Shorter UN Position: Australia's policy of offshore processing has caused extensive, avoidable suffering for far too long

To add insult to injury our very own J. Edgar Tuber, Peter Craig Dutton, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection & just about everything that isn't nailed down, has apparently been lying to the United Nations.

United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi calls on Australia to end harmful practice of offshore processing, 24 July 2017:

Australia’s policy of offshore processing in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, which denies access to asylum in Australia for refugees arriving by sea without a valid visa, has caused extensive, avoidable suffering for far too long.

Four years on, more than 2,000 people are still languishing in unacceptable circumstances. Families have been separated and many have suffered physical and psychological harm.

In light of this dire humanitarian situation, last November UNHCR exceptionally agreed to help with the relocation of refugees to the United States following a bilateral agreement between Australia and the US. We agreed to do so on the clear understanding that vulnerable refugees with close family ties in Australia would ultimately be allowed to settle there. 

UNHCR has recently been informed by Australia that it refuses to accept even these refugees, and that they, along with the others on Nauru and Papua New Guinea, have been informed that their only option is to remain where they are or to be transferred to Cambodia or to the United States.

This means, for example, that some with serious medical conditions, or who have undergone traumatic experiences, including sexual violence, cannot receive the support of their close family members residing in Australia.

To avoid prolonging their ordeal, UNHCR has no other choice but to endorse the relocation of all refugees on Papua New Guinea and Nauru to the United States, even those with close family members in Australia.  

There is no doubt these vulnerable people, already subject to four years of punishing conditions, should be reunited with their families in Australia. This is the humane and reasonable thing to do. 

The Australian government’s decision to deny them this possibility is contrary to the fundamental principles of family unity and refugee protection, and to common decency. 

UNHCR fully endorses the need to save lives at sea and to provide alternatives to dangerous journeys and exploitation by smugglers. But the practice of offshore processing has had a hugely detrimental impact. There is a fundamental contradiction in saving people at sea, only to mistreat and neglect them on land.  

Australia has a proud humanitarian tradition, manifested in its support for overseas aid and its longstanding refugee resettlement programme. I urge Australia to bring an immediate end to the harmful practice of offshore processing, offer solutions to its victims, for whom it retains full responsibility, and work with us on future alternatives that save lives at sea and provide protection to people in need.

At a time of record levels of displacement globally, it is crucial that all States offer protection to survivors of war and persecution, and not outsource their responsibilities to others. Refugees, our fellow human beings, deserve as much.

 Background

Approximately 2,500 refugees and asylum-seekers have been forcibly transferred by Australia to ‘offshore processing’ facilities in Papua New Guinea and Nauru since the introduction of the current policy in 2013. Of these, some 1,100 remain in Nauru and 900 in Papua New Guinea.

Following the Australia-US bilateral agreement on relocation, UNHCR has referred more than 1,100 refugees to the US over the past eight months. Another 500 people are still waiting for the outcome of the refugee status determination processing being carried out by authorities in PNG and Nauru, under the Australian arrangement.

Is this the Peter Dutton version of "Children Overboard"*

Australian Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Liberal MP for Dixon and multi-millionaire Peter Craig Dutton during a Sky News interview on 20 April  2017:

“There was an alleged incident where three asylum seekers were alleged to be leading a local five-year-old boy back toward the facility”

ABC TV Insiders, excerpt, 23 April 2017:

CASSIDY: I want to ask you about the recent disturbance at Manus Island. You recently linked that to a situation where you said that a 5-year-old boy was led away by three asylum seekers and that caused the mood to elevate quite quickly. Now, that's not true, is it?

DUTTON: Of course, it is true.

CASSIDY: It's not true.

DUTTON: It is true. And the briefing that I've had is particularly succinct and clear.

CASSIDY: Who gave you this information?

DUTTON: Well Barrie, I have senior people on the island. We also have obviously, significant contacts with the governor and people of Manus.

CASSIDY: You didn't speak with the police commander, clearly?

DUTTON: I can give you the facts in relation to it or you can take the Twitter version.

CASSIDY: Well let me give you what I understand the facts to be. The boy wasn't five, he was ten. It didn't happen on the day of the disturbance, it happened a week before the disturbance and there's CCTV footage outside of tent number one that shows the boy went inside and the people are packing fruit into plastic bags. They gave him the fruit and he left.

DUTTON: So let me give you the facts. The fact is that as people would understand, Manus Island is home not only to the regional processing centre but also to the naval base there as well. The point that I was making and certainly the clear advice that I received was that there had been a ramping up in terms of the mood on the ground over a period of time which included a sexual assault, to which you've made no reference, separate to any incident that we're talking about here.

CASSIDY: The sexual assault, that you're talking about two people have been charged with sexual assault but deny the charges.

DUTTON: So as you imagine ...

CASSIDY: You're an ex-Queensland policeman. You know that you're presumed innocent don't you?

DUTTON: Of course, but you're going to the mood on the ground which is not something that you need to prove beyond reasonable doubt in court. You're talking about what the elevation of the mood was on the ground and it was elevated by these allegations around this sexual assault. Now let that go through the courts -

CASSIDY: Elevated by the incident involving the 5-year-old boy?

DUTTON: Well just let me finish. So you've got the sexual assault, which as you say, can be heard in court. Everybody deserves innocence and I don't make any judgement about that. But I'm saying that that it did elevate the mood on the ground. And second to that, there is this incident which is being investigated by the police. Now, that will run its course.

CASSIDY: The police are investigating this incident around the 5-year-old boy?

DUTTON: Yes, they are.

CASSIDY: Do they understand that he's 10 and not 5?

DUTTON: I'll leave the detail to them.

CASSIDY: The detail is important in these matters?

