The man in the deepest ditch on day one of Labor’s national conference was surely the party’s immigration spokesman Richard Marles. With party feeling still red hot about the plan to allow a Labor government…
This article is based on Sarah Joseph’s presentation to the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law’s 2015 conference, delivered on July 24. You can click through her presentation using Prezi below. On the…
Low personal poll ratings and the trade union royal commission have made a successful conference especially vital for Labor leader Bill Shorten.
Joe Castro/AAP
Stephen Parker and Michelle Grattan discuss the ALP national conference, Bill Shorten’s announcement about asylum seeker turnbacks and Labor’s two-party lead in the latest Newspoll.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten faces a battle over boat turnbacks at the ALP national conference.
Joe Castro/AAP
Bill Shorten has finally formally reversed his position on turning back boats, seeking to remove the one big difference between Labor and the government in their hardline stands on asylum seekers.
The implications of recent and proposed policy changes for new immigrants and potential citizens are still uncertain.
AAP/Dan Peled
The shift to Immigration and Border Protection – and the creation of the Australian Border Force – is the most profound change in the Department of Immigration’s history.
The new Australian Border Force conforms to the national security paradigm of combining maximum power with maximum secrecy.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The Australian Border Force is the culmination of the move towards militarised border security. This commenced in earnest with the introduction of Operation Sovereign Borders in September 2013.
Former detention centre detainee, Shafiq Monis, and his daughter Mahidya.
Image courtesy of Steve Thomas
Over 13 years and three films, director Steve Thomas has been following the stories of people who have arrived in Australia as asylum seekers. What has he learned? Read on …
Richard Marles said that whistleblower protection laws still apply when it comes to the Border Force Act.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Despite doctors voicing fears they could be jailed for disclosing abuse of refugees, Richard Marles says whistleblower protection laws would still apply in relation to the Border Force Act. Is he right?
Under the Coalition government, there has been little regard for asylum seekers’ humanity, and no concern for establishing durable solutions to their plight.
AAP/Eoin Blackwell
Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane talks about Dawn Fraser's comments, "Team Australia", the government's approach to terrorism and asylum seekers, racism in Australia and more.
Shadow Immigration Minister Richard Marles said the world is experiencing its greatest period of human need since WWII.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Shadow Immigration Minister Richard Marles has said that the world is now going through its greatest period of humanitarian need since WWII. Is that right?
Lawyers and asylum seeker advocates are concerned that the Border Force Act will have a ‘chilling effect’ on whistleblowers working in detention centres.
AAP/Eoin Blackwell
The Australia Border Force Act further entrenches the culture of secrecy around our asylum seeker policy at the cost of open and transparent government. That is something we should be worried about.
Former Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa says Australia’s turnbacks policy is “incompatible with good bilateral relations”.
EPA/Jose Sena Goulao
Former Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa has called out the Abbott government over its attempt to shrug off any cost to the bilateral relationship caused by the unilateral manner of its boat turnbacks.
Persecution based on a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex variation is recognised as a legitimate ground for seeking refugee status.
AAP/Terry Scott
It is estimated that there are 175 million LGBTI persons living in persecutory environments worldwide. Only around 2500 asylum claims founded on sexual orientation or gender identity are successful annually.
Joel Fitzgibbon has predicted that asylum seeker boat turnbacks will be part of Labor’s policy for the election.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has fired an opening shot in one of the most electorally important issues for Bill Shorten at the ALP national conference – whether a Labor government should be allowed to turn back boats.
The Brotherhood of St Laurence’s ‘Given the Chance’ program enables asylum seekers and refugees to demonstrate their skills and loyalty as employees.
Brotherhood of St Laurence
Seeking asylum from persecution is a right and people who do so are not “illegals” under the law. Yet refugees are portrayed in negative and threatening terms in Australia, while positive stories are ignored.
Indonesia’s capacity to help Rohingya and other asylum seekers is finite and already stretched.
EPA/Hotli Simanjuntak
Allegations that people smugglers were paid by Australian officials to return to Indonesia should not distract from the search to find a workable solution to the region’s asylum seeker problem.
The Abbott government has hid asylum policy behind ‘operational matters’ since it took office – starting with then-immigration minister Scott Morrison in 2013.
AAP/Paul Miller