Joint Defense Facility Nurrungar approval of the Woomera Test Range. The Woomera Test Range has taken some new steps with the announcement of Project JP3024, "Remediation of the Woomera Test Range". While Nurrungar is not specifically included in that project, Army and Air Force have been jointly using the site off and on since 2009. The site is surrounded by a high-security perimeter fence and still includes one of the old (believed heritage-listed) large radome structures. The radome still has the old satellite dish inside but it is believed all the operating mechanisms have long since been stripped out and sold for scrap. "
Asylum in Australia carrying Chinese and Sino-Vietnamese refugees were returned to their place of origin after asylum claims were denied. The rapid repatriations meant that many citizens were unaware of the refugees. During this period a refugee from Indonesia was detained for 707 days before being granted refugee status. In 1999, Middle Eastern immigrants fleeing from oppressive regimes in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq began to arrive in large numbers. The government of John Howard extended the time they spent in mandatory detention and introduced temporary protection visas for boat arrivals. The deterrents did little to stop immigrants; roughly 12,000 asylum seekers reached Australia