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Down Under

No Australian combat troops to fight in Middle East

2015-11-25

The so-called Islamic State (IS) group is weak and Australia has no plans to send combat troops to fight it, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says. His remarks contrasted with former prime minister Tony Abbott's description of IS as a "death cult". Mr Abbott, now serving as a backbench MP, called for Australia to commit combat troops to the Middle East after the Paris attacks. Mr Turnbull told Australia's House of Representatives that IS relied on its propaganda network and "we must not be fooled by its hype". Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has rejected calls to send combat troops to the Middle East. But the group must be defeated militarily in Iraq and Syria, where it has overrun vast swathes of territory, he said. "Let someone else do it." "Its ideology is archaic, but its use of the internet is very modern. ISIL has many more smartphones than guns, more Twitter accounts than fighters. "It does not command broad-based legitimacy even in those areas under its direct control. It is encircled by hostile forces. It is under military pressure." Mr Turnbull made the comments as part of national security statement to Australia's parliament. Tony Abbott never backed away from his description of the so-called Islamic State (IS) as a "death cult". When terrorism experts said IS would be delighted that his colourful description promoted the group's propaganda aims, Mr Abbott was dismissive. "I think we should call things what they are," he said in June this year. Fast-forward five months and Australia's political landscape is very different. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who deposed Mr Abbott in September, wants to undercut IS's effective propaganda. Rather than boots on the ground, Mr Turnbull is focusing on a war of ideas. Mr Turnbull said the government of Iraq believed the presence of large numbers of Western troops in that country would be "counter-productive". He also said the consensus of world leaders was that there was no appetite for a large-scale invasion of Syria. The deployment of Australian combat troops to either Iraq or Syria would be neither "feasible" nor "practical", Mr Turnbull said. Former defence minister Kevin Andrews and Liberal MP Michael Sukkar had backed Mr Abbott's call for "boots on the ground" following the Paris attacks. Currently there are around 90 Australian special forces soldiers advising counter-terror agencies in Iraq, as well as around 300 soldiers training members of the Iraqi national army. Australia also has six aircraft bombing IS positions in both Iraq and Syria as part of the US-led coalition. Mr Turnbull said Australia's commitment to the Middle East conflict was already large given the country's size and geographic location. "Larger for example than any European nation, larger than Canada or any of the neighbouring Arab states," he said.

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Down Under

Australia's ethnic divide 'a threat'

2011-02-08

* Australia at risk of having "parallel societies" * Fanatics must be stopped before it's too late * Comments follow multiculturalism debate AUSTRALIA risks becoming a nation of "ethnic enclaves" that unknowingly buys livestock slaughtered "in the name of Allah", senior Liberal MPs have warned. Opening up a new political faultline, former immigration minister Kevin Andrews lashed out at political leaders who failed to speak out on the rise of extreme Islam, claiming the silence contributes to the rise of One Nation-type movements. Another Liberal frontbencher, Mitch Fifield, warned of the danger of "parallel societies" developing as has occurred in Europe where hardline Muslim groups preached sharia law rather than Western values. Amid a robust debate in Europe over failed "state multiculturalism", Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi warned Australia must avoid the mistakes of nations that allowed religious fanatics to prosper "before it is too late". More @ link.

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Down Under

Australian immigration department told 'bring more Christians'

