November 20, 2009 – 11:52 am
Another reminder of how genuine refugees are treated in our region
In amongst all the media and political frenzy regarding the Tamil asylum seekers http://www.blacktownsun.com.au/news/world/world/general/indonesia-backs-down-on-merak-boat-people/1681997.aspx refusing to get off some boats in Indonesia, a much greater and more problematic stand-off has been occurring in Thailand.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/11/2009111845646765272.html
160 Hmong people, originally from Laos, have been kept in a detention [...]
November 13, 2009 – 2:23 pm
Malcolm Turnbull has announced his party will readopt a form of temporary protection visas for refugees who arrive in boats. Quite why refugees who arrive in planes and later claim asylum get treated differently was never explained in the past and remains unexplained now.
Even more inexplicable is why the temporary protection visa (TPV) would be [...]
November 8, 2009 – 8:49 pm
While the asylum seeker debate continues here, it is worth looking at approaches taken to refugees in other ‘developed’ countries. Italy continues to set the pace when it comes to rich continues blatantly breaching human rights laws and putting refugees lives at risk. They have reached an agreement with Libya – a nation with an [...]
October 30, 2009 – 2:28 pm
Comments about Tamil asylum seekers by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia, Mr Senaka Walgampaya, provide a strong reason why the asylum seekers should not be returned to Sri Lanka. Is also makes it almost certain they will meet the criteria of Refugee Convention, even if they didn’t before.
Mr Walgampaya, who speaks of course [...]
October 26, 2009 – 12:50 am
The future direction of a major aspect of Australia’s asylum seeker policy is in the balance right now, with potentially very significant future impacts for many refugees, as well as for regional relations and the treatment of people moving through the region.
The Labor government made some significant changes on coming to office. Most important was [...]
October 23, 2009 – 3:28 pm
There is plenty more, including some that is more toxic, but the fact one has to search harder for it suggests it is not as widespread at government level as might be assumed.
However, seeing what happens as a result of the policies of turning back refugee claimants is very easy to find and is much [...]
October 19, 2009 – 12:07 am
While the halting of a boatload of Tamil asylum seekers in Indonesia continues to get plenty of coverage, here is a small sample of other experiences asylum seekers are going through elsewhere on the globe:
In Greece – 200 unaccompanied children in detention:
More than 850 people – including 200 unaccompanied children – are being held [...]
October 14, 2009 – 12:50 pm
Two or three thousand boat arrivals a year is not an immigration crisis, given an intake of over 130,000. Amnesty figures show that the bulk (96%) of on shore asylum seekers arrive by plane. Australia could easily deal with the relatively small number of extra sea borne applicants, were they allowed to land in Australia [...]
October 13, 2009 – 12:51 pm
Asylum seekers in boats are all over the news again, this time for a boat that was stopped rather than one which arrived. Philip Ruddock has provided a bit of nostalgia, talking about ten thousand people heading for Australia – exactly the same figure he was using ten years ago.
This latest boat, reportedly stopped by [...]
October 2, 2009 – 12:50 pm
The slow increase in the number of asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australian waters is creating a slowly increasing number of antagonistic public comments and complaints. Immigration Minister Chris Evans understandably points to the deteriorating position in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan as a factor, as well as noting a “second supply chain” from [...]