DUTTON: It is. But if your claim is that the mood on the ground hadn't been elevated ...

CASSIDY: It's not my claim. The police commander says that there's CCTV footage showing that the boy was waiting outside the gate, he was looking for food. Food was placed into a plastic bag and given to him. He was ten years old and it happened a week before the disturbance and he left. That's the extent of it. Now how is that relevant to anything?

DUTTON: Well Barrie, I'm not sure whether you can be the judge, jury and executioner in this matter.

CASSIDY: The police commander said this.

DUTTON: Let's allow the police investigation to be conducted.

CASSIDY: Well why didn't you do that? Why didn't you let that happen?

DUTTON: I received different advice from that.

CASSIDY: Why didn't you let the investigation happen before you pre-empted it?

DUTTON: I was asked why the mood had elevated on the ground on Manus Island. These two incidents fed directly into that. That is indisputable. So if you're asking me about why there was an elevation of the angst between those that are living, including on the naval base on Manus, this was part of it. And that was the clear advice to me.

CASSIDY: Do you accept that you got some of the information badly wrong?

DUTTON: No, I do not. And again -

CASSIDY: The age of the boy? The intentions, whether he was led into the facility? He went in and took a plastic bag of fruit and left?

DUTTON: Again Barrie, I think that there are facts that I have that you don't so why don't we let the police investigation run its course and allow them some independent analysis of it because if you're asking me why the mood elevated, these two incidents fed into it and I have that on very good authority on the island. The parents of the boy involved in the incident might have a different view to the one that you have read off tweets and that's fine.

CASSIDY: The police commander said that this happened because there was a soccer game going on beyond a six o'clock curfew and that's what caused the disturbance and he said that some of the PNG soldiers were drunk. And yet, you put all of the blame on the asylum seekers.

DUTTON: I didn't put any blame anywhere. I was asked a question as to why the mood was elevated, I've answered that question honestly and on advice. In relation to the soccer game and the incident otherwise, yes absolutely, that's part of the facts of the whole lead-up to this unfortunate incident. Now, it's being properly investigated by the chief of defence in PNG, by the police commissioner, as it should. I also make the point -- in that interview, which you don't note, I make the point that shots being fired or behaviour as it is reported is completely unacceptable and it should be investigated. I made that point, which you neglect to make reference to. And it is important that this investigation take place, that it is properly looked at and if people are charged or whatever comes out of it, as you say, let them have their fair day in court.

CASSIDY: What would clear it up and it would help to clear up any reflection on you over your version of events is the CCTV footage. Would you allow that to be released so that everybody can be clear on what happened?

DUTTON: Barrie, the police investigation will take place -

CASSIDY: And after that, do you think that it would be appropriate to release the footage?

DUTTON: - if people are charged in relation to it to allow the course to be run.

CASSIDY: But if there's no charges and nothing happened here? Are you happy to have that footage released?

DUTTON: Well we will continue to release footage as is the normal practice now. I'm not making an exception one way or the other in relation to this case. If it is appropriate for it, and that's been the practice in the past, then that will happen. But that is an issue for the PNG Government. They run Manus Island, as you know. We inherited the mess of Manus Island from the Labor Party. We've stopped the boats and we want to get people off Manus island as quickly as possible. We've done that in terms of the negotiation with the US. Kevin Rudd's deal with the PNG Government had no outcome at all for people on Manus island. We are not adding to people on Manus island. We're not repopulating through new boat arrivals because we have stopped boats. But our job now is to get people off. We're doing that as quickly as possible. But we face all of the barriers in terms of returns that we spoke about before……

Given this performance (and a previous instance) one has to wonder about the quality of any evidence given to the courts by Mr. Dutton during the 1990s when he served as a Queensland police officer in the Drug Squad, Sex Offenders Squad and with the National Crime Authority.

*"Children Overboard" – a political lie widely disseminated by the Howard Government after an incident in the early afternoon of 6 October 2001, at about 100 nautical miles north of Christmas Island, the HMAS Adelaide intercepted 'SIEV 4' (Suspected Illegal Entry Vehicle 4), a vessel carrying 223 passengers and crew…..With the news of the incident emerging during the heat of a federal election campaign, the Government was soon under political and media pressure to produce evidence to substantiate the claim that children had been thrown overboard [by asylum seekers]. At the same time, however, doubts about the veracity of the original report started to emerge….Minister for Defence, Mr Reith, follows with a radio interview where he 'officially releases' the photographs and mentions the video, claiming they verify the children overboard story…..Admiral Barrie contacts Mr Reith and tells him that he has been advised that the photographs do not represent the incident of 7 October…..a 'political solution' had been arrived at 'not to raise' the issue publicly.

Trump's 'Muslim Ban' Mk2 also falls at first judicial hurdle

Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Minnesota and Maryland joined with the State of Washington in seeking to restrain U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order of 6 March 2017 which revised his earlier order of  February 2017.

Along with Hawaii in separate litigation that makes seven states opposing what is colloquially known as Trump’s Muslim Ban.

AP News, 16 March 2017:

HONOLULU (AP) — Hours before it was to take effect, President Donald Trump's revised travel ban was put on hold Wednesday by a federal judge in Hawaii who questioned whether the administration was motivated by national security concerns.

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson also said Hawaii would suffer financially if the executive order blocked the flow of students and tourists to the state, and he concluded that Hawaii was likely to succeed on a claim that the ban violates First Amendment protections against religious discrimination.

"The illogic of the government's contentions is palpable," Watson wrote. "The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed."…..

The judge issued his 43-page ruling less than two hours after hearing Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order to stop the ban from being put into practice.

