tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/safe-haven-enterprise-visa-12583/articlesSafe Haven Enterprise Visa – The Conversation2018-12-13T19:12:24Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1078922018-12-13T19:12:24Z2018-12-13T19:12:24ZHow people seeking asylum in Australia access higher education, and the enormous barriers they face<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249592/original/file-20181210-76968-wa7nw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are about 30,000 refugees in Australia, and just over 200 of them have been able to study at a university.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Accessing higher education is critical for many people seeking asylum. It’s not simply a means of acquiring the qualifications and skills necessary for <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/New-Community-Journal-55-Education-denied.pdf">employment</a>. It’s also essential to living <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/New-Community-Journal-55-Education-denied.pdf">a meaningful life</a></p>
<p>Despite this, people seeking asylum are among Australia’s most educationally disadvantaged. This is largely due to restrictive federal government policies. In response, a growing number of universities and community organisations have enabled access to higher education for some people seeking asylum. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-do-more-to-support-refugee-students-97185">Universities need to do more to support refugee students</a>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hartley_PeopleSeekingAsylum.pdf">first nationwide study</a> into this found more than 200 people seeking asylum have been able to study at university through scholarships and other supports in recent years. But most of the approximately 30,000 people seeking asylum living in Australia continue to face enormous barriers in accessing higher education.</p>
<h2>Who are the people seeking asylum?</h2>
<p>Most people seeking asylum in Australia are those who arrived by boat since 13 August 2012. This was when the Australian government introduced a system of third country processing, but not all people seeking asylum were sent to offshore detention on <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/asylum-seekers-and-refugees/projects/transfer-asylum-seekers-third-countries">Nauru or Manus Island</a>. It also includes people who arrived earlier and didn’t have their protection visa application finalised by 18 September 2013, the date <a href="https://theconversation.com/operation-sovereign-borders-dignified-silence-or-diminishing-democracy-21294">Operation Sovereign Borders</a> commenced. </p>
<p>There are approximately 30,000 people in this situation in Australia. If they’re deemed eligible for protection, they’re issued <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/getting-help/legal-info/visas/tpv-shev-faqs/">one of two temporary visas</a>: </p>
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<li>a three-year <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/getting-help/legal-info/visas/tpv-shev-faqs/">Temporary Protection Visa</a> (TPV) </li>
<li>a five-year <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/getting-help/legal-info/visas/tpv-shev-faqs/">Safe Haven Enterprise Visa</a> (SHEV). </li>
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<p>While they wait for their protection claim to be finalised, most are issued a temporary <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/bridging-visa-b-020">bridging visa</a>.</p>
<p>In our research, “people seeking asylum” refers to those who are either awaiting the outcome of their refugee application and living in the community on a Bridging Visa, or people found to be a refugee and granted a TPV or SHEV.</p>
<p>More than half of the 30,000 people received a decision on their refugee claim by October 2018. Over <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/ima-oct-2018.pdf">11,000</a> people continue to wait. The majority have left countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to seek protection in Australia. </p>
<h2>What are some of the major barriers to higher education?</h2>
<p>From 13 August 2012 for up to three years, people seeking asylum were denied the right to work in Australia and only given minimal government income support. Not able to meet their basic needs, this <a href="http://apo.org.au/node/38122">forced people into destitution</a>. While most have been granted the right to work, many are still significantly financially disadvantaged. </p>
<p>The temporary nature of visas for people seeking asylum means their only pathway to higher education is through admission as a full-fee paying international student. The average undergraduate degree costs <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2017/11/01/how-do-i-pay-my-studies-australia">over A$30,000 </a> per year without government subsidies. This makes accessing higher education financially impossible for most. </p>
<p>Being issued a temporary visa also creates difficulties in accessing alternative pathways. These include <a href="http://enablingeducators.org/enablingtypology/typology/">enabling courses</a>, government-funded English language classes, and other <a href="http://apo.org.au/system/files/4305/apo-nid4305-80706.pdf">supports</a> for successful transition into higher education.</p>
