It has taken more than three months for the Australian and PNG governments to jointly announce the Manus Island detention centre will close. But the detainees’ fate is now even more uncertain.
An angry Malcolm Turnbull has asked CEDA for a ‘please explain’ and the Australian Federal Police for a full incident report about the protest over Nauru and Manus Island.
Reports of abuse on Nauru should provide a flashpoint for the Turnbull government to reassess its asylum-seeker policies before more serious harm is inflicted on Australia’s international standing.
The key challenge for the returned Turnbull government is to formulate policies that present Australia as a good global citizen willing to take its fair share of refugees.
As he struggles with the lessons of the recent past and the challenges of the immediate future, Malcolm Turnbull needs to avoid two dangers. One is being spooked by the conservatives inside and outside…
Malcolm Turnbull is struggling to produce the right response in the aftermath of his election debacle. On Saturday he did not take on any blame and lashed out at Labor’s “Mediscare” tactic. On Tuesday…
To win government, Labor needs a net gain of 19 seats nationally – and that’s the exact number of marginal seats being fought over in Queensland this election.
The Labor Party has been driving a campaign bus from Cairns to Canberra. On Sunday night Sam Dastyari told supporters they had raised enough money to extend its journey through to Melbourne.
Anticipation is core business for political strategists. Last year Bill Shorten and those around him correctly judged Labor was electorally exposed on border protection.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s incendiary remarks about refugees may resonate electorally. But, as Michelle Grattan explains, they will also come at a cost.
If Malcolm Turnbull is returned he should tip Peter Dutton out of the immigration portfolio when he chooses his new ministry. Dutton’s Tuesday comments, when targeting the Greens proposal for a big increase…
If a new High Court claim against Australia’s offshore detention regime succeeds, it will entirely undermine Australia’s inhumane practices in relation to “those who come across the seas”.
It is hard to credit that two asylum seekers in Nauru could set themselves alight on Australia’s watch and the stories receive, compared to much else, so little attention in our hyper media cycle. One…