Beyond the boats: building an asylum and refugee policy for the long term Australia21 is a not for profit research company, founded Established in the Faculty of Law at the University of NSW in 2001 that is not affiliated with any political party or in 2013, it seeks to produce high-quality research feeding interest group. We bring together leading thinkers from into public policy and legislative reform. all sectors of the Australian community to explore the The Centre for Policy Development is an independent and evidence and develop new frameworks for understanding non-partisan policy institute. Our focus is developing and dealing with some of the major challenges facing long-term policy ideas that can outlast political cycles the nation. We make the results of our investigations and Beyond the boats: building an asylum and enhance the lives of current and future generations. research widely available to policy developers, industry, CPD’s core model is threefold: we create viable ideas media and the public. and refugee policy for the long term from rigorous, cross-disciplinary research at home and The Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International abroad. We connect experts and stakeholders to develop Refugee Law at UNSW is the world’s first academic these ideas into practical policy proposals. We then work Report following high-level roundtable research centre dedicated to the study of international to convince government, business and civil society of the refugee law and policy. merits of implementation. Bob Douglas, Claire Higgins, Arja Keski-Nummi, Jane McAdam and Travers McLeod Report roundtable high-level following 51883 Aus21 Beyond the Boats Report - Cover_FA2.indd 1 29/10/2014 7:20 pm Widyan Al Ubudy Aliir Aliir Widyan Al Ubudy is a broadcast journalist with Special Aliir Aliir is a professional footballer in the Australian Football Broadcasting Service (SBS) News and was formerly radio host League (AFL). Aliir was born in a refugee camp in Kenya to and producer of SBS PopAraby. A blogger and published writer, Sudanese parents and his family eventually settled in Brisbane. she has an honours degree in Journalism from the University Invited by a school friend to play Australian Rules for the first of Wollongong. Originally from Iraq, Widyan was born in a time for Aspley at age 14, he was selected at age 15 for the refugee camp in Saudi Arabia after her family escaped Saddam World XVIII team in the under-16 championships. In 2012 Aliir Hussein’s regime in the early 1990s. She arrived in Australia at made his senior debut for Aspley and played for Queensland in the age of four and grew up in western Sydney. Her goals are the 2012 AFL National Under 18 Championship. After relocating to be the best journalist she can be, to continue to give a voice to Perth to live with his family he played for East Fremantle to the silenced, to travel more of the world and maybe write in the WAFL. His outstanding 2013 season saw him drafted in a book or two. the 2013 AFL Draft by the Sydney Swans, becoming the first Sudanese player to be selected via the national draft. Besmellah Rezaee Born in Afghanistan, Besmellah Rezaee practices law in Sydney. His family came to Australia as refugees in 2005. After completing degrees in International Studies and Law at Adelaide University, Besmellah undertook the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at the ANU. Subsequently, he graduated with a Master of International Law and is now working on a PhD proposal. Besmellah was the SA State finalist in the Young Australian of the Year Awards in 2012 and Winner of the Australian Super Career Kickstart Award at the Channel 9 Young Achievers Award in 2014. He received the John Gibson AM Award for the Young Australian Migration Lawyer of the Year 2014 from Erskine Rodan OAM, Chairman of the Migration Law Committee of the Law Council. Beyond the Boats: Building an Asylum and Refugee Policy for the Long Term. Bob Douglas, Claire Higgins, Arja Keski-Nummi, Jane McAdam and Travers McLeod Published November 2014 by Australia21 in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Development and the Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Australia21 Limited ABN 25 096 242 010 ACN 096 242 010 Email: [email protected] www.australia21.org.au | www.cpd.org.au | www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au ISBN 978-0-9873991-8-2 The views expressed in this report do not necessarily represent those of Australia21 or the Centre for Policy Development or the Andrew ZOO 51883 & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. 51883 Aus21 Beyond the Boats Report - Cover_FA2.indd 2 29/10/2014 7:20 pm Munjed Al Muderis Nooria Mehraby Munjed Al Muderis, MB ChB FRACS, FAOrthA, is an Nooria Mehraby trained as a medical doctor in her native orthopaedic surgeon; an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor Afghanistan and later completed a Master of Counselling in the School of Medicine, Sydney Campus at the University degree in Australia. She is now a senior clinician and of Notre Dame Australia; and a clinical lecturer at Macquarie clinical trainer at STARTTS (Service for the Treatment and University and the Australian School Of Advanced Medicine Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors) with more who specialises in Hip, Knee and Trauma surgery. He is a fellow than 25 years clinical experience working with refugees both of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Chairman overseas and in Australia. She is also a refugee - arriving of the Osseointegration Group of Australia. Munjed is also from Afghanistan in 1993. Since then she has since become a refugee. As a first year resident he had to flee Iraq after he a recognised expert in her field, delivering lectures in various refused orders from Saddam Hussein’s regime to surgically NSW universities, speaking at national and international remove the ears of soldiers who escaped from the army. conferences, and authoring numerous publications on refugee He ended up on a flimsy wooden boat heading to his new trauma, cross-cultural approaches and working with children. home in Australia in the late 1990s. 3 Contents 1 Foreword by the Chair of Australia21 ......................................................................................................................................6 2 Foreword by the Chair of the Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW ........................7 3 Foreword by the Chair of the Centre for Policy Development...............................................................................................8 4 Glossary .........................................................................................................................................................................................9 5 The roundtable ............................................................................................................................................................................11 6 Executive summary ....................................................................................................................................................................13 7 List of recommendations ..........................................................................................................................................................16 8 Setting the scene .......................................................................................................................................................................17 8.1 The current policy environment ...................................................................................................................................17 8.1.1 Recent maritime arrivals .........................................................................................................................................17 8.1.2 Militarisation of asylum policy ...............................................................................................................................18 8.1.3 Operation Sovereign Borders ................................................................................................................................19 8.2 Broader context .............................................................................................................................................................20 8.2.1 Global trends ............................................................................................................................................................20 8.2.2 Australian asylum trends ........................................................................................................................................22 8.2.3 Migration and humanitarian programs .................................................................................................................23 8.3 Protection Obligations ..................................................................................................................................................24 8.3.1 The legal context .....................................................................................................................................................24 8.3.2 Transparency ............................................................................................................................................................28 8.3.3 Protection and deterrence ......................................................................................................................................28