Hung parliament projected in Tasmanian election as Dean Winter addresses Tally Room
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Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bibi's father sold everything to save his daughter. He died before he could see her live
Then, last week, Karuni received a message we never expected. 'I just want to share with you and brother Zach the good news that my resettlement process goes smoothly and I will leave for Australia soon.' Rahimi left Indonesia for Tasmania on Tuesday. The extraordinary efforts of her father, who died in 2020 having never seen his daughter again, had not been in vain. As she left Indonesia with a group of other refugees, she sent us this photo from the airport in Jakarta. We're now waiting to hear how it went — and get her first impressions of the Tasmanian winter. Her goal has been to work with a human rights organisation helping people in her now-former situation. It's not often enough in journalism that you can follow up a heartbreaking story with a positive outcome. This is one of those times. Reality, though, is never far behind. Bibi Rahimi is the exception – one of the fortunate few who qualified for resettlement in Australia. Only the day before she left (a coincidence), more than 200 of the 5000-plus refugees stuck indefinitely in Indonesia demonstrated peacefully outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta. They requested politicians in Canberra amend rules rejecting the resettlement of refugees who arrived in Indonesia after July 1, 2014 – a policy designed to discourage desperate people lobbing on Australia's doorstep. They also want the Australian government to review previously rejected cases from 2009 to 2016 and to help accelerate the resettlement process. Indonesia never signed up to the UN's 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol on Refugees, meaning the government there has no obligation to help them – with horrific consequences. Refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia are among the most destitute and vulnerable people on earth. The Afghan refugees say at least 19 of their number have taken their own lives in recent years, including a case of self-immolation outside the UNHCR's Jakarta office last year, while dozens more have died from untreated illnesses. Organisers said they had been collecting money for months to hire the buses that ferried the demonstrators to our country's embassy in Jakarta's south. The Department of Foreign Affairs declined to say if anyone came out to speak with them. One of the demonstrators, Suhaila Mohammadi, told Karuni she had registered with the UNHCR in February 2017 and was told she and her family would be resettled to a third country within 30 months. 'After nine years, the UNHCR still has not interviewed me to determine my status,' she said. In that time, one of her three children, a nine-month-old boy, died. 'It is because we were living on the street. My son got sick,' she said. Another demonstrator, Masoda Hani, said many family members had been killed by the Taliban. Returning to Afghanistan was out of the question. 'I go to the UNHCR and complain about the situation [in Indonesia] and they said, 'you should find a sponsor'. If we had a sponsor … I wouldn't live here for almost nine years,' she said. Mehran Haydari, one of the organisers of Monday's action, complained of Indonesian authorities fining people upwards of $1400 if they were caught working. None of the refugees had that sort of money, forcing some to rely on loan sharks. The UNHCR in Indonesia did not respond to questions as its spokesperson was ill. The Australian Department of Home Affairs has been contacted for comment. 'Despite the darkness, many of us strive every day to learn, grow, and stay hopeful,' the refugees wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May. Loading 'We study what we can, we teach our children in makeshift classrooms, and we build skills to prepare for a day when someone, somewhere, might give us a chance. 'Among us are teachers, engineers, artists, tailors, drivers, caregivers – people who are simply waiting for a door to open. With opportunity, we could become not a burden, but a blessing to any community that welcomes us. We want nothing more than to contribute, to belong, and to live with dignity.' For these refugees, for now, Bibi Rahimi and her group will have to do.
