of happiness
Bertrand Rusell 1872 - 1970
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