AFFMA News

Australian Border Force Act 2015

Jonathan Swan reported in the Sydney Morning Herald that Tony Abbott stated that he will not be “deterred or succumb to moral black mail when it comes to running a firm detention centre on Manus Island” as J.

Further, the Abbott government and the Labor government have reached an understanding regarding border protection and that came in the form of the Australian Border Force Act 2015 (Cth).

Further, the Australian Border Force Commissioner stated that “operational matters” will not be discussed publicly.

Border Protection Commission

The Australian Border Force Act 2015 (Cth) enabled the Border Protection Commission to be responsible for immigration security at Australia’s air and sea ports and waterways.

Roman Quaedvlieg was sworn in as the Border Force Commissioner and in turn noted that he would not stray from the Operation Sovereign Borders.

There have been growing concerns regarding the Australian Border Force Act 2015 (Cth) as some government contracted workers at onshore and offshore detention facilities risk up to 2 years in jail if they report on what they see, pursuant to Part 6 – Secrecy and Disclosure provisions of the Australian Border Force Act.

Commissioner Quaedvlieg noted that the laws were aimed at protecting classified information in order not to hinder operational security or Australia’s sovereignty.

However, in the midst of the Act an open letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Immigration and Border Protection Minister – Peter Dutton and the Opposition Leader – Bill Shorten that stated continued avocation for the health for whom they have a duty of care.

Further, these professionals noted in the letter that standing by and watching harmful care, child abuse and gross violations of human rights is not ethically justifiable.

Therefore, the continued support and avocation for refugee and asylum seekers should not be forgotten in the midst of change.

Please, click on the links below for further information.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-01/border-force-commissioner-operational-matters-roman-quaedvlieg/6586274

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/asylum-seeker-death-no-deterrent-to-firm-border-protection-policy-says-tony-abbott-20140220-332k9.html

https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2015C00319/Html/Text#_Toc424289055

Ariza Arif