2008-07-19

FORMER immigration minister Kevin Andrews instructed his department to lift the intake of Christian refugees from the Middle East in response to what he saw as a pro-Muslim bias created by corrupt local case officers. The Weekend Australian says Mr Andrews was so concerned about the extent of corruption in Middle Eastern posts - despite the allegations being investigated and dismissed by his own department - that he wrote to then prime minister John Howard advocating a $200 million plan to replace local employees with Australian staff in 10 "sensitive" countries, including Jordan, Iran and Egypt. Opposition immigration spokesman Chris Ellison said yesterday this remains Coalition policy. "We do not want discrimination or bias occurring ... and that's why I believe it is appropriate that our sensitive overseas posts, such as those in the Middle East, are staffed by Australians," Senator Ellison said. A Department of Immigration spokesman said there were no substantiated cases of anti-Christian discrimination in Australian embassies and no plans to replace "Islamic locally engaged staff" with Australian officials. Just handed the keys over to the locals and walked away ... An investigation by The Weekend Australian has discovered Mr Andrews was petitioned by the Australian Christian Lobby to address alleged religious discrimination against Iraqis. Before losing office in the November 2007 election, he ordered the number of Christian Iraqi refugees to be increased by 1400 for 2007-08, almost doubling the previous year's Iraqi total of 1639. "Put it this way, it was made very clear to the immigration department that more Christian refugees were wanted," a Howard government source said. In his letter to Mr Howard in August last year, Mr Andrews, a devout Catholic, proposed significant changes to the refugee selection process. In the letter, seen by The Weekend Australian, Mr Andrews accused the case workers in Australian embassies of fraud and bribery when processing migration applications. Such posts are predominantly staffed by local workers. He said this raised "considerable security risks". Mr Andrews named 10 countries - Pakistan, India, United Arab Emirates, China, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Kenya, Russia and Egypt - in which the posts should be staffed exclusively with Australian departmental officers. The non-Muslim countries named by Mr Andrews are understood to be less riddled by religious discrimination and more so by corruption, a source told The Weekend Australian. Not a unique problem.

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Down Under

Haneef still waiting for inquiry date

2008-01-06

FORMER terrorism suspect Mohamed Haneef is still waiting for the date of an inquiry into his case before deciding on his next move, his lawyer Peter Russo says. Dr Haneef today spoke of the damage his arrest had caused his career and reputation, at a press conference in India following his return from the Muslim holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Wonder who paid for his ticket? Sky News said Dr Haneef had said at the press conference that he would seek compensation from the Australian government over his ordeal. "I'm hopeful of this because the damages that have been done to my career, my job, my aspirations, and my reputation is far too much," Dr Haneef told reporters. Dr Haneef today spoke at a press conference in India following his return from the Muslim holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Mr Russo said he had spoken yesterday to his client in Bangalore, and it was too early to decide on his next move. A decision on a return to Australia by Dr Haneef would depend on the timing of an inquiry into his case. "It's all pretty difficult at the moment for us to do anything until they announce the date of the inquiry," Mr Russo told AAP from Sicily where he is on holidays. "What everybody seems to forget is that it's not this government that has caused all the grief and they have made all the right noises, if you put it that way. "We don't want to be running off and saying things that would prejudice us in the future with any negotiations that we would have the opportunity to get into. They have indicated that there will be an inquiry and up until that point, we are a little bit stuck in relation to what we do.'' Mr Russo said he would speak again to Dr Haneef late tonight, Australian time. Dr Haneef was arrested on July 2 last year and 12 days later charged with supporting a terrorism organisation after his SIM card was linked to the failed Glasgow airport bombings in 2007. The charges were dropped a fortnight later but then-immigration minister Kevin Andrews had already cancelled Dr Haneef's work visa, forcing him to return to his home in Bangalore, India. The full bench of the Federal Court last month upheld a judge's earlier decision to reinstate his work visa, clearing the way for Dr Haneef to return to Australia. On Friday, Mr Russo said Dr Haneef was re-registering his qualifications with the Medical Board of Queensland, and that Queensland Health has said it will consider any application from Dr Haneef for re-employment. But he must first obtain a work visa from the commonwealth.

