Human Rights Law Centre, 12 February 2013 - The Human Rights Law Centre invites you to participate in what is sure to be an in depth, robust and enlightening discussion about accountability for war crimes and the current human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Adjournment speech (Parliament of Australia) this week By Ed Husic, Federal MP for Chifley, February, 8th, 2013 - Mr HUSIC (Chifley—Government Whip) (12:55): I rise to speak to join the thousands of Australian Tamil constituents in the Chifley electorate—joined by those who live in the electorates of Greenway and Parramatta—to express my utter disbelief at some extraordinary events that unfolded right here in Canberra this week. Earlier in the week, shadow foreign minister Julie Bishop and shadow immigration minister Scott Morrison effectively re-announced not only a short-sighted policy but one that potentially breaches international law. It was not just the re-announcement that was stunning; it was what it overlooked and how that was explained, and I will return to that later.

Speech in Parliament of Australia by Michelle Rowland, Labor Member for Greenway, Tuesday, 5 February 2013 - Yesterday the shadow minister for immigration and shadow minister for foreign affairs stated the coalition's policy on blocking Sri Lankan asylum seeker boats from Australian waters without first testing any refugee claims. In making this announcement the opposition has made two extremely dangerous and irresponsible conclusions: (1) that there are no legitimate reasons for any person from a specific country, namely Sri Lanka, to seek asylum, and (2) that the Australian Navy will be able to turn leaky boats around on the high seas outside of our territorial waters without consideration of an individual's need for protection. This is despite the fact that, according to a range of legal specialists, including the Human Rights Law Centre, such a policy would expose at least some asylum seekers to a real risk of torture, persecution or other flagrant human rights violations and therefore violate Australia's non-refoulement obligations under international law.

By Trevor Grant, NewMatilda, 06 February 2013 - Julie Bishop and Bob Carr both recently visited Sri Lanka. They claim Tamils have got nothing to fear - and don't deserve refuge in Australia. There is abundant evidence that suggests they've got it wrong, writes Trevor Grant. In the frantic environment of an election race, there is always one favourite that starts at Black Caviar odds. You can bet the house that misrepresentations, deceptions, fabrications and unashamed lies will begin to flow like a mountain stream in spring. There is a pathological need among our elected officials for the slightest advantage, and often they do whatever it takes to crib a centimetre or two over an opponent. Once it succeeds, often due to sloppy media work, there’s no stopping them. It is both instructive, and disturbing, to see the manner in which the federal election campaign has begun, with a flood of misleading information being fed into the public record by such high-profile political leaders as Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr, Foreign Affairs spokesperson and deputy Coalition leader, Julie Bishop and Coalition Immigration spokesperson, Scott Morrison.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY THE TAMIL REFUGEE COUNCIL, 31 January, 2013, Melbourne - Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesperson Julie Bishop has given a misleading account of her meeting with Tamil representatives during her visit to Sri Lanka, according to a Tamil MP who spoke to her at length.

The Australian, February 01, 2013 - A SENIOR Sri Lankan government official is suspected by Australian authorities of being personally "complicit" in the people-smuggling trade, directly undermining Canberra's attempts to stop the surge in asylum-seeker boats. The Australian can reveal that Australia's intelligence agencies have identified the official, who has a high profile and is known to be close to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The agencies believe he is responsible for authorising numerous boats in the past 10 months, fuelling the surge of asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka that has threatened to overwhelm Australia's detention system.

Human Rights Law Centre, 24 January 2013 - Australia’s human rights obligations apply extraterritorially to asylum seekers transferred offshore to Nauru and Manus islands, the HRLC has told the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. The Committee is conducting an inquiry into the offshore processing regime following requests from the HRLC, together with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and the Australian Human Rights Commission. In a supplementary submission, the HRLC said that Australia’s human rights obligations extend to people within its effective power or control. “Australia’s human rights obligations do not end at our borders,” said HRLC Senior Lawyer Daniel Webb.

By Trevor Grant, SMH, January 20, 2013 - She thought the horrors of her life might end when she got to Australia. But it was no better, locked away indefinitely without explanation. After she told her story, she looked up with tears in her eyes and asked softly: ''Can you help me?'' I didn't know what to say. But I knew what to feel. And that is shame. Shame that I live in a big country with such a small heart.

CNN, 16 Jan 2013 - A woman who Australia deems to be a national security risk has given birth to a child who is likely to spend the early months, if not years, of his life in detention. Baby Paari was born on Tuesday to Ranjini, a 33-year-old mother of two other boys aged six and nine, who was granted refugee status by Australia in 2011 after fleeing violence in Sri Lanka. Since May, they've been living in residential housing within the walls of the Villawood Detention Center, a secure facility in suburban Sydney where asylum seekers remain while their cases are processed.

Australian Tamil Congress, 13 Jan 2013 - Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) notes with grave concern about the highly controversial and unconstitutional impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. Sri lankan President Rajapakse has dismissed the Chief Justice by ratifying parliament’s recent vote to impeach her. The vote in Parliament took place despite rulings from the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court stating that a move to impeach the chief justice would be illegal. The act to impeach the nation’s chief justice, a significant step in a worsening showdown between the legislature and the judiciary, has alarmed democracy advocates and many governments globally.