Lankans in new challenge to boats regime

LABOR'S asylum-seeker regime faces a new High Court challenge after a group of 56 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers launched an urgent bid to block their deportation, challenging the government's "screening out" process.

The Refugee Action Coalition brought the challenge on behalf of the Sri Lankans, who claim they were due to be deported on the orders of Immigration Minister Chris Bowen this morning. At 4.30pm yesterday, they sought an injunction to stop their removal and received an undertaking that they would not be removed before their case was heard again on Thursday.

The Australian government Solicitor, acting on behalf of Mr Bowen, advised the court the minister would give an undertaking not to remove the 56 Sri Lankans as planned, the High Court's Sydney registry said.

Government sources last night disputed that the men were being removed.

No injunction has yet been granted by the High Court and the government denies having had any plans to remove the group today. Government sources say the group tried to injunct a transfer that "wasn't happening".

A spokesman for Mr Bowen said the department would co-operate with the court. "We certainly intend to continue to remove people where they do not engage our international obligations (under refugee conventions)," the spokesman said.

High Court judge Dyson Heydon ordered the government to provide more evidence about the policies and procedures of the "screening out" process, used to deport people who were found not to be asylum-seekers or refugees under Australia's international obligations.

That evidence must be provided by tomorrow afternoon.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said: "There was a request for the minister's solicitor to provide the evidence, to show our side exactly what process these (Sri Lankans) have supposedly been through. They have complained the interviews to determine their status have been short and precisely worded, to make it easier for the government to claim they are not genuine."

The Labor government has previously claimed some boat arrivals from Sri Lanka are economic refugees and not genuinely in fear of persecution. It has removed more than 543 Sri Lankans involuntarily on this basis.

The court adjourned until Thursday at 9.30am, pending "intensive" discussions with the government over the fate of the 56 Sri Lankans.

David Patel a specialist immigration lawyer and principal of Parish Patience Immigration Lawyers, which acted for the Refugee Action Coalition said the ideal outcome was for the men to remain in Australia.

"We're not trying to get them residency yet; we just want the determination process to apply fairly to them," Mr Patel said.

"Of course, in theory, this could become something of a precedent if the case goes all the way through and it is eventually found the government's screening  processes need to change. But we'll ideally avoid the Thursday court date if the government agrees before then that these men can stay in the country."

Mr Patel said that if no agreement could be reached, his firm would file 56 individual applications for an injunction on Thursday.

The 56 Sri Lankans were part of a group of about 109 asylum-seekers held in the Wickham Point Immigration Detention Centre last week before being transported to the Northern Immigration Detention Centre (NDIC) near Darwin, known as a last base before deportation from Australia.

When 35 asylum-seekers were deported last Friday, some of the remaining group became nervous.

"We received a phone call from the family of one of those men sent home, from Sri Lanka, and that was the first we knew about this," Mr Rintoul said.

"Then we received a phone call from one of the Tamils inside the NDIC." (Source:The Australian)