Tampering with Asylum

Last updated
Tampering with Asylum
Author Frank Brennan
Publication date
2003

Tampering with Asylum is a 2003 book by Father Frank Brennan.

The Australia Government denied the MV Tampa ship, and asylum seekers it had rescued, permission to dock at the nearest landfall of Christmas Island (see Tampa affair). Brennan argues that this response by the Howard government was a "massive overreaction". [1]

The book was launched at the National Press Club (Australia), on 5 November 2003, and was shortlisted for the 2004 Gleebooks Prize for Critical Writing at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

MV <i>Tampa</i> Container ship built in 1984

MV Tampa was a roll-on/roll-off container ship completed in 1984 by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in South Korea for the Norway-based firm, Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning.

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2003.

Brennan is an Irish surname which is an anglicised form of two different Irish-language surnames: Ó Braonáin and Ó Branáin. Historically, one source of the surname was the prominent clan Ua Braonáin (O'Brennan) of Uí Duach (Idough) in Osraige who were a junior Dál Birn sept stemming from a younger son of Cerball mac Dúnlainge (d.888). Recent surname evaluations highlighted the geographic consistency of this lineage in the barony of Idough. However, based on the ultimate authority of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh they are out of Ui Dhuinn (O’Dunn) and, therefore, an Uí Failghi tribe, not Osraige. While it is clearly apparent that O’Hart's pedigree is erroneous, it is suggested that Ó Cléirigh probably became confused while transcribing from Mac Fhirbhisigh. This is echoed by the modern scholar, Bart Jaski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 40th Parliament of Australia

The 2001 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 10 November 2001. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by John Anderson defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Kim Beazley. As of 2024, this was the most recent election to feature a rematch of both major party leaders. Future Opposition Leader Peter Dutton entered parliament at this election.

<i>Tampa</i> affair 2001 Australian political crisis and diplomatic dispute with Norway

In late August 2001, the Howard government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 433 rescued refugees and 5 crew, to enter Australian waters. This triggered an Australian political controversy in the lead-up to the 2001 federal election, and a diplomatic dispute between Australia and Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard Brennan</span> Australian judge (1928–2022)

Sir Francis Gerard Brennan was an Australian lawyer and jurist who served as the 10th Chief Justice of Australia. As a judge in the High Court of Australia, he wrote the lead judgement on the Mabo decision, which gave rise to the Native Title Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre</span> Immigration detention facility in South Australia

The Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre (IRPC) was an Australian immigration detention facility near the village of Woomera in South Australia. It was opened in November 1999 in response to an increase in unauthorised arrivals, which had exceeded the capacity of other detention facilities. It was originally intended to hold 400 people, however at its peak in April 2000 it had nearly 1,500 detainees. After ongoing public pressure in response to several well publicised riots from 2000, accusations of human rights abuses, and capacity issues, the centre closed in April 2003.

SIEV X was the name assigned by Australian authorities to an Indonesian fishing boat carrying over 400 asylum seekers en route to Australia, which capsized in international waters with great loss of life on 19 October 2001. SIEV stands for Suspected Irregular Entry Vessel and is the acronym used by the surveillance authority for any boat that has entered Australian waters without prior authorisation. The X is a designation used where a tracking number has not yet been assigned, in accordance with Australian Government orders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nauru Regional Processing Centre</span> Offshore Australian immigration detention facility

The Nauru Regional Processing Centre is an offshore Australian immigration detention facility in use from 2001 to 2008, from 2012 to 2019, and from September 2021. It is located on the South Pacific island nation of Nauru and run by the Government of Nauru. The use of immigration detention facilities is part of a policy of mandatory detention in Australia.

The following lists events that happened during 2001 in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wren</span> Australian businessman

John Wren was an Australian bookmaker, boxing and wrestling promoter, Irish nationalist, land speculator, newspaper owner, racecourse and racehorse owner, soldier, pro-conscriptionist and theatre owner. He became a legendary figure thanks mainly to a fictionalised account of his life in Frank Hardy's novel Power Without Glory, which was also made into a television series. After his death in 1953, Wren was buried at Boroondara Cemetery in Kew, Victoria.

Frank Tenison Brennan is an Australian Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic. He has a longstanding reputation of advocacy in the areas of law, social justice, refugee protection, reconciliation and human rights activism.

<i>Escape from Woomera</i> 2004 video game

Escape from Woomera is an unfinished adventure video game, intended to criticise the treatment of mandatorily detained asylum seekers in Australia as well as the Australian government's attempt to impose a media blackout on the detention centres. In the game, the player assumes the role of Mustafa, an Iranian asylum seeker being held at Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre. Mustafa's request for asylum has been denied, and, fearing that he will be killed by the Iranian government upon his repatriation to Iran, he decides to attempt to escape Woomera. Mustafa must explore Woomera and speak with other individuals at the centre to devise and execute an escape plan.

<i>Ruddock v Vadarlis</i> Judgement of the Federal Court of Australia

Ruddock v Vadarlis was an Australian court case decided in the Federal Court of Australia on 18 September 2001. It concerned the actions of the Government of Australia in preventing asylum seekers aboard the Norwegian cargo vessel MV Tampa from entering Australia in late August 2001. The Victorian Council for Civil Liberties, and solicitor Eric Vadarlis, were seeking a writ of habeas corpus. The case is significant because it is one of the few cases to consider the nature and scope of the prerogative power of the executive branch of Government in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Brennan (politician)</span> Australian journalist, lawyer and politician

Thomas Cornelius Brennan KC was an Australian journalist, lawyer and conservative politician who was elected to the Australian Senate.

<i>Dark Victory</i> (book) 2003 book by David Marr and Marian Wilkinson

Dark Victory is a 2003 Australian book by David Marr and Marian Wilkinson. The book was released eighteen months into the Howard government's third term, and discusses the border control policy of the John Howard Liberal–National government. Dark Victory consists of 21 chapters, covering the key political events involving the Howard government from 23 August to 10 November 2001. The Tampa affair, the Pacific solution, the Children Overboard affair are discussed. The book investigates other countries' views of Australia and the role of the Australian Labor Party and One Nation party. Marr and Wilkinson have worked together on previous journalistic investigations at The National Times in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugee Action Collective (Victoria)</span> Australian refugee rights group

Refugee Action Collective (Victoria), or RAC, are a grassroots group of activists concerned with refugee rights operating in Melbourne, Australia. RAC has organised around issues they deem inhumane by the Australian Government in relation to asylum seekers, such as organising protests and vigils as well as being involved in more militant action such as breaking out and hiding detainees.

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) is an asylum seeker support organisation in Australia. The ASRC, based in Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, provides aid, justice and empowerment programs to over 1000 asylum seekers living in the community seeking refugee protection. The ASRC is run by a team of over 1000 volunteers and around 100 paid staff, and is headed by former university lecturer and lawyer Kon Karapanagiotidis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Brennan (judge)</span> Australian politician, Supreme Court judge

Frank Tenison Brennan was a Labor Party politician, lawyer and Supreme Court judge. He was a Queensland MLA from 1918 to 1925.

Asylum in Australia has been granted to many refugees since 1945, when half a million Europeans displaced by World War II were given asylum. Since then, there have been periodic waves of asylum seekers from South East Asia and the Middle East, with government policy and public opinion changing over the years.

References