Julia Gillard house up to 400 refugees. Also in April 2011, immigration detainees at the Villawood detention centre rioted in protest of their treatment, setting fire to several buildings. In May 2011, Gillard announced that Australia and Malaysia were finalising an arrangement to exchange asylum seekers. Gillard and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said they were close to signing a bilateral agreement which would result in 800 asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat being taken to Malaysia instead. Australia would take 4,000 people from Malaysia who have previously been assessed as being refugees. However, on 31 August, the High Court ruled
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia husband became prime minister. Ethel Page held senior offices in the organisational wing of the Country Party. All prime ministers except John McEwen and Julia Gillard were married for the duration of their term in office. McEwen was a widower during his short term, while Gillard had a domestic partner, Tim Mathieson. Until relatively recently it was uncommon for the spouse of a prime minister to have their own career. Zara Holt, a fashion designer, was the first to continue her career during her husband's term in office, and reputedly earned more money than him. Other businesswomen to hold the