A cruel, cruel deportation from Oz.(& asylum seekers tales)

And this:

104-year-old must face tribunal, Canberra says
By Andra Jackson
February 25, 2005/the AGE

The family of 104-year-old Cui Yu Hu is disappointed she must still go through a tribunal hearing in her fight for permanent residency in Australia.

This leaves Chinese-born Mrs Hu, who has lived in Australia for 10 years with her only family, still "in limbo", family spokesman Chap Chow said.

"This is not suiting her in her situation. Because she is that old, she can't wait."

Without an aged-parent visa, it leaves Mrs Hu dependent on the charity of hospitals for her medical care, he said.

Mrs Hu, who came to Australia on a 12-month visitor's visa in 1995, applied last July for her status to be changed from bridging visa holder - meant to be temporary - to an aged-parent visa holder, which provides Medicare and other benefits.

Refused an aged-parent visa last November, she was told she could appeal to the Migration Review Tribunal.

Mr Chow said the Federal Government's wish to avoid setting a precedent by granting Mrs Hu a permanent visa was misguided.There would be no queue of 104-year-olds, he said.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone confirmed yesterday that had Mrs Hu's application for an aged parent visa been made within 12 months of her visitor's visa expiring she would have met one of the essential requirements an aged-parent visa.

Can I burn my citizenship papers?

Amanda is stone hearted!

Nak flies off to an uncertain future
By Andra Jackson
February 26, 2005/the AGE


Nak Assavatheptavee, centre, at the airport with his father Charoon, left, sister Nat, brother Niq and niece Katie.
Photo: Angela Wylie

Fifteen-Year-Old schoolboy Nak Assavatheptavee's hopes of a last-minute reprieve from deportation yesterday afternoon were dashed by Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone.

Clutching a teddy bear and chocolate heart presented by 20 of his Thornbury Northcote Secondary College classmates at the airport, he said: "I am not happy at all."

He said he was confident the family would be reunited when they had raised the $35,000 they needed to make a new visa application.

"We'll just have to raise the money... and reapply and come back," he said.

But as Nak flew out to an uncertain future, 104-year-old Chinese woman Cui Yu Hu came a step closer to being permitted to stay after intervention by Prime Minister John Howard, who said the case lacked compassion and common sense.

Mr Howard also said he would like to know more about Nak's case.

Nak and his father Charoon were given until yesterday to leave the country after the rejection of an application for a permanent visa.

Because Nak is under 18 he is listed on his father's visa, so he came under the same order to leave, while other members of the family have been allowed to stay.

Mr Howard said: "I think even separately from anything I might say to her, Amanda Vanstone will have something to say about it."

Thornbury Northcote Secondary College principal Peter Egeberg said Senator Vanstone's response that there was no need to re-examine the case showed "there is no compassion with this Government".

Senator Vanstone told the ABC that Nak's father had his original spouse visa cancelled on grounds of "character".

A stunned Nak interrupted his farewells to say he knew nothing of the allegation.

He had said previously that his father's earlier spouse visa was cancelled at the request of his father's former partner, with whom he fell out.

Senator Vanstone insisted that Nak could not have stayed in Australia as he would have been living with his 21-year-old sister Nat, who was sending her daughter Katie, 4, back to Thailand.

"Nak's father is also taking his granddaughter back to Thailand because he is the carer. Nak's sister is not going to continue to look after her daughter and so I can't see where that would be appropriate for a 15-year-old boy to stay with someone whose child is going back to Thailand.

"It's always sad when someone who wants to stay in Australia has to leave - it's sad for them and it's sad for their family and friends. But we don't have a rule that if you come to Australia and overstay your visa because you make friends (then) we'll let you stay," she said

A distraught Nat responded that she was reluctantly sending her daughter back with her father so he could continue the child-minding role that has enabled her to work to support the family.

Speaking on 3AW about Mrs Hu, Mr Howard said there was room for compassion and common sense in immigration.

He said he would talk to Senator Vanstone about the case. Senator Vanstone confirmed last night that there had later been communication with the Prime Minister's office.

Asked if Mr Howard had effectively criticised her department, she said: "There is always room for compassion and common sense in immigration cases. I agree with the Prime Minister completely on that issue."