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India-Pakistan

Indian doctor demands Australian compensation

2007-12-22

BANGALORE, India - The family of an Indian doctor arrested in Australia on terrorism charges and later freed expects the government there to compensate for “turning his life upside down,” a relative said Friday. “We want to see what they come up with,” said Imran Siddiqui, a close relative of Mohammed Haneef’s wife and the family spokesman who brought the doctor back home from Australia when he was freed in July.“When the judiciary says that whatever action you took against this man was wrong, it becomes the duty of the government to correct itself,” Siddiqui told AFP by telephone from the southern Indian city of Mysore. They did. They'll let you back into the country. More than I would have done. Shaddup. A court Friday cleared the way for Haneef -- currently performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, with his wife and mother -- to return to Australia when it upheld a previous ruling that the government erred in cancelling his visa. “The courts have restored his honour, it is up to the government to restore whatever he lost -- his career, his establishment in Australia -- and make reparations for the damage done to this man,” said Siddiqui. “The previous government did all the damage, they turned this man’s life upside down,” Siddiqui added. But he said the family had no immediate intention to take legal action for compensation: “We are waiting to see first how the present government acts.” The Australian government ordered an inquiry into the bungled case against Haneef after Friday’s court ruling. Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the doctor was free to return to work in Australia, marking a shift in official stance following the election of the centre-left Labor Party last month. Haneef was arrested at Brisbane airport on July 2, just days after failed car bombings in London and Glasgow, as he waited to board a flight to India. Australian authorities detained him for 12 days before charging him with providing support to a terrorist organisation after he gave a mobile phone SIM card to a cousin accused of being involved in the attacks. When the charge was dropped two weeks later due to a lack of evidence, then immigration minister Kevin Andrews cancelled Haneef’s working visa on character grounds, forcing the doctor to return to India. After his release, Haneef said he wanted his old job back at a Gold Coast hospital, but also said Australian authorities should apologise to India over the affair. The question of Haneef returning to Australia is open, said Siddiqui. “It’s very much open, I won’t be surprised if he decides to go back,” he said. Haneef’s wife, however, “is not in favour of him going back,” he said and added that the doctor will decide after he returns to India in about a week.

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India-Pakistan

Australian Court restores Haneef’s visa

2007-12-21

Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef, whose work visa in Australia was cancelled in July even as he was granted bail in a case of terror charge that later collapsed, is now “entitled to return” and “take up employment.” This was indicated by the new Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Evans in Perth, following a ruling by the full Bench of the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne on Friday. The three-judge Full Court dismissed with costs an appeal by Kevin Andrews, Immigration and Citizenship Minister in the Howard government that lost the general election last month. Mr. Andrews, who annulled Dr. Haneef’s visa in “a character test” under Australia’s Migration Act, filed this appeal against Federal Court judge Jeffrey Spender’s order that in August set aside the visa cancellation. The crux of the former Minister’s argument was that Dr. Haneef, at the time of the “character test,” was found to have had an “association” with two second cousins, who were suspected to have been involved in terror plots in the United Kingdom. On a separate track, the terrorism charge against him, which was dismissed by an Australian court in July, centred on his mobile phone SIM card that he left with one of his cousins in the U.K. before taking up a job in Queensland in 2006. Upholding judge Spender’s ruling that Mr. Andrews had “misinterpreted” the scope of the “character test,” Chief Justice Michael Black said: “In a unanimous judgment, the Full Court has concluded that the ‘association,’ to which Section 501(6)(b) of the Migration Act refers, is one involving some sympathy with, or support for, or involvement in the criminal conduct of the person, group, or organisation with which the visa holder is said to have associated. The association must be such as to have some bearing upon the person’s character.”

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Down Under

Deport Sudanese troublemakers, businessman says

2007-10-05

A prominent Brisbane businessman has backed the Federal Immigration Minister's claims that some Sudanese refugees struggle to assimilate in Australia. Federal Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews says no new African applications will be processed until June next year and it has nothing to do with race. He says some African communities, such as those from Sudan, have been slow to integrate with the wider community. The president of the Caxton Street Association Sarosh Mehta says young Sudanese men cause problems in the precinct every weekend and it is a serious problem. He says the answer is simple - deport the troublemakers. "I would like to publicly call on Kevin Andrews the Minister for Immigration to simply send them back to where they came from," he said. "And I assure you the minute we start doing that the message will get through to the rest of these guys real fast." Yesterday, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh attacked Mr Andrews' reasoning, saying Sudanese refugees are not involved in crime any more frequently than any other sector of the Australian community. "Those Sudanese refugees are actually under-represented in the crime statistics," she said. "What that tells me is that these people are law-abiding citizens, by and large that they are not committing crimes at a rate any higher than the average citizen from any other part of the world." Tags: community-and-society, immigration , race-relations, government-and-politics, federal-government, refugees, australia

