The task:
You are working in the role of an Adviser to the Australian Minister for Immigration. At 9am on Monday 26 September?you will be?presented with a?scenario regarding an asylum challenge in Australia and/or Asia. Your task is to advise the Minister on their?course of action.
Note: This task is designed to get you thinking within the real political parameters faced by our politicians and their advisers. Your advice should take into account the real political landscape of Australian asylum policy. Therefore, answers along the lines of ‘Australia should adopt an open-borders policy and let in all asylum seekers’ are politically unlikely and will not receive a pass mark.?
The task comprises three sections requiring short answers.?These three sections will be released with the scenario. Together, all three sections should total approximately 1000 words, excluding your?reference list. You should address your briefing to the relevant Minister (using his or her name), and format your document professionally.
The task is designed to test your understanding of various aspects of asylum policy covered in this unit. These aspects may include some of the following:
? International refugee and human rights law
? Australian asylum policy
? The asylum policies of various Asian states (generally and/or specifically)
? The causes of migration and the protection pathways taken by asylum seekers in the Asian region
? The various debates on asylum policy within the Australian community
? The policies of Australia’s major political parties
? The role of non-government actors in the region (for example UNHCR, International Organisation for Migration, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch)
? The role of intra-governmental actors in the region (for example ASEAN)
? The political and diplomatic implications of people seeking asylum in Australia and the Asian region
? The human implications of state policy for people seeking asylum in Australia and the Asian region
Tip:?You are encouraged to?draw on a range of source material to help you develop your answer. These will include academic sources (books and journal articles), as well as media?articles and internet?resources. As always, show good judgment in your choice of resource material, and aim for a combination of academic and non-academic sources.?As a guide, a good reference list for this task will be about?4-8?references long.
Marking Criteria:
When marking, the assessor will consider the following:
? Has the student followed the instructions and guidelines??
? Has the student demonstrated a good understanding of this particular?asylum challenge, including (but not limited to) the multiple actors involved, the various?implications for government and society in Australia and Asia, and its human impact?
? Has the student demonstrated critical thinking in their approach to the problem, and have they offered a reasonable solution?
? Is the task well presented, including clear written communication, and the correct use of the Harvard referencing system??
The scenario
As part of Australia’s offshore processing policy, asylum seekers?have been detained on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, since 2013. Currently, approximately 850 asylum seekers are detained in?this?male-only detention centre, characterised by poor conditions and lack of services, including health care. There have also been significant violent events, such as the riot in February 2014, which resulted in the death of 23 year old Iranian Reza Barati, and the injury of many others. In April?2016 the PNG Supreme?Court found the detention centre to be unconstitutional, and the PNG government granted Australia three months to make alternative arrangements for the detainees. The deadline passed in July?2016, but as yet there has been no resolution.?
More information on Manus Island detention centre can be found here:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/apr/27/manus-island-detention-centre-to-close-papua-new-guinea-prime-minister-says
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-17/manus-island-to-close-png-prime-minister-confirms/7759810
Your task
You are an advisor to the current Minister for Immigration in Australia.?The Minister has requested the following information on?three?points. In a total of approximately 1000 words, please answer the following:?
1.?Inform the Minister if Australia has obligations to the detainees currently on?Manus Island under the 1951 Convention Relating to Refugees (the Refugee Convention), and if so, what these obligations entail.
2. Remind the Minister of the real political?environment regarding asylum matters internationally, and how this political environment impacts resettlement opportunities.?
? To answer this question, demonstrate a good knowledge of the international and regional pressures that contribute to the challenge of finding suitable resettlement options for refugees. You may wish?to refer to specific refugee pressures, or policy agreements that might present?opportunities or constraints for the Minister. Of course, your answer cannot be comprehensive, but it should aim to give the Minister a good sense of what his or her options are.?
3. Propose one (1) policy addressing the Manus Island?challenge for the Minister to take to Cabinet for deliberation. Keep in mind your answers to parts 1 and 2.?
Your proposal may be one you have invented yourself, or one that someone else has proposed. Regardless, in your answer for the Minister, you should consider some of the following issues (keeping in mind, due to word count limitations, you are not expected to address all of these issues):
? What factors might need to change from current policy to introduce your policy? Is your policy an incremental shift, or a radical change?
? Does your policy require diplomatic negotiations within the region? Is your policy one that regional neighbours might accept or adopt, or will it cause conflict? If the latter, will you press ahead anyway?
? Does the narrative surrounding this policy issue need to be addressed in order for voters to accept your policy?
? Is your policy likely to be expensive to the taxpayer? What would be the likely costs? How would you explain that these costs are necessary??
? Your policy should be sustainable: that is, it must win the support of Parliament (ideally with bipartisan support) and must not be so controversial that the Opposition will immediately reverse it the moment they are in power.
4. This document should be fully referenced using the Harvard system, and include a reference list at the end of your document.?The reference list will not be counted as part of the overall word count.?
? You should refer to least 5 scholarly references in completing this task. In addition, you may refer to other quality internet source material if you wish.
? You might want to do considerable more searching on the current situation of the?Manus Island detention centre, it’s detainees, and their options for resettlement. I encourage this. Remember to include the full citation for the references you cite.?
Good luck, and enjoy!?