The ruling came as opponents renewed their legal challenges across the country, asking judges in three states to block the executive order that targets people from six predominantly Muslim countries. Federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments Wednesday about whether it should be allowed to take effect early Thursday as scheduled.

In all, more than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban.

Watson made it clear that his decision applied nationwide, ruling that the ban could not be enforced at any U.S. borders or ports of entry or in the issuance of visas…..

Court transcript of the temporary restraining order granted can be found here.

Seattle Times, 15 March 2017:

A Seattle federal judge who ruled against President Donald Trump’s first immigrant travel ban has taken another challenge to the president’s revised order under advisement, this one filed by the families of immigrants that have been separated because of the policy.

U.S. District Judge James Robart remained skeptical of the government’s continued claims that the president can bar people from immigrating because of their nationality. Attorneys for the families argued that statutes governing the issuance of immigrant visas specifically prohibit such discrimination.

Robart heard nearly 90 minutes of arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging the travel order filed by several legal immigrants who are separated from their families and who fear the new order will prolong that separation. Their family members all are in various stages of attempting to obtain visas to enter the U.S.

The latest travel ban was set to go into effect at midnight Wednesday. However, a federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday put the revised travel ban on hold.

Matt Adams, the legal director for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, which is spearheading the immigrant-family lawsuit, said the Hawaii order is a godsend for his clients, who will benefit from any delay in the order’s implementation.

Still, he said they will pursue a restraining order of their own.

Robart did not say when he would rule on the suit filed by several immigrants.

Daily Mail 14 March 2017:

Immigrant advocacy groups and the ACLU are suing in Maryland. They will ask a judge there early Wednesday to issue an injunction, saying it's illegal to reduce the number of refugees in the middle of a fiscal year. The lawsuit is broader, but the ACLU expects a ruling on that part of the case even if other aspects of the ban are blocked elsewhere.

The Baltimore Sun, 16 March 2017:

The Washington Post reported that U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang issued a ruling early Thursday, using Trump's own comments against him in deciding the ban was likely unconstitutional.

The Maryland ruling marks another win for challengers of the president's executive order, which had been slated to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

Trump expressed his displeasure in a typically dishonest prepared political speech he read from two transparent autocues.

https://youtu.be/08xYkGADatE

Full speech video at https://youtu.be/z9ghcGzkpZo.

The revised text of the travel ban:

PROTECTING THE NATION FROM FOREIGN TERRORIST ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES 2017 by clarencegirl on Scribd

https://www.scribd.com/document/342025899/PROTECTING-THE-NATION-FROM-FOREIGN-TERRORIST-ENTRY-INTO-THE-UNITED-STATES-2017

Australia-US relations in 2017: just for the record

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On Sunday, 29 January 2017 (Saturday 28 in America) U.S. President Donald Trump made a scheduled telephone call to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The Washington Post  broke this story on 2 February 2017, listing it under "National Security":

It should have been one of the most congenial calls for the new commander in chief — a conversation with the leader of Australia, one of America’s staunchest allies, at the end of a triumphant week.

Instead, President Trump blasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refu­gee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the Saturday exchange. Then, 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump abruptly ended it.

At one point, Trump informed Turnbull that he had spoken with four other world leaders that day — including Russian President Vladi­mir Putin — and that “this was the worst call by far.”

Trump’s behavior suggests that he is capable of subjecting world leaders, including close allies, to a version of the vitriol he frequently employs against political adversaries and news organizations in speeches and on Twitter.

President Trump speaks on the phone with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in the Oval Office on Jan. 28, 2017. (Pete Marovich/Pool photo via European Pressphoto Agency)

“This is the worst deal ever,” Trump fumed as Turnbull attempted to confirm that the United States would honor its pledge to take in 1,250 refugees from an Australian detention center.

Trump, who one day earlier had signed an executive order temporarily barring the admission of refugees, complained that he was “going to get killed” politically and accused Australia of seeking to export the “next Boston bombers.”

Trump returned to the topic late Wednesday night, writing in a message on Twitter: “Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!”

U.S. officials said that Trump has behaved similarly in conversations with leaders of other countries, including Mexico. But his treatment of Turnbull was particularly striking because of the tight bond between the United States and Australia — countries that share intelligence, support one another diplomatically and have fought together in wars including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 The characterizations provide insight into Trump’s temperament and approach to the diplomatic requirements of his job as the nation’s chief executive, a role in which he continues to employ both the uncompromising negotiating tactics he honed as a real estate developer and the bombastic style he exhibited as a reality television personality.

The depictions of Trump’s calls are also at odds with sanitized White House accounts. The official readout of his conversation with Turnbull, for example, said that the two had “emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the U.S.-Australia relationship that is critical for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally.”

A White House spokesman declined to comment. A senior administration official acknowledged that the conversation with Turnbull had been hostile and charged, but emphasized that most of Trump’s calls with foreign leaders — including the heads of Japan, Germany, France and Russia — have been productive and pleasant......

But U.S. officials said that Trump continued to fume about the arrangement even after signing the order in a ceremony at the Pentagon.

“I don’t want these people,” Trump said. He repeatedly misstated the number of refugees called for in the agreement as 2,000 rather than 1,250, and told Turnbull that it was “my intention” to honor the agreement, a phrase designed to leave the U.S. president wiggle room to back out of the deal in the future, according to a senior U.S. official.

Before Trump tweeted about the agreement Wednesday night, the U.S. Embassy in Canberra had assured Australian reporters that the new administration intended to take the refugees.

“President Trump’s decision to honour the refugee agreement has not changed,” an embassy spokesman had told the reporters, according to an official in the Sydney consulate. “This was just reconfirmed to the State Department from the White House and on to this embassy at 1315 Canberra time.”

