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A litmus test for the health of a democracy is what a Government does when it loses cases in the highest court in the land. The first consequence of yesterday's High Court decision regarding the cases of two Tamil asylum seekers is that many cases will need to be reconsidered.
The back label of my taboo-smashing pre-10am cake was covered in an unintelligible language, which I could only presume was Dutch. What I had thought a tasty sounding Breakfast Cake was apparently also known less appetisingly as an 'Ontbijtkoek'. I can neither read nor speak Dutch despite my Dutch migrant heritage.
Young people should be held accountable for their actions. But that does not explain how almost 80 per cent of those on remand in a detention centre in NSW will not end up with a custodial sentence. If custody is a last resort, how can we get the balance wrong 80 per cent of the time?
The recent tragic death of a man in Villawood Detention Centre has again raised questions about the need for Australia's harmful detention policy. Strong leadership is required to reform the process and abandon the 'race to the bottom' we saw during the election.
Every day, Australians face north and scan the horizon. Has another boat arrived? But if our politicians and journalists want to see asylum seekers living in poor conditions, they need to look closer to home.
My granddad was a fourth generation white Australian who worked with sheep. I used to tell the story that he was a small town racist who disliked Blacks, Catholics and Jews. The punch line was that his daughter married a Fijian, his son married a Jew and my dad married a Catholic.
While many are concerned about returning to processing asylum seekers in poor Pacific countries, Nauru's caretaker president is eager to be involved. Australia should never again be engaged in dodgy deals with this Pacific neighbour. For Nauru, it's all about the money.
Julia Gillard said 'people like my own parents who have worked hard all their lives can't abide the idea that others might get an inside track to special privileges'. Managing similar perceptions in East Timor, where there is a tide of resentment against Australia among parts of the population, will be a challenge.
As the election lather on the asylum seeker issue continues, let's ask, 'Why is it right to treat the honest, unvisaed boat person more harshly than the visaed airplane passenger who fails to declare their intention to apply for asylum?'
I remember the 250,000 Cambodians in Site Two by the Thai border, and among them Chea, the sister of a friend, who died when the camp was shelled. I remember the many who spent years in Australian detention centres, and the sadness of watching as the light went out of the eyes of those detained for more than six months.
Some countries including Australia turned a blind eye to atrocities committed during the Sri Lanka conflict. The International Crisis Group has called upon these countries to ensure proper international investigation of war crimes. This includes granting asylum or other protected status to witnesses.
169-180 out of 200 results.