Lisa Carty; 23/12/07
Myron Taleka thought all his Christmases had come at once when he got a job as a driver at Nauru’s detention centre more than two years ago. The former telecommunications worker was hired on four times his previous pay and had $600 a fortnight to support his wife, six kids, his widowed sister and her children, as well as other relatives. It’s been a matter of pride that no one in his circle has gone hungry since he got the detention centre job.
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/camp-closure-hurts-nauru/2007/12/22/1198175408703.html
Chinese top migrant list
Caroline Marcus; 23/;12/07
China was the largest source of immigrants to NSW in 2007, topping the list with 4650. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship said that of the 27,494 immigrants who arrived in NSW between January 1 and December 1, one in six was from China. While the figures did not take into account arrivals in December, the department expects overall immigration to be considerably down from 2006, when there were 44,427 arrivals. A spokesman for Barbara Perry, the Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship, said the latest figures would be boosted by visas that were granted this year but not yet processed.
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/chinese-top-migrant-list/2007/12/22/1198175406082.html
Sri Lankan refugees desperate plea to Rudd
23/12/07
They are the remnants of the Howard government’s much maligned Pacific Solution - 74 Sri Lankan refugees in limbo, waiting to begin new lives in Australia. In his bid for government, Kevin Rudd committed to closing the detention centre on Nauru, the tiny island state that was enlisted by Australia to process boat people in the wake of the 2001 Tampa crisis. Eighty three Sri Lankans - aged 18 to 28 - have been in detention since March, when the tiny fishing boat in which they hoped to reach the Australian territory of Christmas Island was intercepted by the Australian navy.
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sri-lankan-refugees-desperate-plea-to-rudd/2007/12/22/1198175408649.html
