April 30, 2009 – 12:10 am
The decision by USA Republican Senator Arlen Specter to switch to the Democrats is a huge fillip for President Obama, and indeed for everyone who was worried that legislation that could be crucial to the futures of all of us relating to climate change, the economy or other important international matters might be stalled by Republican [...]
There will a renewed focus over the coming month on the continuing human rights abuses carried out by the Chinese government, as we come towards June 4 – the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, where thousands of protesters were killed by the military. The ‘tank man’ photo from that day has become hugely [...]
The savage warfare and the well-documented human rights abuses by both sides of the entrenched conflict in Sri Lanka seems to have been going on for so long that it can be easy to forget about just how terrible the current situation is for the thousands of Tamil civilians currently trapped in the so-called “no-fire [...]
It is often asserted that the refugees arriving in boats to Australia could safely stay in countries such as Malaysia that they pass through on the way. Before giving credence to such an idea, it is worth examining some of the evidence. The Chapter on Malaysia from the most recent World Report of Human Rights Watch [...]
It might make political sense, but there is very little economic sense or social benefits from spending more money to detain and warehouse refugees than we would in resettling them and gaining the benefit of their productive participation in the Australian economy and community.
April 21, 2009 – 10:07 am
It is very concerning to read in this article that Liberal Party leader, Malcolm Turnbull, has said that “certainly, the reintroduction of temporary protection visas (TPVs) should be high on the agenda.” Even if you couldn’t care less about refugees, bringing back TPVs is the last thing we should be doing. Mind you, while Kevin [...]
A very familiar story is currently playing out in the Mediterranean Sea. A cargo ship which has rescued asylum seekers from sinking boats is being blocked by an Italian coast guard vessel from sailing to Italy to offload the rescued people. Italy is suggesting that Malta should take the people, while Malta says Italian territory [...]
April 19, 2009 – 12:03 am
The United Nations Conference to review the 2001 Durban Conference on Racismstarts in Geneva this week. The conference has been preceded by many calls for it to be boycotted by western countries on the basis that it would allegedly be running an agenda of anti-semitism. Participating in something when you strongly disapprove of the agenda, [...]
April 17, 2009 – 12:21 pm
It is is déjà vu all over again as multiple wars of words over asylum seekers erupt around Australia following the dramatic incident which has left some refugees dead or battling for their lives. It is obviously too much to hope for such ‘debate’ to be based on facts or on a recognition of the [...]
April 17, 2009 – 12:31 am
The temporary skilled worker visa – often called the 457 visa – has been a controversial issue for a few years now. Some of the criticisms have been based on clear-cut cases of migrants on 457 visas being mistreated or exploited. But there has also been those opposing the 457 visa all together and calling [...]
