Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
Boat people deserve equal rules
06/12/2011
The story said
For far too long, Australia has implemented discriminatory policies for processing asylum seekers based solely on their method of arrival. Asylum seekers who arrive by air are allowed to live in the community while their refugee claim is being assessed. Conversely, asylum seekers who arrive by boat are subjected to indefinite, mandatory detention. Statistics indicate that in the past decade, around 80 percent of boat arrivals were granted refugee protection. This is contrast to the success rate of air arrivals sitting at around 30 percent. Nonetheless, there remains a prejudice against boat arrivals. From an economic, health and human rights perspective, there are numerous advantages for allowing asylum seekers who arrive by boat to live in the community. Not only is it more humane, would reduce mental health and psychological problems but is cost-effective. The annual cost of mandatory detention sits around $1 billion.
Did you know
It is not illegal to seek asylum in Australia, even if you arrive by boat. Australia is a signatory to the Refugee Convention, and as such has an obligation to process all asylum seekers that arrive in Australian territory. Given that seeking asylum is legal and the numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Australia are relatively modest compared to for example the UK and United States of America, there is simply no reason why we shouldn’t let asylum seekers live in the community while their claim is being assessed – in fact it is a significantly cheaper and more humane option.
In the news
16/05/2012
Published by The Age
Asylum seekers branded security threats by the ASIO have been involved in a spate of suicide attempts inside the nation’s detention network.
10/05/2012
Spare room for an asylum seeker?
Published by the ABC
More than 1000 Australian families have volunteered to host asylum seekers awaiting a protection visa, in an effort to release more refugees from detention.
08/05/2012
Australia's unhealthy fear of boat people
Published by the Guardian
There’s widespread anxiety about boat people, but few migrants arrive this way. Is such ignorance good for the nation?
23/04/2012
Asylum seekers find no solution in East Timor
Published by The Age
Fleeing persecution, and after years of living in Malaysia as non-citizens, 26 Arakanese Muslims from Burma are left stranded in East Timor.
30/03/2012
Europe's dark day: NATO blamed for refugee deaths
Published by The Age
A catalogue of failures led to the deaths of dozens of refugees left adrift at sea, after distress calls went unanswered for days.
23/03/2012
Paul Keating slams 'racist' tone of asylum debate
Published by the Australian
Is the asylum seeker debate damaging to Australia’s reputation and standing?
21/03/2012
Harmony Day brings AFL to all Australians
AFL is largely unknown for recruiting refugees as players, but all that is about to change…
20/03/2012
New single process for all asylum arrivals
Publsihed by The Age
Do you think it was correct that boat arrivals were processsed under a different system to those arriving by air?
08/03/2012
Abbott pledges greater help for refugee women at risk
Published by the Sydney Morning Herald
Do you believe it is fair to cap the number of onshore humanitarian visas to 2,750 a year?
02/03/2012
Refugees finding their place in Broadmeadows
Published by Hume Leader
Did you know that the Victorian Arabic Social Services recently hosted a meeting to discuss Australia?s refugee resettlement program?
18/02/2012
Supporters dismiss claim of red carpet for refugees
Published by The Age
Supporters and the federal government are condemning claims that conditions for asylum seekers in community detention are ’’luxurious’’.
15/02/2012
UN chief calls for calm on refugees
Do you think that the Australian perception of refugees is unfounded, and needs to be calmed? Do you think it is the governments responsibility to change it?
14/02/2012
A third of boat arrivals to get visas
Published by The Age
Do you think releasing more asylum seekers from detention into the community on bridging visas is a postive step in policy?
13/02/2012
UN High Commissioner talks refugee issues
Published by the ABC
Do you agree with the UN’s High Commissioner Antonio Guterres that the asylum seeker debate is inflated?
06/02/2012
Amnesty visits Australian detention centres
Published by ABC News
Amnesty International has begun a fact finding mission of Australia’s detention facilities.
29/01/2012
Fears for 17 missing refugee children
Published by The Age
Did you know that the Immigration Department have failed to report the disappearance of refugee minors?
24/01/2012
Published by The Canberra Times
Do you think it is fair to put asylum-seekers and the Australian Defence Force at risk by turning boats back to Indonesia?
22/01/2012
Boat plan could spark navy deaths, Indonesia backlash
Publsihed by The Australian
Do you think that Australia should turn back asylum seeker boats, even if it means endangering the lives of the navy and asylum seekers?
22/01/2012
Published by 7 News
An article linking the 25 per cent increase in Afghan refugees last year to lack of confidence in the Afghan government.