The time the embassy said it was informed the deal was going ahead was 9:15 p.m. in Washington, one hour and 40 minutes before Trump suggested in a tweet that it might not go ahead.

During the phone conversation Saturday, Turnbull told Trump that to honor the agreement, the United States would not have to accept all of the refugees but only to allow each through the normal vetting procedures. At that, Trump vowed to subject each refu­gee to “extreme vetting,” the senior U.S. official said.

Trump was also skeptical because he did not see a specific advantage the United States would gain by honoring the deal, officials said.

Trump’s position appears to reflect the transactional view he takes of relationships, even when it comes to diplomatic ties with long-standing allies. Australian troops have fought alongside U.S. forces for decades, and the country maintains close cooperation with Washington on trade and economic issues.

Australia is seen as such a trusted ally that it is one of only four countries that the United States includes in the “Five Eyes” arrangement for cooperation on espionage matters. Members share extensively what their intelligence services gather and generally refrain from spying on one another.

There also is a significant amount of tourism between the two countries.....

At one point, Turnbull suggested that the two leaders move on from their impasse over refugees to discuss the conflict in Syria and other pressing foreign issues. But Trump demurred and ended the call, making it far shorter than his conversations with Shinzo Abe of Japan, Angela Merkel of Germany, François Hollande of France or Putin.

“These conversations are conducted candidly, frankly, privately,” Turnbull said at a news conference Thursday in Australia. “If you see reports of them, I’m not going to add to them.”

After news of the content of Trump's telephone call became public, the ruling Republican Party went into damage control:

Feb 02 2017

STATEMENTBY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON U.S.-AUSTRALIA ALLIANCE

Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on his call this morning with Australia’s Ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey:

“On the Fourth of July 1918, American and Australian soldiers fought side-by-side at the Battle of Hamel. In the century that followed, our two nations struggled and sacrificed together in World War I and World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Those of us who took part in the conflict remember well the service of more than 50,000 Australians in the Vietnam War, including more than 500 that gave their lives.

“Today, Australia is hosting increased deployments of U.S. aircraft, more regular port visits by U.S. warships, and critical training for U.S. marines at Robertson Barracks in Darwin. This deepening cooperation is a reminder that from maintaining security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region to combatting radical Islamist terrorism, the U.S-Australia relationship is more important than ever.

“In short, Australia is one of America’s oldest friends and staunchest allies. We are united by ties of family and friendship, mutual interests and common values, and shared sacrifice in wartime.

“In that spirit, I called Australia’s Ambassador to the United States this morning to express my unwavering support for the U.S.-Australia alliance. I asked Ambassador Hockey to convey to the people of Australia that their American brothers and sisters value our historic alliance, honor the sacrifice of the Australians who have served and are serving by our side, and remain committed to the safer, freer, and better world that Australia does far more than its fair share to protect and promote.”

###

Meanwhile in Australia ABC News was reporting:

Mr Trump's declaration via Twitter that the proposed Australian refugee settlement arrangement struck with former president Barack Obama was a "dumb deal" has startled long-term observers of the ANZUS alliance.

"I've been watching the alliance relationship for more than 30 years now and I think this is as difficult a period as we've seen since the so-called MX missile crisis of the early 1980s," said Peter Jennings, the director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"I think it's sensible for us to be working through all manner of contingencies, which includes a temporary freezing of the alliance, a sort of lull in alliance cooperation," Mr Jennings warned.

"Ordinarily you'd say that was very unexpected, but I just think we've got to be prepared for any contingency under the new presidency".

And of course Twitter lit up over the subject:

Business Insider Australia, 2 February 2017

The Sydney Morning Herald reporting from New York on 2 February 2017:

New York: The revelation that Donald Trump berated Malcolm Turnbull, the leader of one of America's closest allies, during a recent official phone call has been met with shock, disbelief and some embarrassed humour in the United States, fuelling concerns about the US president badly damaging important international relationships.

The Washington Post scoop revealing the tense conversation broke late in the day in the US and went on to dominate late night news television shows and social media, with many expressing disbelief that of all the countries the US could have offended in the first weeks of a new administration, it would be America's genial allies across the Pacific.

"Dear Australia: The majority of Americans who don't support Trump want to say we are sorry. We will make it up to you in four years or less," Ted Lieu, a Democratic congressman from California who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote on Twitter after the story broke.  

"I made a Top 100 Possible Trump Administration Foreign Crises list & I gotta admit 'Rupturing US-Australia Relations' was NOT on there," senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, also wrote.

Lawrence O'Donnell, the left-wing commentator and host of MSNBC's The Last Word, lambasted the president for insulting Turnbull, "while having no idea that Australia has stood by us like no other ally, marched into battle with us where no other ally would go, including Vietnam, something Donald Trump would have known if he had served in Vietnam and heard those men beside him with those Australian accents, men who saved the lives of American troops".

Mr Trump avoided serving in the Vietnam War due to a series of deferments, including a medical deferment for bone spurs in his heels.

Democratic senator Jeff Merkley said much of the president's behaviour had been "extremely disturbing" and that "many of us are worried we are going to stumble into war".

David Gergen​, a former presidential adviser to Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, who is now an analyst for CNN, accused Trump of bullying a friend…..

Kevin Madden, a former adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said people had long expected that Trump, a mogul and reality television star known for his combative, impudent manner, would eventually conform to some level of political protocol, but that a pivot of that nature was never going to come. 

"He's just not going to change but that's what's problematic," he said on the same CNN panel…..

Trump felt compelled to explain himself publicly at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday 2 February 2017 as reported by The Independent UK the next day:

Donald Trump has warned that he plans to be “tough” and “straighten things out” after reports emerged that he had “yelled” at the Australian Prime Minister about their refugee resettlement deal and had hung up mid-conversation.

