As highlighted by the comments in the lead up to tonight’s Episode One of SBS’s Go Back to Where you Came From, there is a current lack of accurate information in the asylum seeker debate leading to damaging attitudes towards asylum seekers. Michael Smith, Former Shock Jock, believes that ‘we treat people who lob by
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Contrary to the spin of the Gillard Government that their ‘Migration Legislation Amendment (Offshore Processing and Other Measures) Bill 2011 strikes a balance between ‘national interests’ and human rights, the reality is these proposed new laws are dangerous. They pose a grave threat to what we hold dear as a democratic country – natural justice,
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Yesterday, the Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, announced that the Government had met its promise made in October last year to release the majority of children from immigration detention by June 30th this year. While congratulating themselves on their ‘great achievement’, the Government failed to acknowledge what will happen to the 329 children still left
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‘It is an extravagant waste and it needs to stop’ [1] (Stephen Smith, 2004 (ALP Shadow Immigration Minister on Manus Island). Today’s announcement of the restarting of Howard’s failed ‘Pacific Solution’ is a dark day for human rights in Australia. The Labor government which condemned the Pacific Solution is now intending to use former Prime
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At the start of this week The Australian published an opinion piece by former Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock reflecting on the boat wreck that occurred just off the coast of Christmas Island on December 15, 2010. These essence of his argument was that a more humane refugee policy would be one that deterred people from
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