15/01/2012
Give boat people a go: Baillieu
Published by The Age
Premier Ted Baillieu encourages Australians to welcome refugees, including those arriving by boat, by comparing their arrival to that of ANZAC hero Simpson and his donkey.
14/01/2012
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
The government agency ASIO, in charge of security assessments for refugees, continues to come under attack for its flawed decision-making and lack of review.
10/01/2012
Leader slams Gillard's Malaysia Plan
Published by The Age
Malaysian opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, slams the government’s proposed plan to send refugees and asylum seekers to Malaysia.
20/12/2011
End people smuggling by raising the intake
Published by The Age
An opinion piece about the recent tragedy off the coast of Java in which 200 lives were lost, discusses the most viable solutions to end people smuggling.
15/12/2011
Canberra loses third refugee case
Published by The Age
The Gillard government has lost a third High Court case over its treatment of asylum seekers.
13/12/2011
Playing politics in the asylum seeker debate
Published by ABC Online
This critical analysis debunks the misguided myths surrounding asylum seekers as a security threat, which are incited by populist politicians and the media.
10/12/2011
Asylum bids met 'sausage factory'-style rejections
Published by The Canberra Times
An article about a Federal Magistrates Court ruling regarding a member of the Refugee Review Tribunal.
09/12/2011
Sixty years on, refugee convention comes second to politics
Published by The National Times
An international argument for the humane treatment of asylum seekers.
06/12/2011
Boat people deserve equal rules
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
An opinion piece that advocates for equal treatment of asylum seekers irrespective of their mode of arrival in Australia.
06/12/2011
Minimum sentence, maximum injustice
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
An opinion piece that examines how children working on people smuggling boats are wrongly identified – and then jailed- as adults under Australian law
02/12/2011
Asylum seekers arriving by boat at record levels
Published by The Age
Immigration minister Chris Bowen has proposed to lift Australia’s annual refugee intake on the condition it also adopt regional processing.
01/12/2011
Doing the right thing can end boats hysteria
Published by The Age: Opinion
A critical analysis of misguided media perceptions regarding asylum seekers.
30/11/2011
Immigration failed to heed signs leading up to riots
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
New report has revealed the Immigration Department had ample warning about the possibility of riots in its main detention centres.
28/11/2011
Release from detention offers a ray of hope
Published by The Age
Mohammad Dostizada is one of the 27 asylum seekers released on Friday on bridging visas.
25/11/2011
Australia Eases Policy on Detaining Asylum Seekers
Published by The New York Times
The increased use of bridging visas is a positive shift in Australia’s refugee policy.
25/11/2011
Bridging visas to be issued for boat arrivals
Published by Chris Bowen MP Media Centre
The implementation of bridging visas for certain asylum seekers suggests a move away from inhumane indefinite mandatory detention.
23/11/2011
Detention centre company fined $14.8m
Published by The Age
The company in charge of Australia’s immigration detention network has been fined $15 million for failing to fulfill its duties and underperformance
21/11/2011
Australia has enough illegal immigrants to fill a city
Published by The Courier Mail
The high number of illegal immigrants living in Australia dwarf the number of asylum seekers awaiting assessment and that arrived by boat in 2010-2011.
16/11/2011
Afghan deportation down to the wire
Published by The Age
Is the proposed deportation of rejected Afghan asylum seekers a humane solution for those denied refugee status?
15/11/2011
100 boats and we're still counting
Published by The Daily Telegraph
With many boats still arriving, questions are raised about the effectiveness of current and future Australian immigration and border security policies.
02/11/2011
Growing number of refugees fail ASIO assessment
Published by Lateline – The ABC
Are refugees with adverse ASIO security assessments status a threat to national security, or is their indefinite mandatory detention an issue of human security?
26/10/2011
Refugee's death sparks fresh debate
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
The death of a refugee in an Australian detention centre has raised concerns regarding the health and welfare of those facing long term mandatory detention.
25/10/2011
Detention centres breaking people - report
Published by The Herald Sun
Indefinite detention has terrible consequences for vulnerable asylum seekers, and the Australian community as well.
07/09/2011
'Unrest warning as Abbott urged to dump Nauru'
Published by ABC News
Will processing asylum seekers onshore really lead to widespread social unrest in the Australian community?
01/08/2011
AFP can force asylum seekers onto planes: Gillard
Published by ABC News
It has been revealed that police officers will be allowed to use force to get asylum seekers onto planes to Malaysia.
