Bruce Duncan. How will the Morrison government respond to the desperate plight of some 65 women and children detained in a camp in Syria? Relatives are pleading with our government to bring their family members safely home, but it appears immobilised by fear of a political reaction. How good is that? Some 65 Australian women […]
Bruce Duncan. The appalling massacre in March of so many Muslim people in New Zealand’s Christchurch has shocked our countries deeply, and illustrated how urgent is the need to deepen understanding and increase solidarity among our faith communities. The Christchurch event was one in a too-long list of religiously motivated terror acts against Muslims, Christians, […]
John Menadue. The Australia of today is vastly different from the Australia of my childhood. With its widespread racism and sectarianism, it was socially suffocating. For those changes, I am very grateful. There is a lot of which we can be proud. No country has integrated newcomers as well as we have. But there have […]
Daniel Ghezelbash Macquarie University. Australia’s harsh asylum policies have been touted as a possible solution to Europe’s so-called refugee crisis. Politicians in the UK, France, Holland, Denmark, Austria and Belgium have advocated for an Australian-style approach aimed at blocking asylum seekers from accessing Europe. But there are a few reasons Europe should be wary of following […]
Spencer Zifcak. Nils Melzer is the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment. Recently, he presented a damning report to the UN Human Rights Council on the subjection of refugees across the world to torture. Melzer’s fundamental contention was that the primary cause of the massive abuse suffered by refugees globally […]
Public forum. Can Australia’s leaders be prosecuted for treatment of refugees & asylum seekers? Thursday 7 December 6-8pm RMIT University City Campus 445 Swanston Street Melbourne Building 80 Level 2 Lecture Theatre Moderator Corinne Grant Lawyer and media personality Panel members will talk about their submissions to the ICC on how this […]
Peter Whiting. This must surely seem an odd way to frame a commentary on conscience, but I am having great difficulty reconciling the Australian Government’s position on the refugees on Manus and Nauru and any notion of conscience. On 31 October, the Australian Government closed the Manus Island processing centre, requiring the 600 men detained […]
Australia faces a T-intersection: time to resolve our refugee crisis. Bruce Duncan Liberal member for McMillan in Gippsland, Russell Broadbent, challenged his own political party sharply, as well as Australia’s detention policies for refugees on Manus Island and Nauru, saying that Australians were finding it quite ‘unacceptable’ that we treat refugees so badly, keeping them […]
Reviewed by Tony French If, like me, you want to put the current ‘refugee crisis’ into some kind of historical perspective, then I recommend Tony Ward’s recent publication, Bridging Troubled Waters: Australia & Asylum Seekers. This is a well-researched and readable review of Australia’s response to refugees arriving here by boat since the 1990s. This […]
Sarah Puls SGS. “Fake refugees” who have “refused to apply” for a visa? Sister Sarah Puls answers some common questions arising from Minister Dutton’s “lodge or leave” policy announcement. In late May, Australia’s Minister for Immigration and Border Protection made an announcement regarding a group of people – asylum seekers – whom the Government and […]
