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Keywords: Kerry Murphy

  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Rednecks, bogans and bad boat people

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 23 June 2011
    13 Comments

    The participants on SBS's Go Back Where You Came From seem like rejects from a bad reality TV show and are stereotypical in their views. Some reflect on the difference between 'good' and 'bad' refugees: this false dichotomy is a sticking point for many refugee advocates too.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    My refugee friend

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 08 June 2011
    9 Comments

    Tuc was an officer in the South Vietnamese army. After the war ended in 1975 he was interned by the North Vietnamese for many years, locked up in a hole in the ground. I asked him how he survived. He smiled and pointed to his picture of the Madonna.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    How not to treat asylum seeker kids

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 06 June 2011
    9 Comments

    Woomera, 2001. It's late, and we've been working for days. I give the detainees' children highlighters to draw with; unknown to me, one of them draws on the office wall. The next day an officer from the camp accosts me. 'This is damaging government property. Someone will have to pay for it.'

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Refugee rage

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 28 April 2011
    26 Comments

    The Department of Immigration and Citizenship say they can't tell me anything. The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security tells me to contact DIAC. As an immigration lawyer I find this frustrating. How much worse must it be for asylum seekers kept in detention with no end in sight?

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Deportation dilemma

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 20 April 2011
    19 Comments

    A 46-year-old UK citizen who has lived in Australia for 40 years was removed to Britain this week due to a history of violence and other offences. It is problematic that someone who has already 'done the time' for their crimes can be punished a second time by migration law.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Riots and refugees

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 22 March 2011
    6 Comments

    The reintroduction of the Complementary Protection Bill to Parliament this week ought be welcomed. Given the protests in Christmas Island, it is clear that the mandatory detention policy is also overdue for reform.

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  • EUREKA STREET TV

    Refugee warrior's voice of reason

    • Peter Kirkwood
    • 24 February 2011
    2 Comments

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  • EUREKA STREET TV

    Refugee warrior's voice of reason

    • Peter Kirkwood
    • 24 February 2011

    Renowned immigration lawyer Kerry Murphy explains how changes in government refugee policy are strongly coloured by community fears about migrants and refugees.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Best of 2010: To Kill A Mockingbird and asylum seeker justice

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 13 January 2011
    1 Comment

    Atticus works within the system and hopes thereby to reform it. He wonders 'why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro come up'. Many lawyers will understand the challenge of working for the unpopular 'other': just replace 'Negro' with asylum seeker or 'Muslim woman in burqa'.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Another date on the refugee tragedy calendar

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 17 December 2010
    12 Comments

    Let's hope Wednesday's tragic events are not exploited for political advantage. We remember those who died and offer prayers and condolences for their families. For the living, they need to be treated with dignity.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Asylum seeker decision tests Government sportsmanship

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 12 November 2010
    6 Comments

    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.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Refugees jammed in ASIO bottleneck

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 20 October 2010
    7 Comments

    'Karim' is calling every second day now. His protection visa application was lodged six months ago and he was interviewed four months later. He was brutally tortured in his home country and has lived with debilitating trauma ever since. He now thinks his case will be refused because of the long delays in processing.

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