<p>People seeking asylum are also not eligible for income support programs such as <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/newstart-allowance/who-can-get-it">Newstart Allowance</a>, <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/youth-allowance">Youth Allowance</a>, and <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/austudy/eligibility">Austudy</a>. People on a Temporary Protection Visa or Safe Haven Enterprise Visa also face barriers in accessing the <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/special-benefit">Special Benefit</a> welfare payment. They can only receive income support if they’re taking a vocational course likely to improve their employment prospects, and to be completed in 12 months or less. </p>
<p>The recent removal of <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/latest/srss-june-25-cuts/">Status Resolution Support Services</a> (SRSS) income and casework assistance for people seeking asylum on a bridging visa means they’re expected to support themselves if they want to continue their studies. This puts students at even greater risk of <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/publications/reports/srss-economic-penalty-full/">financial destitution and homelessness</a>.</p>
<p>Our research found the stresses of adjusting to academic life, financial difficulties, and living in extremely uncertain situations have a significant negative impact on students’ mental health. These concerns, combined with <a href="http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/700">ongoing trauma</a> from past experiences, separation from family, and mental health impacts of detention act as further barriers to higher education.</p>
<h2>Map of asylum seekers accessing Australian higher education</h2>
<p>Our research found <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hartley_PeopleSeekingAsylum.pdf">23 universities</a> across Australia have introduced scholarships for students in this situation. Other supports include bursaries and stipends, part-time employment opportunities attached to scholarships, computers, and access to alternative entrance pathways.</p>
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<p>As of October 2018, this has enabled 204 people seeking asylum to study at an Australian university. But there are a lot of others who have not been able to access a scholarship and/or meet the university entry requirements.</p>
<h2>Why should Australians care?</h2>
<p>The determination and commitment of these students to their studies is evident in our research and needs to be celebrated. This is despite the fact they’re living in situations of extreme uncertainty and receiving minimal support compared to most other students in Australia.</p>
<p>Without access to higher education, people seeking asylum have less access to <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/New-Community-Journal-55-Education-denied.pdf">employment opportunities</a>, which means they’re less able to contribute economically to their own livelihoods and their host society. In this case, that would be Australia’s economy. It also exacerbates <a href="https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/mcs/article/view/4969">social exclusion</a> from the broader community. </p>
<h2>What can be done to open up access to higher education?</h2>
<p>University and community organisations responsible for scholarships and other supports for these refugees need to be praised. But further measures need to ensure these students receive supports necessary for success in their studies. This includes offering alternative entrance pathways – such as enabling programs or diploma pathways – and having a <a href="https://srhe.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13562517.2017.1332028#.W_ykMafMycI">dedicated university staff member</a> to support students.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-photo-research-project-gives-refugee-women-a-voice-in-resettlement-policy-98165">How a photo research project gives refugee women a voice in resettlement policy</a>
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<p>Federal government policies present the most significant barriers to people seeking asylum in accessing higher education. These also need to be addressed. People found to be refugees should be issued permanent visas as they were before. The processing of these visas has taken a long time – some have been waiting more than five years. The process needs to be faster but also fair to ensure that people seeking asylum <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-australia-decides-who-is-a-genuine-refugee-72574">receive sound decisions</a> on their refugee claims.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107892/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Hartley receives funding from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Fleay receives funding from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE). She is also a Board Member, Refugee Council of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Burke receives funding from National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Baker receives funding from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE).