Keywords: Mandatory Detention
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INFORMATION
- June Factor
- 18 March 2011
8 Comments
A Sydney Morning Herald editorial 71 years ago declared that to persecute refugees 'is stupid from the purely practical point of view'. The practical and humanitarian reasons it outlines for welcoming refugees remain relevant today.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Andrew Hamilton
- 16 February 2011
39 Comments
Even in death asylum seekers open a faultline in Australian culture and society. The two Sydney funerals for the asylum seekers who died trying to reach Christmas Island raise larger questions that deserve comment.
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AUSTRALIA
- Ben Coleridge
- 16 November 2010
8 Comments
Soon enough there was a group of children in the yard and a soccer game was about to begin. First we had to decide the teams. I asked one small boy, whose family was from Sri Lanka, which country he wanted his team to be. 'Australia,' he yelled back.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 27 September 2010
7 Comments
Groups concerned for asylum seekers are now faced with bad Australian policies on asylum seekers like the regional processing centre and a harsher regime of detention. They should reject the policies but cooperate with governments to minimise the harm caused to asylum seekers by them.
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AUSTRALIA
If there is any vestige of democratic socialism left in Labor, the Gillard Government needs to raise taxes without
apology, knowing its social welfare policies are just and
necessary. It also needs to remain committed to redistributing wealth to eliminate huge discrepancies in living standards.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 21 June 2010
14 Comments
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?'
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 18 June 2010
1 Comment
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INTERNATIONAL
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.
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INTERNATIONAL
Abbott's 'red arrows' asulym seeker ad is reminiscent of the 'reds under the beds' hysteria of the '50s and '60s. With an election on the way, the immigration policy reform agenda has been put aside as both Government and Opposition harden their policies.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 07 April 2010
21 Comments
On Monday night on ABC1's Q&A, Tony Abbott was asked about
the recent wave of boat people including Hazaras fleeing the Taliban
in Afghanistan. At the end of one recent meeting in Indonesia, a 15-year-old Hazara named Ali came and told me his heart wrenching story.
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AUSTRALIA
- Andrew Hamilton
- 06 November 2009
9 Comments
Shaun Carney from The Age remarks that governments can be expected to treat refugee policy as 'just politics'. We have seen the consequences for the economy of tolerating 'business as usual'. It would be a pity to prostitute government in the same way.
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ARTS AND CULTURE
- Tim Kroenert
- 11 June 2009
2 Comments
Sister Carmel Wauchope is a Sister of the Good
Samaritan and lives up to that name. Outraged
by the conditions faced by asylum seekers in detention in Australia, she has spent years visiting detainees and
advocating on their behalf.
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