Asylum seekers denied legal rights: advocates

Bianca Hall Some of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers deported on Thursday did not speak with lawyers before they were expelled, Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor has confirmed.

Doctors urged to not force-feed detainees

Bianca Hall Melbourne asylum seekers engaged in a hunger strike could have just days to live.

Watchdog holds fears for indefinite detainees

Bianca Hall Fears have been raised for the welfare of about a dozen asylum seekers who have been held in detention for more than two years, with no immediate hope of release.

More deaths predicted as two more boats arrive and numbers soar

Bianca Hall and Michael Gordon Two boatloads of asylum seekers arrived at Christmas Island on Tuesday, bringing the total to 11 since Friday amid an unprecedented surge in irregular immigration by sea.

400 more asylum seekers expected by end of week

Bianca Hall Locals are bracing for another lot of asylum seekers, following the arrival of almost 300 so far this week.

Traumatised children self-harming in detention

Bianca Hall Children as young as nine have been involved in a spate of self-harm incidents in immigration detention facilities, despite child psychiatrists issuing repeated warnings over the past decade of the...

Children harming themselves in detention

Bianca Hall CHILDREN are slashing their wrists, arms and bodies with razor blades inside immigration detention facilities, despite child psychiatrists issuing repeated warnings of the dangers of locking them up.

Donations pour in to ease plight on Manus Island

Bianca Hall MOVED by the stories of hardship in immigration detention centres, Australians are sending letters, parcels and goods to detainees to remind them they are not forgotten.

'Problematic' detainees tried to harm themselves

Bianca Hall WITHIN a month of arriving at Nauru, ''problematic'' asylum seekers had tried to hang themselves or cut themselves with razor blades, internal Department of Immigration reports reveal.

Hell on Nauru revealed

Bianca Hall Asylum seekers began to attempt suicide within a month of being sent to Nauru, internal Department of Immigration reports reveal.

PM tells asylum seekers hunger strikes will not change outcome

Bianca Hall HUNGER strikes and suicide attempts by asylum seekers on Nauru will not get them ''anywhere'', the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, said on Monday.

Letters verdict looms

Bianca Hall Two men will learn on Wednesday whether sending letters to the widows of Australian Diggers that disparaged the dead men constitutes 'offensive' speech.

Free speech appeal fails over critical letters to Diggers

Bianca Hall A SELF-STYLED Muslim imam accused of sending offensive letters to the families of dead Diggers has had his appeal against the charge dismissed.

Coalition blockade against law, UN says

Bianca Hall, David Wroe THE United Nations and international law experts say a Coalition plan to block every Sri Lankan asylum seeker boat from reaching Australian waters, without first testing their passengers' refugee...

Refugee budget climbs $1.3b

Bianca Hall The Australian immigration budget has increased by $1.3 billion over four years, as the government prepares to expand the humanitarian visa program to 20,000 each year.

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Fraud charges: Slipper no plea

Bianca Hall THE former speaker Peter Slipper, below, will not be required to enter a plea when he appears at the Canberra Magistrates Court accused of defrauding the Commonwealth on Friday morning.

Child abuse inquiry criticised

Bianca Hall and Jane Lee Churches and charities should pay compensation directly to survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and the terms of reference should be broadened, says the chief executive of the group of those formerly...

Greens claim $2b will fix Newstart poverty

Exclusive Bianca Hall IS $2 BILLION a year too much to help Australia's most impoverished people?

Greens push for increase to dole

Bianca Hall Party will move to raise weekly Newstart, Abstudy and youth allowance rate for singles by $50 a week.