Latest news with #LauraJohn
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Council library takeover will make things worse'
Library groups fear they will be cut or the quality of their libraries will drop if a council was to take them over. Suffolk County Council announced earlier this year it aimed to take the libraries back in-house after it failed to agree terms with its private contractor. Suffolk Libraries, an independent charity, has run the county's 45 libraries since 2012, and previously said it was shocked by the council's proposed takeover. While the council said it would "continue to deliver the same rich and impressive" services, some users were still concerned. Parents attending a free Tot Rock session at Ipswich County Library expressed their concerns over the plan. Lizzie Edwards, 34, is one of over 20,000 people to have signed a petition against the council's move, and said Tot Rock was "so valuable". "I can't imagine them making improvements, I expect that they will do the opposite and things will get worse," she added. Laura John, 40, said all three of her children had attended the group over the years. "It is concerning because I feel we're so lucky to have all this on our doorstep, and if it wasn't here I don't know where else I'd go," she said. Sophie Vendenbrink-Budgen, 31, said the service had been "working well". "My fear is things will close or change... sadly, it wouldn't surprise me if they took it over and things like this would go," she added. "When you're trying to encourage children to read and with speech and language development, stuff like this is really important." Elizabeth McAlpine, 69, attended a free talk on bees and beekeeping at Bury St Edmunds Library on Wednesday. She said the library was a valuable "community hub". "I think since the libraries have been run as a charity for the last 12 years they've done very well. I can't see any way to change it, and I don't think it could be improved in any way," she added. Vivienne Abbotts, a member of the library for the past 30 years, said Suffolk Libraries had run it "successfully". "I know in the country as a whole, councils have closed libraries, and I hope that this won't happen here." A deciding vote on the takeover will happen on Tuesday during a cabinet meeting and, if agreed, the council would take control of the library service by 1 June. Phillip Faircloth-Mutton, the council's cabinet member responsible for libraries, said it planned to keep all 45 sites open, with no reduction in hours, and allow it to "deliver more cohesive and accessible public services". He added: "These library spaces will continue to serve as community hubs, providing seamless integration with other public services, and ensuring that Suffolk's residents can access the help they need, when they need it." A meeting was held on Thursday at the request of Suffolk Libraries where it presented a new proposal to the council. It said the new proposal "would enable the council to potentially access additional funding to help maintain the current service for the next two years". Sylvia Knights, chair of the Suffolk Libraries board, said: "We have always been open to further talks and negotiation." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. 5,000 sign petition against planned libraries move Council to manage libraries after contract dispute 'Time is slipping away for county library deal' Suffolk Libraries Suffolk County Council
BBC News
14-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Library users 'fear' Suffolk County Council's proposed takeover
Library groups fear they will be cut or the quality of their libraries will drop if a council was to take them County Council announced earlier this year it aimed to take the libraries back in-house after it failed to agree terms with its private Libraries, an independent charity, has run the county's 45 libraries since 2012, and previously said it was shocked by the council's proposed takeover. While the council said it would "continue to deliver the same rich and impressive" services, some users were still concerned. Parents attending a free Tot Rock session at Ipswich County Library expressed their concerns over the Edwards, 34, is one of over 20,000 people to have signed a petition against the council's move, and said Tot Rock was "so valuable". "I can't imagine them making improvements, I expect that they will do the opposite and things will get worse," she added. Laura John, 40, said all three of her children had attended the group over the years."It is concerning because I feel we're so lucky to have all this on our doorstep, and if it wasn't here I don't know where else I'd go," she Vendenbrink-Budgen, 31, said the service had been "working well"."My fear is things will close or change... sadly, it wouldn't surprise me if they took it over and things like this would go," she added."When you're trying to encourage children to read and with speech and language development, stuff like this is really important." Elizabeth McAlpine, 69, attended a free talk on bees and beekeeping at Bury St Edmunds Library on said the library was a valuable "community hub"."I think since the libraries have been run as a charity for the last 12 years they've done very well. I can't see any way to change it, and I don't think it could be improved in any way," she Abbotts, a member of the library for the past 30 years, said Suffolk Libraries had run it "successfully"."I know in the country as a whole, councils have closed libraries, and I hope that this won't happen here." A deciding vote on the takeover will happen on Tuesday during a cabinet meeting and, if agreed, the council would take control of the library service by 1 Faircloth-Mutton, the council's cabinet member responsible for libraries, said it planned to keep all 45 sites open, with no reduction in hours, and allow it to "deliver more cohesive and accessible public services".He added: "These library spaces will continue to serve as community hubs, providing seamless integration with other public services, and ensuring that Suffolk's residents can access the help they need, when they need it."A meeting was held on Thursday at the request of Suffolk Libraries where it presented a new proposal to the said the new proposal "would enable the council to potentially access additional funding to help maintain the current service for the next two years". Sylvia Knights, chair of the Suffolk Libraries board, said: "We have always been open to further talks and negotiation." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Guardian
22-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Asylum seeker slated for deportation to Nauru has removal posponed due to legal challenge