</span></em></p>Federal government policies are the biggest barriers to people seeking asylum in accessing higher education in Australia.Lisa Hartley, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin UniversityCaroline Fleay, Senior Lecturer, Curtin UniversityRachel Burke, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, University of NewcastleSally Baker, Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/348002014-12-02T01:09:27Z2014-12-02T01:09:27ZRefuge and morality in Australia, from lost at sea to lost on land<p>Australia has long had an obsession with migration law and national boundaries. Currently, it <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/Asylum_Legacy_Caseload_Bill_2014">appears</a> in the Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill. If passed, this bill will solidify our centuries-long obsession into a series of harsh measures, ignoring natural justice and shifting the settlement of refugees to regional Australia.</p>
<p>It is time all of Australia worked to design more humane approaches for those who seek our protection. This bill will not do that.</p>
<p>In the first half of the 20th-century, exclusionary immigration policies were based on race. The <a href="http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/cth4ii_doc_1901a.pdf">Immigration Restriction Act 1901 (Cth)</a> was designed to exclude non-white immigrants. The <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_act/pila1901161901243/">Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901 (Cth)</a> deported thousands of Pacific Island labourers and their families.</p>
<p>Under the <a href="http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/cth5i_doc_1902.pdf">Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 (Cth)</a>, Aboriginal men and some Aboriginal women lost the right to vote in federal elections, as did residents from Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands (not including New Zealand). When the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_act/na1903111903215/">Naturalization Act 1903 (Cth)</a> was implemented they could no longer be naturalised. </p>
<h2>Barring entry by boat but not planes</h2>
<p>Today, exclusion is based on mode of arrival. Those arriving by boat without a valid visa are viewed as “illegals”, “queue jumpers” and “welfare cheats”. Government policies demonise this immigrant group, moving them to detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru. The <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49da0e466.html">Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees</a> (1951) is viewed as a hindrance, rather than a tool to promote human rights.</p>
<p>The proposed bill fits in with these policies, amending both the <a href="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2013A00015">Maritime Powers Act 2013 (Cth)</a> and the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/">Migration Act 1958 (Cth)</a> so that international obligations and the rules of natural justice can be disregarded during certain exercises of maritime power. The bill would allow Australia to ignore non-refoulement obligations integral to the Refugee Convention and the <a href="http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/catcidtp/catcidtp.html">Convention Against Torture</a> and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).</p>
<p>The international definition of “a well-founded fear of persecution” would be narrowed so that it does not exist if a person could “modify” their behaviour. </p>
<h2>Shifting refugees outside the big cities</h2>
<p>Temporary protection visas could be introduced and a form of safe haven enterprise visa developed. This would allow refugees to be employed in certain regional areas for five years. They would not be guaranteed any form of permanent protection or citizenship. </p>
<p>The safe haven enterprise visa is an attempt to respond to Australia’s labour shortages through refugee intake. Australia needs migrants and in the past year has accepted almost 130,000 people through the <a href="https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/24overview_skilled.htm">skilled migration program</a>. This program includes visas like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/457-visa-reformers-should-remember-our-shady-skilled-migration-history-27717">457 visa</a>, which permits recipients to work in Australia for up to four years in diverse occupations, including engineering, fashion design, teaching, brick laying, flower growing, nursing, working as a real estate agent or as a café manager.</p>
<p>While employers can rort the system, it demonstrates that Australia’s skills shortage is not limited to mining or medicine. In this sense, the safe haven enterprise visa would be commendable if it led to some form of permanent protection instead of leaving refugees in protection limbo. </p>
<p>Confining people solely to regional areas is another problematic aspect, although the suggestion has some merit. In June, refugee advocate Julian Burnside <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/asylum-seekers-can-be-managed-with-cheaper-and-more-humane-options-20140618-zscza.html">argued that</a> boat arrivals to Australia could “be released into the community” and “required to live in a specified rural town or regional city”. </p>
