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MP Andrew Wilkie uses parliament to reveal threats to NZYQ deportees in Nauru

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Former Australian detainees taken to Nauru are facing threats of violence from officers who have recently gained new powers to use force, according to allegations revealed under parliamentary privilege.

Members of the NZYQ cohort have allegedly been labelled “absolute f***ing pieces of s***” and threatened with violence after reaching Nauru by the officers tasked with their transfer and ongoing monitoring in Nauru under a 30-year deal struck with the Australian government.

The whistleblower claims, based on first-hand conversations with individuals involved, were read out under parliamentary privilege by independent MP Andrew Wilkie this morning.

“Another relevant individual indicated that those removed from Australia would, on arrival, face a reckoning, with justice in Nauru served on the streets, rather than through formal channels,” Mr Wilkie read out in the Federation Chamber. “I took this to mean that the removed cohort faced the risk of vigilante violence from those entrusted to safeguard their wellbeing in Nauru.” Mr Wilkie also read that the whistleblower stated they were speaking out of “grave concern” for the deportees’ safety, and they had repeatedly tried to raise concerns through appropriate channels, with “no evidence” concerns had been addressed.

12 people have been issued Nauruan visas and deported to the tiny island nation so far, including an individual who is reliant on a wheelchair. About 350 non-citizens, the majority convicted of serious offences, will be deported to Nauru under the deal, estimated to cost $2.5 billion over its lifetime. The NZYQ cohort, many of whom have Australian children or spouses, have all had their Australian visas cancelled on character grounds and cannot return to their home country.

In March, the Nauru government passed new laws granting community monitoring officers special powers to restrain and use “reasonable force” against the deported individuals. The whistleblower fears these laws “give legal authorisation to these threats of physical violence”.

Sanmati Verma, legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, has urged the government to stop deportation and halt the deal in light of the whistleblower claims, stating that “The Albanese government is ripping people from their homes, away from their families in Australia, and deporting them to a country where it knows they face a lifetime of state-sanctioned violence.”

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Government plans crackdown on social media algorithms

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Labor’s plan to crack down on social media algorithms faces significant opposition in federal parliament, with opposition leader Angus Taylor warning against efforts by the government to “censor” free speech online.

Communications minister Anika Wells is expected to release draft legislation creating a digital duty of care for social media users in Australia as parliament returns this week. Among new rules being considered are functions requiring popular social media platforms to allow users to turn off algorithms controlling the content in their feeds, and to better identify problematic or illegal content to protect vulnerable users including children.

Labor said they want to better protect social media users from being fed content that reinforces dangerous stereotypes and behaviours, including in areas around body image, women’s safety and child protection. Opt-out options for algorithms would give users the choice to make their social media feeds only feature content from friends and groups they choose to follow.

Fines of more than $100m would be created for breaches, with new powers given to the eSafety commissioner and researchers to investigate compliance by big platforms. Prime minister Albanese is expected to spruik the plan at the United Nations general assembly in New York later this month.

But Taylor told News24 on Sunday the government should focus on fixing problems with its under 16s social media ban before taking on new rules like the digital duty of care. The shadow home affairs minister, the outgoing Liberal senator Jonno Duniam, likened the government’s plans to dumped anti-misinformation legislation introduced during Labor’s first term in government, stating that it is going to impede on people’s rights and freedoms.

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AI and virtual interpreters providing on-demand Auslan services in regional areas to replace in-person ones

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In an attempt to fill the void, virtual services of Australia sign language interpreters, apps and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being used to bring translation services to regions that struggled to find them in the past.

But the move is having an unintended side effect, as the few registered Auslan interpreters living and working in regional areas say they are suddenly finding themselves out of work.

Live captioning is a form of AI software that records and writes out spoken conversations in real time to help users with hearing impairments access these conversations. It does not include translating responses from Auslan to spoken language, which is why captioning is not always appropriate.

Virtual interpreters can work remotely, appearing on a screen to translate what they hear via a live feed, and often working at a lower cost than in-person translators. Many interpreters said having options was good, but the effect on interpreters was not.

One interpreter said the demand [for in-person Auslan interpreters] has always been there, and especially for rural and regional people, but she said agencies were unwilling to pay travel costs and were reluctant to prioritise in-person interpreters over virtual ones.

Many organizations focusing on helping the hearing impaired also explained that not all interpreting jobs are suitable online, and If a customer’s first preference is an in-person interpreter then they will do everything possible to provide one.

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One Nation pushes for early super access for Australians paying rent or mortgage

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Australians with a mortgage or paying rent would be given a choice to divert a portion of their superannuation to their take-home pay for up to three years under a One Nation proposal.

Under the policy, the full 12 per cent compulsory super contribution would still be paid by employers, but 3 per cent would be paid directly to a person by the super fund if they opt in. The payments would also remain subject to the concessional tax rate of 15 per cent, rather than the higher personal income tax rate.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said the average full-time worker earning about $90,500 would get an extra $2,300 in their pocket each year. That works out to about $44 a week, which Hanson said would provide “breathing room”.

Health Minister Mark Butler said changing those settings would be an “absolutely terrible plan” and pointed to the Morrison government’s experiment with allowing people to access more of their super during the COVID pandemic.

But Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume dismissed the proposal as nothing more than a “headline” and said One Nation had questions to answer about how the policy would interact with a person’s super balance or their concessional caps. Nationals MP David Littleproud also said there was a serious risk of “unintended consequences” of the proposal, including the potential for higher inflation.

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