At a prayer breakfast, the President said: “That’s what I do, I fix things. We’re going to straighten it out. Believe me.

“When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry about it. Just don’t worry about it. They’re tough. We have to be tough. It’s time we’re going to be a little tough, folks. We’re taken advantage of by every nation in the world virtually. It’s not going to happen any more. It’s not going to happen any more.”

The call with Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday should have lasted an hour, but after 25 minutes Mr Trump wanted off the call.

Australia Sky News sources reported that the President “yelled” at Mr Turnbull as he sat in the Oval Office, flanked by Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon, Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Defence Secretary Michael Flynn. It was the last call of the day after several other scheduled phone calls with several foreign leaders. 

News.com.au reported Trump further on 3 February 2017:

AS the White House confirmed a “horrible deal” between Australia and the US on refugees would remain, US President Donald Trump cast more skepticism.

He said he questioned the purpose of the agreement, and suggested the number of refugees could increase to 2,000, after the Trump administration agreed to honour an Obama-era plan to resettle 1,250 asylum seekers in the US.

“For whatever reason President Obama said that they were going to take probably well over a thousand illegal immigrants who were in prisons and they were going to bring them and take them into this country,” Trump said.

“And I just said why?”

“Why are we doing this?”

“We have to be treated fairly also, we have to be treated fairly.”

“So we’ll see what happens. When the previous administration does something, you have to respect that, but you can also say, why are we doing this?” he said.

News footage of Donald Trump has him stating that the United States is being taken advantage of by Australia. 

He has forgotten - if he ever knew in the first place - just how many U.S. strategic defence/intelligence installations are sited on Australian soil, sometimes at a genuinely peppercorn rent. One, Pine Gap, collects a wide range of signals intelligence as well as providing early warning of ballistic missile launches and allegedly controls certain American spy satellites as they fly over China, North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

On the morning of Thursday 2 January, Australia’s Ambassador to the United States met with two of Trump’s senior staff, Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, at which time they conveyed the president's deep admiration for the Australian people - presumaby because the story of Trump’s telephone tantrum refused to die a quick death and they were obviously desperate to see it interred six feet under.

Despite this clumsy olive branch  9 News carried footage from that same day which clearly demonstrated how untrustworthy this new White House is:

Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway has blamed Australia for leaking a transcript of the US president berating Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull despite reports it came from the White House.

Conway who was speaking on Fox & Friends on Thursday took the opportunity to address the heated phone call that has turned many Americans against Trump for verbally attacking the leader of one the USA’s closest allies.

However, despite the Washington Post reporting the leak came from US officials briefed on the exchange, Conway refuted claims the leak came from the US.

"This is the practice for us… we’re the ones not leaking. You saw it with the earlier reports, you see it here. You’re a little bit hamstrung when you’re the ones upholding the law or, more frankly, upholding a gentlemen’s agreement to not release," Conway said.

When asked who leaked the transcript the Trump advisor insinuated it must have been Australia.

"Well, you can make your own conclusions," she said.

More reliable rumour has it that the leaked details of the Trump-Turnbull conversation came from within Trump's close circle of advisers, in an attempt to either lay the groundwork for a reluctant agreement to the Obama-Turnbull Nauru & Manus asylum seeker arrangement or to poison this deal the eyes of the American public and so give Trump an excuse to eventually withdraw.

Either way Donald Trump has misread the relationship with Australia and it may come back to bite him.

When they decide enough is enough, Australians can become decidedly bloody-minded and President Trump needs to keep that in mind.

Right now a good many Australians have narrowed eyes and grim mouths as they turn their gaze towards this man.

The American Resistance has many faces - this is just one of them

ACLU PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF, 28 January 201... by clarencegirl on Scribd

https://www.scribd.com/document/337805663/ACLU-PETITION-FOR-WRIT-OF-HABEAS-CORPUS-AND-COMPLAINT-FOR-DECLARATORY-AND-INJUNCTIVE-RELIEF-28-January-2017

One of the temporary restraining orders granted 28 January 2017:

The Economist, 29 January 2017:

In her brief and unequivocal ruling on the evening of January 28th, Ms Donnelly wrote that Mr Alshawi and Mr Darweesh “have a strong likelihood of success” in showing that their deportation would violate their rights to due process and equal protection. There is “imminent danger”, she wrote, that “there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders and other individuals from nations” targeted by Mr Trump’s executive order, should it be fully implemented. Ms Donnelly thus “enjoined and restrained” the government from deporting refugees or “any other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen legally authorised to enter the United States”.

The ruling, along with similar non-removal orders from judges in Virginia and Seattle, means that nobody who was told they didn’t belong in America when they arrived on January 27th can be deported—for now—though there were reports from several cities on the night of January 28th that customs officials were disregarding the judges' orders and arranging for individuals to be sent home. It also bears reminding that these rulings are stays, not final determinations. Further judicial hearings in February will determine if the stays should be lifted. And the rulings do not come close to erasing Mr Trump’s executive order; the ban remains in effect for refugees and others who were planning to come to America in the coming days, weeks and months.

Another temporary restraining order can be found here.

Remembering Australia's history

After my great grandparents were denied asylum in Aust they were murdered in Auschwitz. @TurnbullMalcolm please speak out against #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/cr63PMJA1z

— Mireille Juchau (@MireilleJuchau) January 28, 2017

While we were away.....

Some of the issues and comment which caught my attention while the blog was on annual holiday.

* THE NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is investigating several trucks that were not sealed correctly before transporting waste that potentially contained asbestos.

The EPA has been closely monitoring the remediation of the former South Grafton Sewage Treatment Plant by Clarence Valley Council, in response to a number of concerns raised by the community.

