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…
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.
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 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 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.
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 …
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?
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 has said that the world is now going through its greatest period of humanitarian need since WWII. Is that right?
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.