Welcome to Eureka Street
Looking for thought provoking articles?Subscribe to Eureka Street and join the conversation.
Passwords must be at least 8 characters, contain upper and lower case letters, and a numeric value.
Eureka Street uses the Stripe payment gateway to process payments. The terms and conditions upon which Stripe processes payments and their privacy policy are available here.
Please note: The 40-day free-trial subscription is a limited time offer and expires 31/3/24. Subscribers will have 40 days of free access to Eureka Street content from the date they subscribe. You can cancel your subscription within that 40-day period without charge. After the 40-day free trial subscription period is over, you will be debited the $90 annual subscription amount. Our terms and conditions of membership still apply.
The Coalition's new asylum seeker policy returns to the policy it put into practice under Mr Howard, adding new nasties. The Government's asylum seeker policy is bad; the Coalition's is worse. It is designed to appeal to human baseness, not to human generosity.
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.
When debating key issues such as the balance between sovereignty and the human rights of asylum seekers, we can sometimes forget that we're dealing with people. What's clear for advocates can pose difficulties for politicians.
On Wednesday, the Senate made two decisions which take immigration reform forward. The reforms were approved with the support of the Greens and Independents, and one Liberal Senator. Reading the Hansard gives some insight into the current debate.
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.
Maybe we shouldn't have been surprised when the rejection letter arrived in the mail. After all, the Immigration Department is entrusted with separating the sheep from the goats, and our family, apparently, has some black sheep.
Last week's changes to Australia's asylum policy remove the worst aspects of a cruel system. The real test is if the Rudd Government is willing to take on the causes of forced migration, rather than continuing to shift the burden elsewhere.
The power of the State can be exercised capriciously and unaccountably when the “Don’t ask; don’t tell” approach to government is immune from parliamentary, judicial or public scrutiny. It is the task of lawyers to make it more difficult for politicians to take this approach.
The Howard Government must be given credit for increasing the size of our migration program, including the refugee and humanitarian component. But the deliberations of civil society should provide a fair go for all refugees, including those who arrive by boat without a visa.
The following is an edited text of an address given by Fr Frank Brennan sj ao, at the launch of his most recent book, Tampering with Asylum.
Kristie Dunn reviews Dark Victory by David Marr and Marian Wilkinson.
133-144 out of 148 results.