Last night @davidpocock.bsky.social and I read onto the Hansard an interview by the President of Nauru that the Albanese Government has been desperately trying to keep secret. It shows Nauru plans to send refugees to places they fled. No wonder the secrecy.

"'Immediate pause' urged on 'secret' Nauru deal, after speech sparks safety concerns" www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

Sudan’s suffering cannot remain unseen. In her article for Pearls & Irritations, Abang Anade Othow reflects on a lifetime shaped by war, displacement, and resilience. Read the full piece and stand with Sudan. https://loom.ly/eNsen1M

In a system designed to crush people seeking asylum with cruelty, the Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney pushes back with humanity and compassion. Join us in rebuilding lives. 🔗 https://loom.ly/vy5fYVc

Imagine the levels of delusion needed to believe you are on the side of the good guys when you supported an administration into power who use undercover agents of the state to kidnap families on the street and deport them to human rights abuses in 3rd countries. #ReclaimLoTR

Not content with tarnishing the UK’s standing on the international stage with Brexit, right wing vultures continue to circle the UK, desperate to rip up international law and smash up institutions like the BBC. Destruction is the order of the day and the political class still dance to their tune.

🇦🇺 pays $1.5mil per person each year to detain people on Nauru. During last Senate Estimates, I asked about links to organised crime and value for money, I was told there is no need for concern. Now whistleblower evidence paints a very different picture. www.smh.com.au/national/pou...

A high-ranking Home Affairs Dept official has blown whistle on what he says was corruption infecting the federal gov’s offshore detention regime, alleging was pressured to cover up suspected rorting so Australia could keep using Nauru as border security outpost. www.theage.com.au/national/pou...

The use of Nauru as a Pacific dumping ground for people seeking asylum is not just a story of human rights abuses but scandal layered over scandal, as two brave whistle-blowers have told @60minutes.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hvx...

Slashing foreign aid will lead to unrest, crises and threaten UK security, MPs warn government

We’re here in Canberra for two days to call for a safety net for people seeking asylum. It’s time for fairness 📣 ⚖️

This Anti-Poverty Week, we can’t ignore the quiet crisis happening in our own communities. Our new report, Failure of Fairness, reveals the human cost of the winding back of the limited safety net for people seeking asylum over the past decade. Read the full report: https://loom.ly/57QzZIw

It shouldn’t shock me but I keep wondering how some of these British right wing commentators can sleep at night as they whitewash and act as apologists for the Israeli Government’s war crimes from the last 2 years.

Right now, people seeking asylum are being left behind, cut off from the basic support they need to survive. This Anti-Poverty Week, let's put fairness into action and restore the safety net. 📢 Visit our campaign page and join the movement: https://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/fix-the-safety-net/

Writing in the Scotsman this evening on Keir Starmer’s newly confirmed mandatory digital ID card scheme - and why I do not intend to go along with it. Thread: www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Thank you for standing up for civil liberties and trying to ensure people are not digitally excluded @lisasmartmp.bsky.social @victoria-collins.bsky.social

Liberal Democrats cannot support mandatory digital IDs. People shouldn't be criminalised just because they don't want to hand over their private data.

I spoke this week at an event held by @bigbrotherwatch.bsky.social on their latest report on digital ID. Keir Starmer's government is reportedly aiming to introduce such a system - Big Brother Watch's report sets out the serious problems with digital ID for the UK, something liberals must resist.

Great thread from @markjohnson.bsky.social here. 👇🏻 There are huge risks to civil liberties with mandatory digital ID systems, and it would be irresponsible to build one when the threat of a Reform government is so real. The @libdems.org.uk need to be firmly opposed if this is what Labour propose.

🧵🔶 (Cross posted from X) I joined @libdems.org.uk 10 years ago. I’ve worked for the party, campaigned for it and stood as a candidate. Turning on civil liberties and losing sight of the principles of promoting a free and open society would undermine the entire purpose of the Lib Dems for me.

The arrest of four people after this incident is an outrageous affront to the freedom of expression enjoyed by UK citizens. It is a human right we all enjoy and is protected in law. 1/2

NSW police have dropped all charges against Hannah Thomas, who was arrested and charged at a pro-Palestine protest in June www.theguardian.com/austral... The former Greens candidate underwent two rounds of surgery to her right eye, with her lawyers alleging she was punched in the face by police

"Reform UK is not just riding high thanks to Farage’s shamelessness and skill. Amazingly, Labour is actively helping." - great analysis from @johnharris1969.bsky.social as always www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

3 years ago today I caught up with David McBride in Parliament to discuss his case - he still thought the system might be fair. Today he is still in prison in Canberra and whistleblower laws are still broken. A stain on this country.

The Albanese government's Anti-Fairness Bill, which will pave the way for mass deportations, has passed the Senate. We are devastated and in disbelief. https://loom.ly/2v-GSD8

Thank you again @davidshoebridge.bsky.social for representing the serious concerns of the community.

