send in links to articles and commentary you would like to add. Include the url, the site name, article author and a small paragraph from the article to contextualize it.

Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission recently completed a fact finding mission to Woomera IRPC, as part of the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention currently being undertaken by the Commission. Their report dated 6 February 2002 is here:
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/media_releases/2002/05_02.html
Photographs taken by officers of the Commission at Woomera IRPC between 25 and 29 January 2002.
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/media_releases/2002/06_02.html

Woomera On the Web
was prompted by a desire to increase awareness of Australia's activities in rocket and missile testing at the Woomera Range during the 1950's, 60's and, to a lesser extent, beyond that - an important part of Australia's history and international relations. The web site became active in April 1997 - 50 years after the Long Range Weapons Establishment (Woomera rocket range) came into existence as a Joint Project between Britain and Australia.
http://www.powerup.com.au/~woomera/

Memories of Woomera
http://www.powerup.com.au/~woomera/memor20.htm This expanded section contains memories of people who lived, worked or grew up in Woomera. These are extracts of some of the e-mails sent to me. I hope that readers find the comments of interest and I thank those who have taken the time to contact me. I have not used full names of contributors, unless given permission.

Woomera in Crisis: The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/extras/woomera/ also here is a link that contains all the Woomera realted articles published in The Australian, including letters to the editor.

Museum of Contemporary Iranian Artists
painting, sculpture, conceptual art, architectgure, literature, calligraphy, film, music, photography, graphic arts and performing arts. This work comes from many places (physical locations). The site may be german. In english and persian
http://home.t-online.de/home/opus125/mocia/

International Refugee News
http://www.hambastegi.org/internationalnews/

Refugee Action Collective
http://www.vicnet.net.au/~rac-vic

Refugee Council of Australia, is a government funded autonomous agency
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/

Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
http://www.immi.gov.au/
includes:
2001 DIMA Media Releases
http://www.immi.gov.au/media_releases/dept01/index01.htm
and Ministerial Media Releases (Phillip Ruddock MP)
http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media_releases/media01/index01.htm
also:
"MAL (Movement Alert List) is DIMA's key tool in stiking a balance" DIMA web site. "administered by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA), is a computer database that stores details about people and travel documents of immigration concern to Australia. MAL is a key tool used by DIMA to apply the legislation governing the entry to and presence in Australia of non-citizens who are of character concern. "
The Movement Alert List
http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/84mal.htm

[mime] Migrating Memories
http://migratingmemories.net

Research & Essays
X-Border - a first stop for background info
http://www.antimedia.net/xborder/xbindex.html
includes:
links to Commonwealth Ombudsmen reports on Investigation into Immigration Detention Centres and
Immigration Detainees in Correctional Facilities downloadable in PDF format
and
Imprison and Detain - a forum that discusses "Radicalised punishment in Australia Today" by the University of Techinology Sydney: http://www.transforming.cultures.uts.edu.au/imprisonforum/

Information Relevant to Refugee Law in Australia Australian Journal of Human Rights
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/ahric/refugee_info/
a lot of good stuff here, including:
Recent Implementation of the Refugee Convention in Australia and the Law of Accommodations to International Human Rights Treaties. Have We Gone Too Far? by Nick Poynder
Debunking the Myths about Asylum Seekers, by Kerry Murphy
Arbitrary Detention of Boat People, by Eve Lester
Who is a refugee? How do we decide?, by Eve Lester
Migration Law, Policy and Practice, An Interview by Montserrat Gorina, September 1996

Australia's New Afghan Refugees: Context and Challenges, Dr William Maley, Refugee Council of Australia web site
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/agmAfghan.html

Refugee and Asylum Law Page, edited by Dirk Vanheule
http://www.ufsia.ac.be/~dvanheul/asylpag.html
A good resource site that includes links under subheadings like Conventions; Caselaw, Statistics, Research and Internet

media coverage
Reports reveal systematic abuse in Australia's refugee detention centres, Jake Skeers, 29 March 2001, World Socialist Web Site
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/mar2001/imm-m29.shtml
"After consulting a number of sources, the ombudsman found that some Australian Correctional Management (ACM) staff had cultural or attitudinal problems. In all IDCs, evidence emerged of racial abuse and "a heavy handed approach." Inappropriate force was used and rooms unnecessarily trashed, raising serious questions about staff training.

The ombudsmen also found that:
* The contractual relationship between the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and ACM provided for performance-based penalties to be imposed, in the event of escapes or other incidents, creating the incentive to under-report and/or cover up such incidents. Fees paid by the government and specific performance measures were kept confidential.
* Australian Protective Service officers were armed when patrolling the perimeter fence at the Woomera IDC. The report found firearms to be inappropriate in a detention environment.
* The Perth IDC was a fire hazard. The women's dormitory was secured by manual bolts at the top and bottom of the door and in the event of a fire, the door could not be opened remotely making it difficult to ascertain the conditions inside.
* No secure observation room was provided at Woomera IDC for detainees at risk or with behavioural problems. Instead they were imprisoned in police cells at Woomera Township Station.

(see also: New evidence of brutality inside Australia's refugee camps Jake Skeers, 20 December 2000, http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/dec2000/ref-d20.shtml)

Detention Centre Abuse Dossier Riles Ruddock, Andrew Clennell, Sydney Morning Herald_march 2, 2001
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0103/02/national/national11.html
"The Immigration Minister, Mr Ruddock, reacted angrily to the reports last night and defended the staff employed by government detention centre provider Australasian Correctional Management (ACM), saying they had not received "natural justice" in the form of a right of reply.
"These are people who are certainly not brain surgeons ... but they are trained for a specific task and if you were prepared to look at the training they undergo, you would find it was very considerable and includes cultural training," he said. There may have been searching of rooms for weapons during riots."

THE ILLEGAL TIDE SA detention centre vying with the stars, Pelope Debelle, ADELAIDE, Wednesday 21 June 2000
http://www.theage.com.au/news/20000621/A22378-2000Jun20.html
"An elite space program searching for black holes, pulsars and other intergalatic phenomena has a nuisance neighbor - the Federal Government's illegal immigrant detention centre at Woomera, South Australia."

Detainees riot at Woomera Detention CentrePM - Friday, June  8, 2001  6:41, ABC PM Radio Transcript
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/s310393.htm

Woomera protests expose government's vicious refugee policies, Simon Butler, Green Left Weekly
http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2000/419/419p3.htm
"Many more than the 26 people who have been arrested were involved in the protest action; only a minority have been scapegoated as ³ringleaders² and charged.
This approach mirrors how the government dealt with the mass detention centre breakouts in June, in which 700 asylum seekers broke out of the Woomera, Curtin and Port Hedland camps demanding an end to the inhumane conditions and that the processing of their applications for refugee v-i-s-a-s be sped up. The government chose 41 of the most forthright refugees to be prosecuted and on August 15, most of them were found guilty of escaping from detention and face 11 months in jail.
Unable to convict every asylum seeker, the authorities select a few to break the refugees' solidarity and deceive the public with the claim that it is only a small number of "ungrateful" asylum seekers who are behind the protests. "

Child sex abuse at Oz detention centre News 24, South African Press Association,14/11/2000 08:11 
http://www.news24.co.za/News24/World/Australasia/0,1113,2-10-36_939842,00.html

Iraqis make 3 year epic escape to Australia, Michael Perry SYDNEY, Middle Eastern Times, Egypt Edition http://www.metimes.com/issue99-50/reg/iraqis_make_3.htm

Oceania, Anti-refugee law hurts Australia's image, Bob Burton, Asia Times-Online
http://www.atimes.com/oceania/AK27Ah01.html