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
Bibi's father sold everything to save his daughter. He died before he could see her live
Then, last week, Karuni received a message we never expected. 'I just want to share with you and brother Zach the good news that my resettlement process goes smoothly and I will leave for Australia soon.' Rahimi left Indonesia for Tasmania on Tuesday. The extraordinary efforts of her father, who died in 2020 having never seen his daughter again, had not been in vain. As she left Indonesia with a group of other refugees, she sent us this photo from the airport in Jakarta. We're now waiting to hear how it went — and get her first impressions of the Tasmanian winter. Her goal has been to work with a human rights organisation helping people in her now-former situation. It's not often enough in journalism that you can follow up a heartbreaking story with a positive outcome. This is one of those times. Reality, though, is never far behind. Bibi Rahimi is the exception – one of the fortunate few who qualified for resettlement in Australia. Only the day before she left (a coincidence), more than 200 of the 5000-plus refugees stuck indefinitely in Indonesia demonstrated peacefully outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta. They requested politicians in Canberra amend rules rejecting the resettlement of refugees who arrived in Indonesia after July 1, 2014 – a policy designed to discourage desperate people lobbing on Australia's doorstep. They also want the Australian government to review previously rejected cases from 2009 to 2016 and to help accelerate the resettlement process. Indonesia never signed up to the UN's 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol on Refugees, meaning the government there has no obligation to help them – with horrific consequences. Refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia are among the most destitute and vulnerable people on earth. The Afghan refugees say at least 19 of their number have taken their own lives in recent years, including a case of self-immolation outside the UNHCR's Jakarta office last year, while dozens more have died from untreated illnesses. Organisers said they had been collecting money for months to hire the buses that ferried the demonstrators to our country's embassy in Jakarta's south. The Department of Foreign Affairs declined to say if anyone came out to speak with them. One of the demonstrators, Suhaila Mohammadi, told Karuni she had registered with the UNHCR in February 2017 and was told she and her family would be resettled to a third country within 30 months. 'After nine years, the UNHCR still has not interviewed me to determine my status,' she said. In that time, one of her three children, a nine-month-old boy, died. 'It is because we were living on the street. My son got sick,' she said. Another demonstrator, Masoda Hani, said many family members had been killed by the Taliban. Returning to Afghanistan was out of the question. 'I go to the UNHCR and complain about the situation [in Indonesia] and they said, 'you should find a sponsor'. If we had a sponsor … I wouldn't live here for almost nine years,' she said. Mehran Haydari, one of the organisers of Monday's action, complained of Indonesian authorities fining people upwards of $1400 if they were caught working. None of the refugees had that sort of money, forcing some to rely on loan sharks. The UNHCR in Indonesia did not respond to questions as its spokesperson was ill. The Australian Department of Home Affairs has been contacted for comment. 'Despite the darkness, many of us strive every day to learn, grow, and stay hopeful,' the refugees wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May. Loading 'We study what we can, we teach our children in makeshift classrooms, and we build skills to prepare for a day when someone, somewhere, might give us a chance. 'Among us are teachers, engineers, artists, tailors, drivers, caregivers – people who are simply waiting for a door to open. With opportunity, we could become not a burden, but a blessing to any community that welcomes us. We want nothing more than to contribute, to belong, and to live with dignity.' For these refugees, for now, Bibi Rahimi and her group will have to do.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Australia conveniently aligns with Donald Trump on beef exports
Welcome back to your weekly federal politics update, where Brett Worthington gets you up to speed on the happenings from Parliament House. Trade Minister Don Farrell did well to keep a straight face. "We don't link biosecurity issues with trade issues," he told Sky News Australia on Thursday morning. His comments came as it emerged Australia would lift the final biosecurity restrictions on beef from the United States, once President Donald Trump's biggest trade grievances with Australia. According to the government, it's merely a departmental decision taken after a decade of review. The US, meanwhile, insists it is "yet another example" of Trump's negotiating prowess. If it's all a coincidence, it's the kind that would even make Deidre Chambers blush. Trump has long had a bee in his bonnet over beef, having claimed that Australia banned US imports, all while his country imports billions worth from Down Under, even if the facts suggest otherwise. The US has been able to export its beef since 2019 but certain products were banned amid concerns over mad cow disease in beef originally sourced from Canada and Mexico. After repeatedly arguing it wouldn't trade away biosecurity standards to assuage Trump, the government now argues it is satisfied with improvements in US cattle traceability. Few expect the decision will see a flood of US beef to Australia, thanks in part to record low