Adam Gilligan, Regional Director North, said a recent inspection observed trucks leaving the site with incorrectly sealed loads. The same contractors currently under investigation are also under investigation for similar issues in the Tweed area.

"I want to make it clear that, to date, Clarence Valley Council have taken appropriate steps in managing the environmental aspects of the remediation project.”

"However, the improper transport of waste potentially containing asbestos is a serious issue that warranted swift action to prevent a recurrence.”

See: http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/epa-investigates-super-depot-waste-transport/3126001/

* Scientists in the U.S., aided by colleagues in Canada and elsewhere, are moving quickly to preserve climate data stored on government computer servers out of concern that the Trump administration might remove or dismantle the records. A “guerrilla archiving” event will be held at the University of Toronto this weekend to catalog U.S. government climate and environmental data. Other researchers from the University of California to the University of Pennsylvania are responding to calls on Twitter and the Internet to preserve data on everything from rising seas to wildfires. The actions come as President-elect Donald Trump has appointed climate change skeptics to all his top environment and energy posts. Though there has been no mention yet of removing publicly available data, “it’s not unreasonable to think that they would want to take down the very data that they dispute,” said Michael Halpern of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

See: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/fearing_trump_scientists_rush_to_preserve_key_climate_data_sets/4862/

* In a report sent to Planning Minister Rob Stokes, just before the latest approval, the NSW National Parks Association (NPA) estimated 29-40 million litres a day of water were entering the coal mines in and around the Illawarra Special Areas, including Dendrobium. (See map below of the Wongawilli (lower mines) and Dendrobium coal mines (upper set) sprawling between the Avon and Cordeaux Reservoirs.)

According to the NPA, the mid-range estimate is equivalent to about 10 per cent of the total daily supply taken from the Avon, Cataract, Cordeaux, and Woronora reservoirs.

"It's important to note that there is currently no reliable means of knowing how much of this water would have otherwise gone into the storage reservoirs", Peter Turner, NPA mining projects officer, said.

Those estimates, though, may be conservative because they don't include inflows that are adding to water bodies accumulating within the mines, Dr Turner said. 

"There doesn't appear to be any reporting or auditing of  water pooling in either the current or the old mines within and around the Illawarra Special Areas," he said. "It's not clear whether the Dendrobium and adjacent Wongawilli mines are staying within their water licence limits." 
See: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/outrageous-coal-mine-gets-expansion-nod-despite-secret-incomplete-studies-20161222-gtgz4d.html

@LennaLeprena @Loud_Lass @NannanBay @deniseshrivell @MGliksmanMDPhD @leftocentre Merry Xmas Boys & Girls. pic.twitter.com/EKmqXP0jaW

— Freda Nurks (@fredanurks) December 24, 2016

* If there is one unforeseen advantage of Donald Trump's election to the seat of the US presidency, it is the fevered goodwill that has flowed into the coffers of progressive, anti-Trump, causes since.

Since the Republican nominee's election win on November 8, nonprofit organisations in the US - such as pro-choice charity Planned Parenthood - have seen a massive upsurge in donations. In the build-up to Christmas, the wave of generosity only strengthened as disappointed voters did their best to counter the President elect's dismaying policies around civil rights, including immigration and women's reproductive rights.

See: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/news-and-views/news-features/planned-parenthood-has-seen-donations-skyrocket-in-wake-of-donald-trumps-win-20161227-gtidny.html

* The Turnbull government insists most pensioners will be better off under changes in the New Year, as Newspoll analysis shows older voters are turning against the Coalition.

The analysis of 8508 voters in surveys taken for The Australian from October to December reveals a seven-percentage-point plunge in the primary vote for the Coalition among voters over 50 since the July 2 election.

Support for the government in the largest voting demographic has fallen from 49.9 per cent to 43 per cent.

Two-thirds of the lost vote has shifted to Labor and one-third to independents and minor parties.

The dip has come as the government faces criticism over an overhaul of superannuation taxes, changes to the pension assets test and aged care reforms.

See: http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/newspoll-shows-govt-losing-older-voters/news-story/8ae0cacf85fc3de5136f3a284e37a0cc

* Bill McLennan, the Australian statistician from 1995 to 2000, argues that this census is “the most significant invasion of privacy ever perpetrated” by the ABS. But it is far more than that. It is an unparalleled resource — crying out to be stolen — for our adversaries to use against us in cyber and other conflicts.

Imagine if China or Russia had a copy of this information. They would know, or easily could deduce, the names, ranks and military base of every member of our armed forces, from a general to a Digger. Indeed this would be a trivial piece of big data analytics.

Similarly, they could deduce the details of every intelligence officer, every public servant, every politician, every chief executive, every union official, every doctor, nurse and teacher, and on and on.

But it would be worse than just that because this personal data provides a highly reliable framework on which to hang other data — information that is stolen from credit card companies, telcos, retailers and so forth — to build comprehensive pictures of every individual’s strengths and weaknesses.

Such knowledge gives a strategic edge to an adversary in any conflict where information warfare plays a significant role.

It turbocharges an adversary’s information warfare capacity, particularly in the not-war-not-peace cyber conflicts that are the 21st century’s version of the Cold War.

Two obvious questions arise.

Could our adversaries steal the census? The answer to this must be yes. We know it is possible for cyber intelligence agencies to infiltrate highly protected computer systems unobserved, then locate, copy and export data, again unobserved, and then leave the system, covering their tracks as they go.

We know from US congressional public hearings that Russia and China have these capabilities.

Essentially we know that no computer system is invulnerable to determined and sophisticated attackers, despite what their owners may say. And remember that we are talking about the ABS here, with its ageing computer system, demonstrably poor cybersecurity and a clearly slack, lazy, cosy relationship with its IT vendors.

