Assistance with claims was provided

Letter to the Editor - Herald Sun
14 July 2003

Dear Sir/Madam

Contrary to assertions made in Jill Singer's article 'Our $20m nonsense' (11 July), about the illegal entrants detected off the coast of Western Australia, the Department, over the weekend, flew independent migration agents to Christmas Island to assist these people with preparing, lodging and presenting applications for asylum.

This assistance and advice is funded by the Commonwealth at no cost to the applicant and is delivered through the Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme (IAAAS) by 21 service providers throughout Australia. Included in this group are commercial firms, Government and community non-profit organisations.

All unauthorised arrivals who enter the migration zone and seek to engage Australia's protection obligations have access to this scheme. The scheme also provides application assistance at the merits review stage when a primary application has been refused.

The article's assertions about Nauruan law are also wrong.

In a recent case in the Supreme Court of Nauru, the Chief Justice accepted that people living in the centres were not illegally detained in terms of Article 5 of the Nauru Constitution.

The Court dismissed applications by three asylum seekers for a writ of habeas corpus and constitutional relief. The Court decision effectively upheld the lawfulness and constitutional validity of the arrangements under which asylum seekers are temporarily accommodated on Nauru.

Stewart Foster
Director
Public Affairs
DIMIA