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The idea of a regional processing centre for asylum seekers requires a lot of detailed diplomatic work. If Gillard is elected Prime Minister, it could be Kevin Rudd's first test as Foreign Minister. Whoever is elected, and wherever such a centre is located, it will not be East Timor.
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.
Julia Gillard insists that the centre in East Timor centre would be properly 'run, auspiced and structured'. For the Australian Government to ensure that such a centre respects the human dignity of asylum seekers will be difficult. Similar arrangements with Indonesia were not satisfactory.
Kevin Rudd calls them the 'vilest form of people on the planet'. How dare these impoverished, yet slightly entrepreneurial fishermen let their social consciousness blind them from considering the interests of white Australians?
The medical pledge to do no harm no matter what the cost effective benefits, and the conscience of the doctor are still key elements in any law which promotes good medicine. –Frank Brennan, addressing the Medico Legal Society of Victoria
Professor Martha Nussbaum's recent book Liberty of Conscience provides a rich textured treatment of the place of religion in the public square. If God is taken out of the picture, it may be difficult to maintain a human rights commitment to the weakest and most despised in society.
The Burmese Government continues to hinder efforts by foreign aid agencies to assist the thousands of people at risk following Cyclone Nargis. Diplomatic intervention is required to stem further humanitarian crises in the region.
On 28 April 1990, a letter bomb mailed to Michael Lapsley's Harare home destroyed both of his hands and one of his eyes. His life, and 'Healing of Memories' program, proves that it is possible to overcome the trauma of political persecution.
Ten months after the renewed violence and lawlessness in East Timor, nobody is holding their breath for a simple resolution. It seems the dirty politicking will continue until a new order order has been established to properly replace the vacuum left when the state imploded in 1999. The first of two runner up essays in Eureka Street's Margaret Dooley Young Writers Award 2006.
Once a corrupt military dictatorship, Indonesia is becoming a healthy democracy. Many Australians persist with pathetic stereotypes including the perception of Indonesian judges as monkeys.
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