The second question is this: are our adversaries stealing the census? We have to assume that they have at least considered it.

When the idea of electronically linking names and addresses to census data was first announced a few years ago, it is easy to imagine that both Russia and China would have counted their blessings — no one else does this, only us mugs in Australia.

They immediately could have begun to reconnoitre the ABS’s computer systems while preparing to inject useful pieces of sleeper software to assist in later operations.

Beijing, as it has done in many cases in other countries, also may have considered trying to suborn or persuade ethnic Chinese employees or contractors to assist in this process.

In the cat-and-mouse game of cyber espionage and counterespionage, we have to assume that our adversaries could do these things undetected.

So it’s highly plausible that Russia and China, or both, are stealthily stealing your census — and getting away with it. I’d give it better than even money because each of these powers has the motivation, capability, opportunity and, most important, intent.

See: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/census-cost-us-dearly-enemies-have-our-number/news-story/6072da324862e743e6b7cd806b82fdb6 

* Donald Trump's assault on trade is escalating. First the foes were China and Mexico. Now it is the world.

The Trump transition team has mooted an import tariff of 10 per cent across the board, doubling down on earlier talk of a 5 per cent tax. Such thinking is of a different character to Mr Trump's campaign rhetoric, which mostly hinted at trade sanctions to force concessions.

A catch-all tariff is a change of belief systems. It overthrows the free trade order that has been upheld and policed by Washington since the 1940s.

Congress cannot stop Mr Trump imposing his will by "executive action" under existing US law. The president may impose tariffs of up to 15 per cent for 150 days without having to demonstrate any damage. All he has to do is utter the words "macroeconomic imbalances", or invoke "national security", and he can do what he wants.

The thrust is becoming all too clear. Mr Trump's choice of leader of the White House National Trade Council is a virulent Sinophobe. Without wishing to caricature Peter Navarro, there is a relentless consistency to his work: The Coming China Wars, Death by China: Confronting the Dragon, and Crouching Tiger: What China's Militarism Means for the World.

See: http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/trumps-trade-policies-become-more-shocking-by-the-day-20161228-gtj3zd.html

23 December 2016

* A 27-year-old Sudanese refugee held on Manus Island has died following “a fall and seizure” inside the Australian-run detention centre.

It is understood the man, who had reportedly been unwell for several months, collapsed and suffered head injuries inside the detention centre on Friday. He was then evacuated to Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital, where he died on Saturday.

The Guardian understands the man’s name was Faysal Ishak Ahmed. He was born in Khartoum in June 1989 and had been held on Manus since October 2013.

A source on Manus told Guardian Australia that Ahmed had been sick for more than six months and other detainees had alerted the organisation responsible for care on the island, International Health and Medical Services (IHMS), to his sitaution.

“Last night he collapsed in Oscar prison and injured his head seriously,” the source said. “It was not the first time that he had fainted. A few days ago the refugees wrote a complaint against IHMS about his situation.”

According to the Refugee Action Coalition, the letter was signed by more than 60 refugees on Manus last week.

They said he had suffered numerous blackouts and collapses over the past several months.

“Faysal is yet another casualty of the systematic neglect that characterises Manus Island and offshore detention,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition.

A media statement from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirmed the death of the 27-year-old man from “a fall and seizure” at the detention centre.

“The department is not aware of any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and expresses its sympathies to his family and friends,” it said. “The death will be reported to the Queensland coroner. No further comment will be made at this time.”

See: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/24/sudanese-refugee-dies-in-brisbane-hospital-after-medivac-from-manus

* DECEMBER 10-11: NSW Government planning minister Paul Toole knocks back a request from the Clarence Valley Council to fund work on its $13.5 million super depot in South Grafton with an internal loan. The council planned to use money from its water fund to cover a cash flow shortfall while the council sold off assets to raise money for the depot work.

DECEMBER 12: Brooms Head Caravan Park long-time visitors and residents are up in arms over proposed changes to the park. Clarence Valley Council has released a concept design report for the caravan park with an estimated $7.91m worth of changes, including improved amenities, a revised road layout, more cabins and a phasing out of traditional user camping sites.

DECEMBER 13: With the finishing line in sight for the re-vamped Harwood Slipway, owners Harwood Marine announce they have 18 jobs worth around $10 million on the books waiting to get started. Company managing director Ross Roberts says the slipway should re-open some time in January.

DECEMBER 14: A private motocross track on a property has created division among property owners and neighbours on Tallawudjah Creek Rd, near Glenreagh. It also split opinion on Clarence Valley Council, with Mayor Jim Simmons' casting vote needed to give the clearance for the track to go ahead.

DECEMBER 15: Some Ulmarra residents fear a Clarence Valley Council resolution which will almost certainly mean the village's community pool will close at the end of the swimming season, will mean children will swim in the Clarence River, where bull sharks have been caught.

DECEMBER 16: There is fury among South Grafton residents near the Grafton District Golf Club at a council decision which could allow the sub-division of two former holes on the course into 16 building lots. The residents had agreed to a development of nine one-acre lots and were angry the golf club changed this to 16. The council voted to accept 16 lots, but wants layout changes to alleviate residents' concerns.

DECEMBER 17-18: Chaos around the Clarence Valley as a car crashes into the Joy Noodle store in South Grafton, a man is arrested after allegedly threatening a family with a gun near Buccarumbi and a man is allegedly stabbed in the knee with scissors during the theft of his vehicle in Yamba.

DECEMBER 19: The Daily Examiner launches its Give Don't Grieve campaign urging people to take road safety seriously in response to the rising road toll in the State.