American herd numbers. If anything, some in the domestic cattle industry hope it might see the US offer a more sympathetic ear for Australian exports. But Nationals leader David Littleproud is demanding an independent inquiry. He went as far as to suggest that the decision was "traded away to appease Donald Trump". Beef is Australia's top export to the United States, something that has only increased since Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on imports earlier this year, making more expensive the cheeseburgers he famously loves. Andrew Leigh is experiencing an unusual sight for a Labor frontbencher — the prime minister's face. Such was the scale of Labor's landslide victory in May that its 94 Lower House MPs are unable to fit on just the government benches. It leaves Leigh, an assistant minister, sitting in the seat once occupied by Adam Bandt, the former Greens leader who lost his seat to Labor at the election. Gone are the days of Leigh having to look at the back of the PM's head, he now has a crystal clear view across to Labor's frontbench, aided by the lack of any Coalition frontbenchers in front of him. A Labor MP faces expulsion for crossing the floor on a vote, a lesson senator Fatima Payman learned last year. In Leigh's case, he's got no option but to cross the floor to vote. The return of the parliament brought with it all the usual pomp and circumstance. Re-elected Speaker Milton Dick was ceremonially dragged to the chair with so little resistance that the prime minister noted: "I've never seen you run as fast as you did towards that high office." Not even father of the house Bob Katter's attempts to assert his own allegiance — to the Australian people, not the King — could derail the proceedings inside the parliament. Outside though, it was a different matter, with protesters calling for the government to impose sanctions on Israel for attacks on Gaza, preventing a 19-gun salute marking the official opening. The return of Question Time brought with it nervous ministers getting their first outings at answering (or rather not answering) questions. Behind them, nervous backbenchers closely studied the scripted questions they were slated to ask. Sussan Ley too got her chance to ask her first questions as the newly installed opposition leader. The first woman to hold that role, she rolled into the chamber flanked with three women from her shadow cabinet. Together, they represented two-thirds of Liberal women in the House, levels that leave them comfortably able to fit into a Tarago should they ever want to travel together. Speculation had been building about how Albanese would navigate Ley sitting opposite him. In the end, there was little interaction between the two, with their respective treasurers instead left to spar over taxation. By Thursday they shared what looked like terser words as Defence Minister Richard Marles defended Labor's national security credentials, but it was a far cry from the heated interactions some of her predecessors had with Albanese. The government, meanwhile, was eager to yell from the rooftops about the first bills it was introducing into the parliament — from cutting student debt, to bolstering childcare safety and protecting penalty rates — as symbols of its agenda. Claims that these are the first bills are a bit of a farce, when you consider the actual first bill introduced was an amendment to the Therapeutic Goods Act (TGA), introduced by Albanese on Tuesday. The government defends it rhetoric about the student debt bill being its first, arguing the TGA amendment is ceremonial to assert its control of the chamber. Don't expect to hear Labor championing its actual first bill anytime soon. Across in the red room, Green Mehreen Faruqi found herself grounded from taking part in any overseas Senate delegations for the duration of the parliament. Faruqi's sin was holding a sign that called for sanctions on Israel while all parliamentarians were in the Senate for Governor-General Sam Mostyn's address on Tuesday. She later asked Albanese as he was leaving the chamber: "Prime minister, Gaza is starving, will you sanction Israel?" On Wednesday, Labor's Senate leader Penny Wong moved a motion that sanctioned Faruqi for using a prop, accused her of being an attention seeker who had drawn the governor general and High Court chief justice into a political debate and banned her from any overseas travel representing the Senate. "I can tell you this: the Greens will not be silent as this genocide unfolds," Faruqi told the chamber. "You will not be able to intimidate me or any of my colleagues. "We will never stop fighting for freedom for Palestine and all those oppressed people. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." For new MPs and senators, getting your head around the arcane rules of the parliament can be a confusing task. But as this week showed, tenure doesn't necessarily come with a grasp of how the place works. On Tuesday, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson nominated relative newcomer David Pocock to be Senate president. The surprised ACT independent declined the nomination and the Senate re-elected Labor's Sue Lines for the top job. Called to please explain her decision, Hanson (who is no fan of Lines) said it wasn't intended as a reward for her fellow crossbencher. "In the last term of parliament, 220 bills were actually guillotined from debate," she told ABC Radio Canberra. "David Pocock assisted the government in allowing that to happen with the majority of those bills ... it's wrong. After almost a decade in the Senate, it seems Hanson hasn't realised that the president gets a vote in every division. So not only was she offering Pocock a pay rise and promotion, but he still would have been able to vote however he wanted.