28/07/2011
Malaysia refugees threaten to get on boats
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
Will the Malaysia deal really stop asylum seekers getting on boats to Australia, or will it actually increase the number of boats?
25/07/2011
Australia and Malaysia sign 'refugee' deal
Published by Al Jazeera
What is the international news saying about Australia’s newly signed deal to send asylum seekers to Malaysia?
11/07/2011
Don't detain boat people, says expert
Published by The West Australian
Australia’s policy of automatically detaining asylum seekers who arrive by boat has once again generated international criticism.
04/07/2011
Published by The Age
A new law has been passed that could result in refugees who are involved in detention riots being denied visas. Is this fair?
30/06/2011
Boats slower since Malaysia proposal: govt
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
Has the Malaysia deal slowed down boat arrivals, or are there other factors at play?
27/06/2011
Study reveals new pillars of society
Published by The Adelaide Advertiser
A new study shows the high economic and social rewards of accepting refugees and asylum seekers into Australia
25/06/2011
Asylum seekers are gold for jailer
Published by The Daily Telegraph
Since the costs are so high, why exactly does Australia detain asylum seekers in remote locations for years on end?
05/06/2011
Human rights 'critical' in refugee deal
Published by Herald Sun
The government has said that human rights will be included in any deal with Malaysia, but is yet to explain how this will work.
25/05/2011
Published by The Australian
Will the Malaysia deal ‘stop the boats’ and end people smuggling? Or will it lead to less human rights protection in the region?
24/05/2011
Manus governor wants detention sweetener
Published by ABC News
The Australian government’s plans to send asylum seekers to Manus Island for processing is still being considered by PNG officials
10/05/2011
Govt confirms detention cost blowout
Published by The Age
The federal budget includes a cost increase of 400% for managing seekers who arrive in Australia by boat. Why is immigration detention costing us so much?
08/05/2011
My Asia solution: PM to swap refugees with Malaysia
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
Australia’s deal to swap asylum seekers in Australia with refugees from Malaysia has been heavily criticised by human rights groups.
22/04/2011
Buildings set alight in Villawood detention centre rooftop protest
Published by Sydney Morning Herald
Recent unrest on Christmas Island has raised questions about Australia’s detention framework
21/02/2011
Progress in moving kids from detention centres
Published by ABC News
The government has promised that no children will be held in detention centres in Australia. Refugee advocates say the process has been too slow.
17/02/2011
Almost all Afghans allowed to stay
Published by The Australian
Ninety-six per cent of Afghan asylum claims finalised last year were successful, contrary to comments made by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen last month.
02/02/2011
Asylum seekers refuse offer of cash and tickets home
Published by The Age
Returning asylum seekers to Afghanistan is proving very difficult.
31/01/2011
Canberra settles after destroying refugee boat
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
The government has paid compensation for the destruction of an asylum seeker boat after it was found the men who captained the boat did not do so for profit.
24/01/2011
Build asylum centre in Australia, East Timor tells Gillard
Published by The Sydney Morning Herald
Should we establish a processing centre for asylum seekers in East Timor?
15/12/2010
27 confirmed dead after asylum boat sinking
Published by ABC News
Authorities have recovered the bodies of 27 asylum seekers who died after their boat smashed into cliffs and sank off Christmas Island.
10/12/2010
Self-harm in detention centres on rise
Published by The Australian
A new report has found that incidents of self-harm and violence are increasing in Australia’s immigration detention centres.
22/11/2010
Asylum seekers are put in no man's land
Published by WA Today
What happens to people who aren’t given visas? Are they returned home? Are there other issues to consider?
17/11/2010
Published by The Drum, ABC
Instead of detention centres, should asylum seekers live in caravan parks?
17/11/2010
Not all children will be released from detention
Published by Australian Associated Press
Are children asylum seekers really being allowed to live in the community? Will all children in detention be released? Who will look after them?
07/11/2010
Boat people victims of a big lie
Published by The Daily Telegraph
Many people are concerned that Australia is being swamped by asylum seekers arriving by boat, but are there really too many arriving?
03/11/2010
Detention centre sends wrong message: Libs
Published by ninemsn
Do the location of refugee processing centres affect the number of asylum seekers arriving by boat? And are asylum seekers who arrive by boat illegal?
31/10/2010
Published by The Daily Telegraph
Is it unfair to give protection visas to asylum seekers arriving by boat if they are genuine refugees fleeing war and terror?
07/07/2010
Published by TodayTonight
Do asylum seekers in Australia receive special benefits? Is the reason people get on boats because they have heard about the great conditions in processing centres?
