Thousands could be deported under Australian government’s draconian immigration bill
By Mike Head. The Australian Labor government remains intent on pushing a reactionary non-citizen “removal” bill through parliament as quickly as possible despite outrage in immigrant communities and overwhelming opposition by refugee, migrant and human rights groups. That was clear at a one-day Senate committee hearing on the bill on Monday, even
Australian Labor government pushes anti-doxxing laws to protect Zionist witch-hunters
By Oscar Grenfell. The Labor government has pledged to rush laws through the federal parliament that would ban “doxxing,” where the private details of individuals are published online. The details of the legislation have not been released, but the context makes clear that under the banner of defending privacy, Labor is
Australian Labor government hails US passage of AUKUS legislation
By Oscar Grenfell The Australian Labor government has responded with jubilation to the passage of AUKUS legislation by the US Congress last Thursday. The bill enshrines the militarist pact between Australia, the US and the UK, unveiled in 2021, and permits America to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as part of
Australian government rams through detention and citizenship-stripping laws
By Mike Head Scenes in the Australian parliament on Wednesday made a farce of any pretence of democracy. In fact, the real face of parliament was on display, spearheaded by a Labor government in imposing deeply reactionary laws. Intent on proving itself more draconian than the Liberal-National Coalition, the Labor government again
The barbarity of Australian government’s detainee shackling laws
By Mike Head. The Albanese Labor government is already facing three High Court challenges by refugees to the manacling legislation that it and the Liberal-National Coalition jointly rammed through both houses of parliament in just 12 hours on November 16. Further challenges are likely as well. In a blatant bid to evade
Australian government demands parliament sits until it passes “preventative detention” law
By Mike Head. The Albanese Labor government issued an extraordinary ultimatum to the Australian parliament this week. It declared that both houses must keep sitting, beyond next week’s scheduled holiday shutdown, until they pass as yet unseen “preventative detention” legislation. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil declared, via Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio: “We
Legal challenge to Australian government’s new laws to impose inhuman conditions on released refugees
By Mike Head. New legislation imposing police-state restrictions on 93 people released from indefinite immigration detention has been already challenged in the Australian High Court. This is less than a week after the Labor government combined with the Liberal-National Coalition opposition to ram the regressive laws through parliament in just 12
Australian government rams through bill to impose unprecedented restrictions on released detainees
By Mike Head The ruling establishment, currently led by the Labor Party, is ripping aside fundamental democratic rights, flouting even the extremely limited protections of basic legal rights in Australia’s 1901 Constitution. In just over 12 hours on Thursday, the Australian Labor government teamed up with the Liberal-National Coalition opposition to push
Australian High Court partly overturns indefinite detentions
By Mike Head In an as-yet unexplained partial about-face, Australia’s supreme court this week declared unconstitutional the indefinite detention, without trial, of some stateless refugees and other non-citizens. Without providing any reasons, Chief Justice Stephen Gaegler announced on Wednesday that “at least a majority” of the High Court bench had agreed that
Australian High Court overturns a citizenship-stripping law but upholds another
By Mike Head On the same day this week, Australia’s highest court struck down as unconstitutional a law allowing the federal government to strip citizenship from a person purely by executive decree, but in another case upheld a similar power. The twin decisions on November 1, relating to legislation passed with bipartisan