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Down Under

Australia starts citizenship test

2007-10-02

A 20-question citizenship test was introduced in Australia Monday as part of a government programme to promote the integration of settlers into mainstream culture. Applicants need to get at least 12 of the 20 questions right to qualify for an Australian passport but may sit the exam as many times as it takes to pass. The questions test a grasp of the liberal democratic principles of representative government, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The test was introduced after the 2005 London bombings, worry that some Muslims were reluctant to integrate and a fear of homegrown Islamic terrorists. "One of great achievements of Australia has been to balance two things: firstly, the diversity of people that have come from more than 200 countries around the world and, secondly, the sense of integrating into one socially cohesive society," Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said earlier in the year when releasing details of the citizenship test.

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Down Under

Journo warns of Muslim backlash over his 'delayed' visa

2007-09-14

A Palestinian journalist has warned of a Muslim backlash over the failure of Australian authorities to grant him a visa in time to speak at today's Brisbane Writers Festival. Abdel Bari-Atwan, a best-selling author and among the last Western journalists to interview Osama bin Laden, was cancelled as a speaker at the festival yesterday as he waited for his visa application to be processed. Atwan, author of The Secret History of al-Qa'ida, accused the Howard Government of discrimination in delaying approval for his visa application, submitted on August 16, after giving notice to authorities of his intention to visit Australia. "I believe this is a deliberate delay because I am an Arab and a Muslim," Atwan said. "It is ridiculous. I am not a terrorist, I am not a drug dealer, I am dealing in words and thoughts." Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews denied any delay. "His application is currently being assessed and is subject to normal visa processing requirements," he said in a statement. Normal? NORMAL??? Do you KNOW WHO I AM ???? Mr Andrews' spokeswoman later conceded that Atwan's 1996 interview with bin Laden in Afghanistan would be "a matter for security agencies" in processing his application. "This is not an unusual amount of time for the processing of a visa. He is in queue just like everyone else," she said. Festival director Michael Campbell said visa applications for other international speakers had, on average, taken just "a few days". "I am appalled and embarrassed in equal parts by this situation," he said. A self-described moderate, Atwan is editor-in-chief of the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper and a regular guest on the American university circuit and on CNN, BBC and the ABC. He said his visa problems would air throughout the Muslim world. "This could, in fact, incite trouble for Australia because there are a billion-and-a-half Muslims over the world and this will be publicised among those people," he said. "They are not serving the Australian peoples' interests, they are not serving Australian security, they are actually doing the opposite." Human Rights lawyer Greg Barns, who advised Atwan, said there was no legal reason to deny him a visa. But there are good reasons to keep him from speaking in Oz, I suspect.

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-Short Attention Span Theater-

Detainee swallows razor blades

2007-09-12

A CHINESE man due to be deported to face serious criminal charges at home is in a Sydney hospital after swallowing razor blades. The man, known as Mr Qi, has been held in detention since his visa was revoked in February 2004, when Chinese authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. He had been due to be deported to China today to face charges of kidnap and murder, after the Federal Government was given an undertaking from Beijing that he would not face the death penalty if convicted. So he decided to off himself? Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said today that Mr Qi was in Bankstown Hospital in Sydney after attempting self-harm. Mr Qi had swallowed razor blades last night inside Villawood detention centre, he said. "He would rather die here than go back," Mr Rintoul said. "The deportation's off today but how much longer it's off I don't know. It might stall things for a little while." Mr Qi had previously been on suicide watch at Villawood, Mr Rintoul said. In parliament, Human Services Minister Chris Ellison at first declined to answer directly when asked by Australian Democrats senator Andrew Bartlett if Mr Qi had been taken to hospital after attempting self-harm. But a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews later confirmed the episode. "(The razor blades) have been successfully removed at the hospital today," she said. "The Australian Government intends to have him removed from Australia as soon as he is assessed as fit to fly." Refugee advocates are considering taking out an injunction to block Mr Qi from being sent back to China, where they fear he could be executed. Asylum Seeker Resource Centre co-ordinator Pamela Curr said yesterday she was concerned that Mr Qi was being sent home on the basis of dubious documentation. She feared the man named on the unsigned and undated Chinese arrest warrant was not actually Mr Qi, citing insufficient identity checking. The United Nations has asked the Government to postpone the deportation pending further investigations.