Mrs Hu has been in Australia for 10 years, living with her adopted daughter Motoko and her son-in-law, and was turned down for an aged parent visa.

"But as Nak flew out to an uncertain future, 104-year-old Chinese woman Cui Yu Hu came a step closer to being permitted to stay after intervention by Prime Minister John Howard, who said the case lacked compassion and common sense.

Mr Howard also said he would like to know more about Nak's case."



Hmmmmmmmmmmmm?????????

Howard getting a tad concerned here?

Is he CAPABLE of compassion? Nah. Not unless it's some misfortune concerning the Australian cricket team.

Concern, then? Certainly! The Liberal's private polls are telling him that people are getting a wee bit disgusted by his government's heartlessness.

Pardon my cynicism, but my government is making me furious!

Hmmm - sadly, the polls are too late...

Yes.

<shakes head>

Hi everyone - I'm from Australia too (Brisbane to be exact) and have been following these two issues, expecially in regards to the one about the 104 year old Chinese woman, considering I am from China..

Didn't Amanda Vanstone say that Ms Hu could appeal on compasionate grounds or that the minister would intervene? I know she lost her first appeal.

What a mess! Just say yes - its not like a 104 year old lady could plan a terrorist attack!!

Welcome to A2K pragmatic. Good to havesomebody from Bris Vagas here.

The old lady was granted permanent residency yesterday.

Thank you Adrian! Do you have any viewpoints on that, just generally? I am just one of those people that are interested in what everyone else thinks.

Pragmatic-

I think it was a fairly typical example of people not understanding procedure and not trusting the government. If the womans family had applied for permanent residency for her 10 years ago then the chances are she would have been given it about 9 years ago. There was really no way any government would have just turfed her out, besides which no airline would accept her as a passenger.

The procedure is that the minister can't use their discretion until all other avenues have been tried and have failed. Because the family didn't do that until now she had to live in fear and without access to medical care for a decade.

A shame, but not really something you can blame on the government.

Fear and mistrust make people do stupid things. The media are always looking for something to make the government of the day look bad and the immigration minister has had a great big bullseye painted on them for years.

All in all, much ado about nothing really.

A happy ending for some of the Tampa Tampa refugees, but in New Zealand ... :

76 refused from Tampa now Kiwis
By Deborah Diaz Auckland
April 9, 2005/the AGE


Bartool Basiri and sister Masoom.
Photo: John Selkirk

Seventy-six of the Tampa refugees refused entry to Australia became New Zealand citizens yesterday, with Prime Minister Helen Clark attending a ceremony in Auckland to congratulate the "new Kiwis".

The group included the so-called Tampa boys, 37 teenagers and young men who fled Taliban-ruled Afghanistan on their own and were cared for in NZ. They have been joined by 207 family members.

NZ accepted 150 of the 433 asylum seekers rescued from a sinking Indonesian fishing boat off Christmas Island in August 2001 by the Norwegian ship Tampa and refused entry by Australia.

Of the Australian Government, Mehdi Mohammadi, 21, said: "I don't mind, that's their policy. But I'm so happy to be a New Zealand citizen."

Azizullah Mussa, now a top student at Selwyn College in Auckland, described Ms Clark as a "respected and beloved friend".

"We arrived at Mangere (Auckland's refugee centre) and it was a good place," he said. People took care of us, accepted us and supported us. A number of people came into our lives that showed great humility."

Ms Clark said: "Something that began as a tragedy has ended up with us accepting many new Kiwis that are going to contribute all their talents and their energy and their culture and their ideas to our country."-

_Dominion Post, AAP

Hopefully Howard is getting a bit worried. The man should be ashamed of the xenophobic hysteria he whipped up with the Tampa episode.

Anyway I hope that Lincoln's nostrum is finally sinking in.

Thank goodness for the Kiwis.

Yes.

Thank god for the kiwis & shame on this Liberal government.
<sigh>

And see, NZ isn't under siege now that these dangerous infidels have been allowed in!

Please explain that, goodfielder. (Jeeze, I'm starting to sound like Pauline! )

"You can fool all of the people some of the time. You can fool some of the people all of the time. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."