As Tensions with Indonesia Rise, Australia's Refugee Situation Is Going to Get Worse

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Photo via

Unsurprisingly, revelations that Australian intelligence agencies spied on the Indonesian president and his wife haven't done wonders for the relationship between the two countries. Last week, in response to the spying news, it was announced that Indonesia's national police force and immigration departments were readying themselves to halt all cooperation with Australia in monitoring refugees travelling through the country to seek asylum in Oz.

This isn't the best of news for refugees. Indonesia might be easing up on people smugglers, meaning refugees will have an easier time crossing over to Australia, but those caught trying to seek asylum in the country will be sent to detention centers in either Nauru, Papua New Guinea (PNG), or mainland Australia until their claims are processed. And the stories coming out of those "prison-like environments" don't make them sound like they're worth the treacherous and often deadly journey to asylum across the Timor Sea.

Indonesia's announcement also comes after the government of recently elected Prime Minister Tony Abbott implemented Operation Sovereign Borders—an anti-immigration scheme designed to uphold Abbott's campaign mantra of "stop the boats."

The program is overseen by immigration minister Scott Morrison (who once encouraged his colleagues to push fears of Muslim immigration as an election strategy) and coordinated by Lieutenant General Angus Campbell. Some elements of the government’s new approach, while definitely questionable, are merely semantic tweaks: changing the name of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, for example, or directing public servants to call asylum seekers "illegals." Other measures, however, restrict the release of information concerning asylum seekers and impose harsher conditions on refugees living in Australia or asylum seekers being detained in immigration centers.

One preventative action that's set to affect up to 30,000 refugees currently living in Australia is the reintroduction of temporary protection visas (TPVs), which remove the rights of refugees to work, apply for Australian citizenship, or help family members join then. The problem is, this policy isn't likely to discourage refugees from seeking asylum in Australia. In fact, there's a good chance it will just make the situation worse for those already living in the country.

“It is unlikely that the idea of being sent to Nauru or PNG, or being placed on a TPV, will deter people who are running away from a threat,” explained Paul Power, chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia, a nonprofit that works on behalf of refugees. "At best, the government’s policies may shift the problem elsewhere, but it's not a problem that can be sustainably solved through deterrence alone."

The refugee camp at Manus, Papua New Guinea. Image via

Despite successive Australian governments using detention as a punitive means of deterrence, there are now more than 6,400 people held in Australia’s immigrant detention network. Paul said the psychological effects of detention on asylum seekers are devastating to their mental health. "The indefinite and mandatory nature of the detention turns resilient and hopeful people, who have already been traumatized by their refugee journey, into damaged people who require ongoing mental health support to continue with their lives," he said. "Immigration detention should be used only as a last resort and for the shortest practicable time. The policy setting should be to allow asylum seekers to live in the community while their application for refugee protection is being determined."

A process known as "enhanced screening," where refugees are interrogated by authorities before being able to request asylum, has been expanded, resulting in summary deportations without applications for asylum even being lodged. Recently, a mother was prevented from seeing her newborn baby and a young girl was apparently sent to a detention facility (where there have been numerous reported cases of sexual assault) by herself. Meanwhile, Morrison has described the level of care available in the detention centers as "appropriate."

"It doesn’t matter how much education you’ve had, it doesn’t matter where you’ve come from—Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, anywhere else—it doesn’t matter whether you’re a child, it doesn’t matter whether you’re pregnant, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a woman, it doesn’t matter whether you’re an unaccompanied minor, it doesn’t matter if you have a health condition," he told journalists earlier this month. "If you’re fit enough to get on a boat, then you can expect you’re fit enough to end up in offshore processing."

Prior to Operation Sovereign Borders, the Department of Immigration had announced each boat of asylum seekers as they arrived in Australian territorial waters. Under the new regime, information is delivered at weekly press conferences conducted by Morrison and Lieutenant General Campbell, and journalists making enquiries to the department are now told to put their questions to the minister at his weekly briefings.

While he provides briefings to the media, Morrison has refused to detail information of asylum seeker arrivals in parliament, claiming "operational matters" prohibit the release of facts. Earlier this month, the minister refused to admit a boat carrying asylum seekers had arrived in Darwin when questioned in parliament, despite the arrival being reported in the media.

It's clear that the government hasn't got a handle on immigration—in July, ousted prime minister Kevin Rudd announced deals to transfer all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat to Papua New Guinea and Nauru for processing and resettlement. Cash incentives were provided to facilitate the agreements and the policy was initially credited with a decline in arrival numbers, but it hasn't stopped people from risking their lives to journey to Australia.

A solidarity vigil outside an immigrant detention center in Melbourne. Image via

Many Australians oppose their government’s treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. Following the 2010 federal election, Justine Davis established the Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network (DASSAN) as a way for likeminded people to meet and effect change at community and national levels.

One of DASSAN’s initiatives was to hold regular vigils outside a Darwin detention center in order to demonstrate to asylum seekers that members of the community are concerned about their plight. These were held in coordination with Serco, the company contracted to provide security within the facilities. But following an Australian Broadcasting Corporation interview with asylum seekers through the wire outside the facility, those in detention have since claimed that guards began recording the names of detainees who approached the fence to speak to those holding the vigil.

"While the Department [of Immigration] says it’s a coincidence that people who spoke to the media were sent to detention on Christmas Island in the days immediately following the media reports, people in detention tell us they are hearing a very different message," Davis said. "The actions of Serco—taking photos and writing down the names of those talking to their friends—terrifies people. A peaceful and positive event has been turned into a cause for fear."

Unfortunately, the news that the Indonesian government will stop preventing people smugglers from shipping refugees over to Australia means that many more will likely end up in these centers.

"I wouldn't have believed it at the time if someone had told me that the policies and the discourse around asylum seekers would get consistently worse month by month over the past three years," Davis said. "The successful dehumanization of those fleeing their homelands and coming here seeking safety—as is their right under international law—disgusts me."

Follow Nigel on Twitter: @nigel_oconnor

More stories about refugees in Australia:

Australia Is Sending Refugees to Abusive Detention Camps in Papua New Guinea

What's It Like Pulling Refugees Out of Australian Waters?

Why the PNG Solution Is What Australia Wants