<p>The challenges this approach faces were evident when the ABC television program Q&A <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s4012281.htm">visited Geelong</a>, a Victorian regional city, on in June. Although the audience was compassionate about the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-02/scott-morrison-warns-asylum-seeker-assumptions-geelong/5493656">death of an asylum seeker</a> in the community who was awaiting permanent protection, clear distress was apparent in regard to rising unemployment and cuts to government services. </p>
<p>In the same month, news media reported increased tension and widening <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/legal-challenge-looms-over-bendigo-mosque-plan-20140619-zsee4.html">opposition to a proposed mosque</a> to be built in Bendigo, illustrating the prejudices remaining in many regional areas. </p>
<h2>Hard hearts create cruel policy</h2>
<p>The employment and care of refugees should not be left solely to regional Australia. We must all work towards more compassionate responses for those who arrive by boat. The year 2014 has seen <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-28/manus-riot-png-police-respond-to-report/5485116">rioting</a> and the <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2014/09/03/asylum-seeker-declared-brain-dead-after-failed-treatment-manus">deaths of two asylum seekers</a> in detention on Manus Island and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-28/asylum-seekers-continue-protests-on-nauru/4338006">protests</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-03/morrison-announces-review-into-asylum-seekers-sex-abuse-claims/5787758">allegations of sexual abuse</a> of women and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-28/unhcr-wants-australia-to-stop-detaining-children/5924108">children in detention</a> on Nauru. </p>
<p>We need to ask if saving lives that could have been lost at sea outweighs the harm done to thousands languishing in dangerous and unsanitary conditions, facing numerous mental health issues in overseas detention centres run by the Australian government. </p>
<p>The safe haven enterprise visa may be a step forward in acknowledging that refugees are migrants who can work and contribute to the economy, although it is on a path we have travelled before. We know <a href="https://theconversation.com/traumatising-and-inhumane-why-tpvs-have-to-go-20724">temporary protection visas</a> are a cruel form of semi-protection, which exacerbate mental health issues. Is it worth returning to? </p>
<p>In an ideal world, Australia would move away from punitive approaches to refugees who arrive by boat. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/nov/18/asylum-seekers-registered-with-unhcr-in-indonesia-blocked-from-resettlement">recently announced</a> that Australia will no longer resettle refugees who register with the UNHCR in Indonesia. It seems our punitive form of border protection punishes not only those who arrive on our shores by boat, but those who entertain the very idea.</p>
<p>Refuge and displacement is a global issue, requiring global solutions. In Australia, our response should not solely come from regional areas. Finding a moral and empathetic way to provide protection for <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e487af6.html">refugees in our region</a> who arrive by boat must be borne by all. At the very least, Australia must balance border control with compassion and morality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34800/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article is based on the winning entry in the inaugural Alfred Deakin Research Institute Essay Challenge. The competition was open to all Victorian PhD students writing on the topic of 'Interrogating the Im/morality of Refugee Policy and the Politics of Refugee Resettlement in Regional Australia'.</span></em></p>Australia has long had an obsession with migration law and national boundaries. Currently, it appears in the Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill…Kartia Snoek, PhD Candidate, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/322102014-10-01T04:37:25Z2014-10-01T04:37:25ZRegional Australia can be a carrot or stick in the new refugee policy<p>Accompanying the <a href="https://theconversation.com/government-palmer-deal-would-give-some-refugees-a-stony-road-to-possible-permanency-32184">reintroduction of Temporary Protection Visas</a> (TPVs) in Australia last week was a new type of immigration visa, the <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/09/25/asylum-law-changes-morrison-bring-back-tpvs-pup-support">Safe Haven Enterprise Visa</a> (SHEV). What is significant about the SHEV is the way that long-term asylum in Australia has become linked to residing in regional Australia.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/sm/2014/sm218127.htm">SHEV has three key features</a>. First, SHEV holders will be expected to work in “designated, self-nominated” regional areas. Second, the SHEV offers holders five years of residency instead of the three-year limit of a TPV. Last, according to the immigration minister, SHEV holders who have worked in regional Australia without requiring access to income support for three-and-a-half years will be able to apply for other onshore visas (e.g. family, skilled or student).</p>
