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Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Same issues since 2005': People wrongly detained due to Home Affairs' systemic failures
A culture of 'act first, check later' in the Department of Home Affairs led to repeat mistakes causing almost every wrongful detention in a single year, including an Australian citizen and a person who was held for a year and a half before being released. The Commonwealth Ombudsman revealed in a report on Wednesday that the department wrongfully detained 11 people between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, with officers failing to decide for themselves whether it was reasonable to detain someone in most of the cases. The report said 90 per cent of the cases would have been avoided if existing policies had been followed, and that the same mistakes – including poor record keeping and failure to check conflicting information – had been made before but were not fixed. One person was detained for a week despite receiving an invalid visa refusal letter – the same mistake that had resulted in a man being incorrectly detained in 2018 for four years. 'Since we began monitoring the issue in 2005, we have observed the same types of errors are causing people to be wrongfully detained,' the report said. 'In addition, the department has not improved the way it addresses its mistakes with the individuals it has wrongfully detained. The department does not offer people it has wrongfully detained any form of redress, formal apology, or financial compensation.' Immigration detention staff can lawfully detain a person if they 'know or reasonably suspect' them to be an unlawful non-citizen. Wrongful detentions occur when the suspicion is incorrect and the person is released, according to the ombudsman. It did not analyse whether Home Affairs officers reasonably held suspicions about detained people in the first place, saying that would be too legally complex. The report said the data indicated that a culture of carelessness first identified in 2007 may still be present. In 81 per cent of the cases, staff acted as if the decision to detain a person had already been made by someone else and did not take responsibility for forming reasonable suspicion in their own minds. The ombudsman regularly reviews wrongful detention in part as a response to the case of Vivian Alvarez, a Filipino-born Australian citizen who was deported in 2001 after being admitted to hospital after falling into a drain. Her former husband searched for her for years, and she featured on missing persons television program Without a Trace. The department was made aware of its mistake by multiple sources in 2003, but took no action. Alvarez's case didn't become public until 2005.
The Age
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
‘Same issues since 2005': People wrongly detained due to Home Affairs' systemic failures
A culture of 'act first, check later' in the Department of Home Affairs led to repeat mistakes causing almost every wrongful detention in a single year, including an Australian citizen and a person who was held for a year and a half before being released. The Commonwealth Ombudsman revealed in a report on Wednesday that the department wrongfully detained 11 people between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, with officers failing to decide for themselves whether it was reasonable to detain someone in most of the cases. The report said 90 per cent of the cases would have been avoided if existing policies had been followed, and that the same mistakes – including poor record keeping and failure to check conflicting information – had been made before but were not fixed. One person was detained for a week despite receiving an invalid visa refusal letter – the same mistake that had resulted in a man being incorrectly detained in 2018 for four years. 'Since we began monitoring the issue in 2005, we have observed the same types of errors are causing people to be wrongfully detained,' the report said. 'In addition, the department has not improved the way it addresses its mistakes with the individuals it has wrongfully detained. The department does not offer people it has wrongfully detained any form of redress, formal apology, or financial compensation.' Immigration detention staff can lawfully detain a person if they 'know or reasonably suspect' them to be an unlawful non-citizen. Wrongful detentions occur when the suspicion is incorrect and the person is released, according to the ombudsman. It did not analyse whether Home Affairs officers reasonably held suspicions about detained people in the first place, saying that would be too legally complex. The report said the data indicated that a culture of carelessness first identified in 2007 may still be present. In 81 per cent of the cases, staff acted as if the decision to detain a person had already been made by someone else and did not take responsibility for forming reasonable suspicion in their own minds. The ombudsman regularly reviews wrongful detention in part as a response to the case of Vivian Alvarez, a Filipino-born Australian citizen who was deported in 2001 after being admitted to hospital after falling into a drain. Her former husband searched for her for years, and she featured on missing persons television program Without a Trace. The department was made aware of its mistake by multiple sources in 2003, but took no action. Alvarez's case didn't become public until 2005.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paramount Shouldn't Fold to Trump
On February 1, 2004, I was watching Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake wind up the Super Bowl halftime show and thought I saw something odd. Being not only a First Amendment and communications lawyer but also having been a TiVo early adopter, I scrolled back and confirmed: Monday was going to be a busy day. Almost immediately, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was investigating CBS for what became known as "Nipplegate." The network then turned to my boss, who enlisted my help, to defend against indecency charges. Years of opposition before the agency and in appeals court followed. During that time, the FCC also proposed to fine CBS even more for an episode of Without A Trace with a scene depicting a teenage hook-up party, which the commission claimed was impermissible under its indecency standards. Eventually, the network prevailed in court, and the FCC had to cut CBS a check returning the fines it had paid for the halftime show. (The Without a Trace matter ultimately got dropped.) Now CBS is back in the news. Less than two weeks into President Donald Trump's second term, the network's parent company Paramount is considering settling his lawsuit claiming CBS' coverage of the presidential campaign—and, in particular, an allegedly deceptively edited interview with Kamala Harris—was unfair and somehow harmed him. Reports have tied this possible settlement to Paramount's planned merger with Skydance, which Paramount shareholders fear the new administration could try to block or delay. Notably, this also comes against a backdrop of President Trump's appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr rattling his saber at broadcast networks that have earned the president's ire. Shortly before the inauguration, under the guidance of its former, Joe Biden–appointed chair, the FCC dismissed complaints against ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC regarding broadcasts during the campaign—including CBS' 60 Minutes Harris interview. In doing so, the FCC emphasized the importance of honoring CBS' editorial discretion and broadcasters' First Amendment right to report on matters of public concern as they see fit. But Trump's handpicked successor has indicated the FCC will reconsider that dismissal, along with the NBC and ABC dismissals (but not the Fox dismissal, unsurprisingly). Freedom of the press protects journalists and the news media in publishing information—especially in the political sphere—free from official censorship. In that way, a free press serves a vital role as the "Fourth Estate" in our democratic society, keeping citizens informed so that individuals may oversee their government's actions. As Ida B. Wells stated, "The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press." That's why it's concerning that CBS would go to the mattresses over a halftime show for a game it gets once every fourth year, or even a bread-and-butter scripted show like Without a Trace, but would capitulate when it comes to its news and political coverage. Already the network is reportedly poised to comply with an FCC demand for the transcript and camera feeds from the 60 Minutes interview. When parties to legal disputes resolve them with monetary payments rather than seeing them through to a decision, it is often said they are "buying peace." Here, there is no peace to be bought, at least not without reassurance from the courts that CBS can cover political matters as its editorial discretion dictates, no matter how much it might displease the president or his appointees. Let's be clear: Paramount isn't buying peace—it's only buying CBS a four-year supply of lube. The post Paramount Shouldn't Fold to Trump appeared first on