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Down Under

Australia to ask immigrants to commit to 'mateship'

2007-08-28

People who want to become Australians will have to commit to broad values of "mateship" and may need to brush up on horse racing and political history under new citizenship tests outlined by the government on Sunday. The tests, similar to those in Canada, the United States and Britain, will require immigrants to correctly answer a series of questions about the nation's history and culture, including possible questions about the Melbourne Cup horse race and when Australia became a nation. "It emphasises that those becoming a citizen in Australia have an overriding commitment to Australia, to our laws, to our values and to our community," Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews told a news conference on Sunday. The new tests, and laws to ensure immigrants must spend four years in Australia instead of three to become citizens, are part of a government push to promote "Australian values" after riots between Muslim and non-Muslim youths at a Sydney beach in 2005. Australia is a nation of immigrants, with one in four of Australia's 21 million people born overseas. Andrews said the new rules and tests would help new citizens integrate into Australian society. Under the new rules, immigrants and people coming to Australia to work will also need to sign up to a statement of Australian values, which mentions "mateship", equality, freedom of religion and support for democracy and the rule of law. The government will have a pool of 200 citizenship questions, with 20 questions chosen at random for each person wanting to become a citizen. Andrews said questions could include asking candidates the first line of Australia's national anthem (Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free), or the location of Australia's national Parliament (Canberra). They could also be asked about the year Australia became an independent federation (1901), or about the nation's most important horse race, the Melbourne Cup, known as the race that stops the nation and held on the first Tuesday in November. Australia's conservative Prime Minister attempted to change Australia's constitution to include a preamble that included the word "mateship" in 1999, but the move was rejected by Australian voters. It's a Reuters story but I linked to the copy in the Turkish Daily News because the issue of immigrant assimilation is a hot one for Turks re: Germany.

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Down Under

Court overturns doctor's terror visa ban

2007-08-21

An Australian court has overturned a government decision to revoke the visa of an Indian doctor who was accused, but later cleared, of involvement in the failed car bomb attacks on London and Glasgow. The court’s decision was a bitter blow for the federal government, which has been criticised by civil rights groups and lawyers for its bungled arrest and subsequent release of Dr Mohamed Haneef in July. Also a blow to common sense. Dr Haneef, 27, was arrested in Brisbane, Queensland, in July and held for 11 days before being charged with “recklessly supporting terrorism” by giving the SIM card of his mobile phone to a second cousin, Sabeel Ahmed, after leaving the UK last year. British police have charged Sabeel, 26, with withholding information that could have prevented an act of terrorism. His brother, Kafeel, died earlier this month of burns sustained when he allegedly crashed a Jeep packed with explosives into the front of Glasgow Airport on June 30. Charges against Dr Haneef were dropped for lack of evidence and he consistently maintained that he gave away his SIM card so that his cousin could take advantage of extra minutes remaining on a pre-paid plan. Needed those extra minutes to finalize the terror plan. During his detention, immigration minister Kevin Andrews revoked Dr Haneef’s working visa on character grounds, saying he had a reasonable suspicion the doctor had an “association” with Sabeel and Kafeel Ahmed. But Justice Jeffery Spender ruled that Andrews made a technical error in cancelling the visa by applying a character test incorrectly. Justice Spender granted the government 21 days to respond to his ruling. Mr Andrews said the government would appeal. “When I made the decision to cancel Dr Haneef’s visa, I made it in the national interest and I stand by that decision,” the minister said. The government was accused of making him a scapegoat. What side are these courts on again? That's a rhetorical question, right?

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