Up to 80,000 people in Australia may be affected by ‘sledgehammer’ powers to deport non-citizens to Nauru, lawyers warn “The government desperately wants to avoid oversight because these changes are just so toxic” - @davidshoebridge.bsky.social 👏 www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

While Labor spins lines about cohesion its inhumane migration choices betray a disregard for human rights | Elijah Buol

Labor's new anti-fairness bill is failing human rights and our nation's cornerstones of fairness, justice, and equity, writes our CEO Elijah Buol via @australia.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

⚠ The Australian Gvt is on course to ram a new mass deportations Bill through Parliament this week, starting in the House of Representatives today. This Labor Gvt have already inspired the Trump Administration with deals with third-party countries for refugee deportations but are expanding powers.

"On Sunday, so-called Marches for Australia will take place across the country. These are the angry and divisive voices of a tiny minority spreading hate from a position of fear, with no idea what Australia truly means." - Elijah Buol OAM, ASC CEO [1/3]

Human stories like this can help the UK escape the doom spiral of hate and anger it is currently in. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Frances Rush, former head of the Asylum Seekers Centre, says that in the last financial year approximately half the people seeking support at the centre were homeless or at risk of homelessness. The new head, Elijah Buol, plans to change that. satpa.pe/9HKslTx

Rain, hills, and heart—our team ran with purpose raising funds for people seeking safety. Read more about our CIty2Surf champs, running with our new CEO, and find out how you can join us next year: 👉 https://loom.ly/fUN5viM

People seeking asylum are disproportionately at risk of homelessness and at risk of being left behind. This is a growing crisis that can no longer be ignored. Thank you ‪@jennyleong.bsky.social‬, our local Newtown MP, for your advocacy and for highlighting this urgent issue in Parliament.

This #HomelessnessWeek2025, we join the call for #HomelessnessActionNow. 1 in 4 people seeking asylum we support in crisis casework are homeless or at risk—shut out of public housing and safety nets. This is a humanitarian failure. Support must be based on need, not visa status.

"Israel did not want our crew to film outside the plane's windows while he [Bowen] was onboard. But from the window, Bowen said he could see nothing left of the vibrant communities he knew well in northern Gaza." www.bbc.com/news/videos/...

"When the group was finally admitted into the facility, they said, many spent up to 12 days crammed into a frigid intake room they christened la hielera – the ice box – with no bedding or warm clothing, sleeping instead on the cold concrete floor." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"In his nearly 40 years living in the US, Leon spent his career working in a leather manufacturing plant, and raised a family. He had since retired. ...He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and a heart condition, according to his family" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

🚨 Australia quietly rolls out mandatory age checks for search engines by end of 2025. Major platforms like Google and Microsoft will need to verify ages for logged-in users. Another layer of digital surveillance dressed up as child protection?

None of this is normal. Trump deployed ICE agents for security at recent Club World Cup. The President is now using the organisation as secret police at his own discretion. This is completely outside ICE's mandate, likely for trapping & detaining foreign nationals www.thesun.co.uk/sport/353680...

The Asylum Seekers Centre is delighted to announce the appointment of Elijah Buol OAM as its new CEO. Read more about Elijah and his appointment on our blog: https://loom.ly/m0d0LGM

Wild how someone with such a long & distinguished career in politics could be so wrong about this. People fleeing war, persecution and destitution will not give a toss about whether the UK has ID cards (heaven forbid we could even just help them). Blairites obsession with ID cards know no bounds.

Australian politicians truly have no idea of the kind of dangerous precedents they've set with offshore "processing" and third-party country deportations. World-leading ideas for rights abuses. A gift to authoritarians & demagogues. We've fully crossed the Rubicon now! www.bbc.com/news/article...

“They are not looking for charity — people seeking asylum are driven by a desire to become self-reliant and build a better future for themselves and their families.” shares Ravi Prasad of Parliament on King Read more on our blog: Empowerment on the menu✊ asylumseekerscentre.org.au/empowerment-...

A year today since Julian Assange was released from Belmarsh Prison after a campaign that stretched from the streets to Parliaments all over the world. Happy freedom day to Julian and to all defenders of press freedom, truth and justice.

ICE in the role of Trump's Stormtroopers. Fascism has not been nearer your doorstep for a long, long time. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/n...

The Israeli state has shown its total disregard for multilateralism and the international rules based order. Sane liberal democracies like the UK and Australia should have no involvement in this Israel Iran conflict.

It is now completely unconscionable that countries like Australia and the UK give any political or military support to Israel which now has no regard for human rights and is fast becoming a rogue state. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...

We joined with 39 organisations across the refugee sector to congratulate Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his reelection, and affirmed our commitment in working towards an Australia that is fairer, kinder and more welcoming to all. Read our letter: www.refugeecouncil.org.au/2025-sector-...