<p>In a policy area that has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/punishment-not-protection-behind-morrisons-refugee-law-changes-28512">characterised by hard-line approaches</a>, the SHEV seems to provide a shard of hope for those irregular immigrants seeking long-term asylum in Australia. However, is the SHEV the policy “carrot” that it initially appears to be? Or does the requirement to settle in regional Australia make it just another “stick” approach in contemporary immigration policy?</p>
<h2>‘Regionalisation’ policy revived</h2>
<p>While not a new policy solution, the push for regionalised approaches to Australia’s immigration policy <a href="http://refugeehealthnetwork.org.au/wp-content/uploads/RefugeeResettlement_Web_Vichealth+report.pdf">re-emerged in the 1990s</a>. This arose from a number of concerns.</p>
<p>First were the pressures on urban infrastructure (transport, housing etc), which high levels of immigration were believed to be exacerbating. Second, it was argued that the benefits of immigration needed to be more evenly distributed between urban and rural Australia. Third, it had also become clear that the beginnings of economic revival in many rural regions were in jeopardy <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-settlement-divide-migrants-are-arriving-but-not-where-theyre-needed-7673">because of skills shortages</a>.</p>
<p>Responding to these concerns, the federal government, in conjunction with state and territory governments, developed a raft of “<a href="https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/26state.htm">State-Specific and Regional Migration</a>” (SSRM) schemes in the mid-1990s. The initial SSRMs have subsequently been accompanied by other regional immigration policies. These range from regional 457 Visas to the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme (2008).</p>
<p>The “regionalisation” of Australia’s immigration program marked a significant departure from the post-World War II immigration and settlement practice in three ways. </p>
<p>First, in effect, these schemes have created two classes of immigrants: one group who can settle where they wish, while another is restricted to where they can settle (at least for the initial years). Second, it now allows states and territories to take a more active and direct role in the immigration program. Last, it has linked immigration specifically to regional development.</p>
<h2>A look at the record of regional programs</h2>
<p>In the short term, the various SSRM visa programs seem to have been highly successful. <a href="http://www.adelaide.edu.au/apmrc/pubs/policy-briefs/APMRC_Policy_Brief_Vol_1_6_2013.pdf">According to Professor Graham Hugo</a>, the impact of the SSRM programs has been significant, with numbers trebling between 2006-07 and 2010-11. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the occupations of immigrants given regional visas reflect <a href="http://www.nff.org.au/read/4646/nff-welcomes-plan-streamline-457-visas.html">skill shortages in these areas</a> such as medical professions, tourism and meat processing. Last, many SSRM immigrants are in their 20s and 30s and have provided an important demographic offset to the net loss of youth that regional Australia has been <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-5871.2008.00505.x/abstract;jsessionid=7F6183EDCC61888FCF59D2F994354D1C.f03t01?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false">experiencing for decades</a>. </p>
<p>The long-term impacts are less certain. Evidence from the UK and US suggest that immigration into regional areas produces new and ongoing internal migration patterns. If this trend plays out in Australia, then it will go a long way to assuring the long-term success of the SSRM programs.</p>
<p>However, a number of factors also need to be accounted for. First, service provision is essential. This includes language training and access to housing, employment and education. Second, racism can undermine the best institutional structures to welcome immigrants and poses a barrier to the sustainability of immigration into some regions.</p>
<h2>Win-win or lose-lose?</h2>
<p>So now we return to the question at hand: is the SHEV a carrot or stick approach in policy terms? Well that all depends on how the specifics of this policy play out.</p>
<p>In the stick camp, the SHEV continues the two-class system that is a feature of SSRM schemes. Likewise, if the SHEV is meant to be part of a range of temporary visas designed to deter those irregularly seeking asylum then the introduction of the SHEV seems to be only further reinforcing negative stereotypes of regional Australia - places that only those who have no other choice select to live in.</p>
<p>Yet on the carrot side, it seems that SHEV holders may be able to carve out a means of residing in Australia beyond the five years offered by this visa. This marks an important, if ever so slight, shift in policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32210/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rae Dufty-Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Accompanying the reintroduction of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) in Australia last week was a new type of immigration visa, the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV). What is significant about the SHEV…Rae Dufty-Jones, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.