An asylum seeker slated for deportation to Nauru on Monday has had his removal postponed, after he launched a legal challenge in the high court. But the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, told Guardian Australia he was confident in the government's power to deport the man and 'we will proceed with removal to Nauru as soon as possible'. The man facing deportation is part of the NZYQ cohort, about 280 non-citizens in the Australian community who previously faced indefinite immigration detention because their visas had been cancelled on 'character grounds' but who could not be removed to their home countries because they faced persecution, or because those countries refused to accept them. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email In November 2023, the high court ruled it was unlawful for the government to indefinitely detain a person if there was 'no real prospect' of them being removed from the country 'in the reasonably foreseeable future'. The man was re-detained in Australia last week after Nauru granted him, and two other men, 30-year visas to live in that country, under a secretive deal it signed with Australia. The minister said the three men slated for removal were 'violent offenders' and that one had been convicted of murder. The Australian government is refusing to say how much it is paying Nauru – or what other inducements were offered to the Pacific island nation – to accept non-citizens from Australia for resettlement. On Friday, one of the re-detained men filed a case in the high court, arguing that the decision to cancel his protection visa on character grounds was unlawful. Within hours of the case being filed, the minister for immigration and multicultural affairs gave a commitment to the court that he would not be removed while the case is ongoing. The two other men are also scheduled for removal on Monday: last-minute legal challenges are also expected in those cases. Laura John, associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, which is representing the first man, said it was 'deplorable' the government was attempting to banish people from Australia before they had completed their visa review process. 'While our client has been given a temporary reprieve, the threat of deportation to a third country has not disappeared. If allowed to continue to use these new powers, the Australian government could remove any person without a visa to any country in the world, regardless of their family connections or whether they have spent their whole lives in Australia. 'We must continue to resist this punitive overreach by our government, that, in future, could affect thousands of people in our community.' The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said the government was prepared for the legal challenge. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'The government said on day one that this arrangement with Nauru was likely to be challenged in the courts. This is no surprise,' he said. Burke said the government was confident in the validity of the laws passed by federal parliament in November last year, which gave the government increased powers to send people without a valid Australian visa to a third country for resettlement. 'These are violent criminals who broke Australia's laws. Because of the government's new laws they are still in detention, rather than being out in the community. 'We will proceed with removal to Nauru as soon as possible.' The NZYQ cohort is more than 280 non-citizens released into the community in Australia as a result of a landmark 2023 high court decision, in which the court ruled in favour of 'NZYQ', a stateless Rohingya man. NZYQ faced the prospect of detention for life because no country would resettle him because of a conviction for raping a child. The high court ruled that immigration detention is unlawful where there was 'no real prospect' of the person being able to be deported 'in the reasonably foreseeable future'. The NZYQ ruling overturned the 2004 Al-Kateb judgment, which ruled the government could indefinitely detain a non-citizen. As of December 2024, 64 of the NZYQ cohort were subject to electronic monitoring, while a night-time curfew had been imposed on 37.
The Guardian
21-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Eleventh-hour high court bid to stop Australia's secretive deal to resettle NZYQ cohort in Nauru
Australia's secretive deal to deport people among the NZYQ cohort to Nauru has been challenged in the high court in a move that could block the first removal from the country. Legal proceedings filed Friday for a man scheduled to be deported to Nauru on Monday argued that the decision to cancel the man's protection visa was unlawful and that he should be allowed to stay in Australia while a review of his visa continued. The man, whom Guardian Australia is not naming, is represented by the Human Rights Law Centre. Their claim seeks urgent interim orders preventing the government from removing him to Nauru while his case is before the court. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Laura John, the centre's associate legal director, said the government's attempt to banish people from Australia before their visa review process was complete was 'deplorable'. 'If carried out, these deportations could set a dangerous precedent for the kind of treatment refugees and migrants are subjected to, both in Australia and around the world,' she said. If the government did not give a commitment not to remove the man, an urgent high court hearing was likely to be held over the weekend, Guardian Australia understands. The man facing deportation is part of the NZYQ cohort, about 280 non-citizens in the Australian community who previously faced indefinite immigration detention because their visas had been cancelled on 'character grounds' but who could not be removed to their home countries because they faced persecution, or because those countries refused to accept them. In November 2023, the high court ruled it was unlawful for the government to indefinitely detain a person if there was 'no real prospect' of them being removed from the country 'in the reasonably foreseeable future'. John said no one should be permanently exiled to a country that is not their home. 'Ripping people from their lives and stranding them offshore is a cruel, lifelong punishment. 'Migrants and refugees previously forcibly sent to Nauru by the Australian government have suffered violent attacks, medical neglect and widespread discrimination.' A week ago, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said Australia had struck a deal with Nauru to remove three men he described as 'violent offenders', including one convicted of murder, to the Pacific nation as soon as possible. 'They will be put on a plane and sent to Nauru as soon as arrangements are able to be made,' Burke told reporters. 'When somebody has come and treated Australians in a way showing appalling character, their visas do get cancelled, and when their visas are cancelled, they should leave,' he said. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Burke refused to say how much the Australian government was paying Nauru or any other incentives the Pacific island nation had been offered. The deal with Nauru is the first application of laws passed in November, giving the Australian government the power to pay third countries to accept unlawful non-citizens and allowing them to be re-detained if they refuse. The Nauruan president, David Adeang, defended the deal with Australia, saying the three men had been imprisoned but had 'served their time'. 'Australia is trying to send them back to their country but they are not wanted back home. So we accepted them.' In addition to granting the men 30-year visas, Adeang said Nauru had demonstrated its capability to resettle migrants during its history as an offshore processing site. But sources on Nauru say the island's tight-knit and familial community – the nation has a population of a little evermore than 10,000 – is deeply divided by the new deal, with some raising concerns about safety and social harmony and others decrying their country's exploitation as a 'dumping ground' or a 'prison island' by Australia. Jana Favero, deputy chief executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, labelled the government's effort to deport people to Nauru as 'a Trump-like move … cruel, unnecessary, unfair, and a violation of human rights'.