DECEMBER 20: Seventy-two tabs of what is believed to be LSD were seized during a weekend drug dog operation on the Lower River. It was one of three significant busts made by police, as they took the animals through a number of licensed premises, parks and public places around Yamba and Maclean.

DECEMBER 21: A single mother of three, Stevie Martin, thanks lady luck after a single pine tree in the front yard of her house in Ellandgrove between South Grafton and Coutts Crossing, saves her house from major damage.

A savage storm that ripped through the area ripped the roof off a neighbour's house and sent it hurtling toward her house until the tree blocked it.

DECEMBER 22: The international media comments on the seeming reluctance of the Australian judicial system to bring the men charged over the death of Maclean woman Lynette Daley to court.

A report in the New York Post, picked up by media across the USA, says racism in Australian society is behind it.

DECEMBER 23: Police say the body of a teenager girl discovered near Yamba is believed to be missing Grafton girl Emma Powell.

The body of the 16-year-old was found in a reserve with the family car and dog which went missing with her.

The dog, Indie, was taken into safety by rangers.

DECEMBER 24: The Mororo Rd turn off from the Pacific Highway has been turned into a death trap by the works to upgrade the highway say residents. The RMS is about to release the results of a safety audit of the contentious area.

DECEMBER 26: The NSW Environment Protection Authority is investigating several trucks that were not sealed correctly before transporting waste that potentially contained asbestos.

The authority has been closely monitoring the remediation of the former South Grafton sewage Treatment Plant by Clarence Valley Council.

DECEMBER 27: A Grafton man is pulled from the surf on Wooli Beach, but dies of cardiac arrest after trying to rescue to young family members.

DECEMBER 28: Details emerge of the death of 60-year-old Grafton man Geoffrey Blackadder, who died while trying to save two young family members on Wooli Beach on Boxing Day.

DECEMBER 29: Clarence Valley beaches are packed as holiday makers enjoy hot weather. But lifeguards warn there can be challenging conditions which swimmers need to be wary of.

DECEMBER 30: The death of a 12-year-old boy in a car crash on the Pacific Highway at Tyndale prompts a warning that more deaths will happen on the notorious blackspot before the highway upgrade is complete.

DECEMBER 31: News emerges the boy who died in the crash at Tyndale is a relation of Australian media icon Ita Buttrose.

See: The Daily Examiner, 31 December 2016, p.6

* In 2016, Bob Brown and Jessica Hoyt were arrested for peacefully protesting against logging at Lapoinya in NW Tasmania.

They were charged under Tasmania’s harsh new ‘anti-protest’ laws. With huge fines and prison sentences, these laws attack the right to peaceful protest, a cornerstone of our democracy. 

Governments across Australia are now copying these laws, to crush dissent on environmental, social, cultural and Indigenous issues.  

These laws must be stopped now to protect everyone's right to peaceful protest. 

Bob Brown has launched action in the High Court of Australia to overturn these draconian laws, so that Australians remain free to take a stand on important issues we all care about. 

Jessica Hoyt, who grew up in Lapoinya, now a neurosurgery nurse in Hobart, has joined Bob in the High Court action. 

This case is a huge undertaking, with an enormous financial cost. 

But we cannot allow these laws to take hold, strangling our democratic rights.  

Stand with Bob and Jessica, and make a pledge today to strike down these undemocratic laws, once and for all.  

With potential legal costs of $250,000 or more, we are aiming to crowd fund at least $100,000 towards the legal costs that Bob Brown and Jessica Hoyt could face.

See: https://pozible.com/project/stand-with-bob-brown

* A north coast environment group has lashed the Environment Protection Authority, which has issued NSW Forestry Corporation with not one cent in fines despite proof the corporation flouted its compliance obligations while felling trees at Cherry Tree State Forest, near Casino.

North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) co-ordinator and audit-author Dailan Pugh said that the EPA have identified 66 instances of non-compliance with logging laws, ‘though this belies the fact that a single ‘non-compliance’ can represent hundreds of actual breaches.’

‘From the EPA’s figures, some 325 ancient hollow-bearing trees were illegally logged, though the EPA only count this as one act of non-compliance,’ Mr Pugh said.

‘While this is the most comprehensive investigation of our complaints that the EPA have yet undertaken, they still failed to investigate numerous complaints, For example we identified that 26 vulnerable Onion Cedars had an illegal road constructed within their buffers, but the EPA only checked eight of them. Similarly of the 11 poorly drained and eroding tracks we reported the EPA only checked nine.

‘There were also numerous offences relating to koalas, yellow-bellied gliders and black-striped wallabies that the EPA confirmed but claim they couldn’t legally prove.

‘We have been finding similar breaches in all the audits we have been undertaking, year after year after year.

‘Yet the EPA’s only response is to issue 47 more “official cautions” and require yet more ‘action plans’. These pathetic responses have been proven to be useless. The Forestry Corporation continue to deny they do anything wrong and continue to go on illegally logging.

‘The EPA are still yet to complete their investigations into eight cases of illegal roading and logging of the Endangered Ecological Community Lowland Rainforest, and hundreds of cases of the Forestry Corporation recklessly damaging retained hollow-bearing trees.

‘They say that these serious offences are subject to an ongoing investigation. We can only hope that next time the punishment will match the crime’ Mr Pugh said.

See: http://www.echo.net.au/2016/12/epas-official-cautions-confirm-pathetic-status-nefa/

* Debit cards have been returned to dozens of Aboriginal people in outback South Australia, after a local store owner drained almost $1 million from their bank accounts.
It follows a landmark Federal Court ruling last month, which found the trader guilty of unconscionable conduct.
Community groups hope it sends a message to others taking advantage of customers in remote areas.

See: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2016/s4596675.htm