Immigration, refugees
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Budget to be used as a smoke screen for Migration Bill passage through Senate?
While the Senate Subcommittee came out in favour of a much amended Migration Amendment Bill 2024 … it is not too late to reject the premise of the legislation or to create a more coherent Bill, whose wider implications are intentional and more integrated, say advocates. Continue reading »
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On his 34th birthday, refugee offers the gift of life
May 6 2024, marks an important birthday for Asif Ali Bangash, who turns 34 years old. But instead of celebrating with gifts, he has decided to be the gift and give something back to the community: his healthy blood. Continue reading »
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Major acceleration in processing of asylum seekers
In the last three months, processing of primary level asylum seeker applications increased from 1,002 in December 2023; to 1,479 in January 2024 and 2,037 in February 2024 (see Chart 1). Continue reading »
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Why are Chinese backpackers required to sit an English Test while Taiwanese backpackers are not?
It’s well past time that Australia’s English language requirements for working holiday visas was addressed and applied consistently for young people in all countries. Continue reading »
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The real reason Labor is rushing through immigration powers
The government’s new deportation legislation is both radical and at the same time addresses two issues that have been around for at least 30 years. But is it good law and why the urgency? Continue reading »
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Nightmare of deportation: Labor tries on Dutton’s racist jackboots
The latest Migration Act amendments reflects the fact that Pezzullo’s protégées are still running the Department of Home Affairs. They are actively papering over the mess that their own indefinite detention decisions created. A sharp new broom is needed to clear out the departmental debris. Continue reading »
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Overcoming the national tendency to blame migrants for all our woes
On Palm Sunday, diverse refugee activists were literally running rings around reflexive fear mongering politicians. Continue reading »
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Why we shouldn’t believe the Institute of Public Affairs
Net permanent and long-term (NP&L-T) movements data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was recently used by the far right Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) in a highly politicised analysis of the January 2024 data on NP&L-T movements. This ‘analysis’ was naturally picked up by the Murdoch press via the Daily Telegraph with Continue reading »
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In 2022-23, onshore asylum seekers were 33% less than under Peter Dutton
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) this week published full year data on onshore asylum seekers in 2022-23 compared to 2022-21. The data highlights a post-pandemic high of 18,738 asylum applications in 2022-23 compared to 10,564 in 2021-22. That is still well below the record set under Peter Dutton of almost 28,000 asylum applications in Continue reading »
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The future of Australia’s overseas student program
At over 40 percent of net migration, Australia’s overseas student program was growing unsustainably before the pandemic. The border closures hid many of the problems and led the Coalition Government to make policy changes that made the situation much worse when borders re-opened (unrestricted work rights, fee-free visa applications, covid visa). Continue reading »
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What happened to net migration in January 2024
With the Opposition Spokesperson for Immigration, Dan Tehan, making it clear immigration levels will be a key battleground for the 2025 Election, the Government will be keen to see net migration trending down faster. While net migration past its peak in around September 2023, it is still not falling sharply. That is despite major tightening Continue reading »
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Is Dan Tehan confused about immigration levels?
In an interview on the Insiders program, Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan was asked what Australia’s immigration intake should be. He said that 1.6 million over the next four years, implying that is the Albanese Government’s plan, was too high. But is that really the Albanese Government’s plan? Continue reading »
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Furious and fit: refugee virtual walk encircles Australia in half the time
Canberra-based Piume Kaneshan, a 19-year-old Tamil from Sri Lanka, is the youngest of 39 refugees who walked and cycled thousands of kilometres across Australia last year. She explains what prompted her 640km trek from Melbourne to Canberra with 21 other women. Continue reading »
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A little support instead of billions on toxic cruelty
We must speak to people who require assistance and listen to their needs instead of speaking over them. In the case of Australia’s refugee policy, we wasted billions on toxic cruelty when we could have done much better by cooperating internationally and supporting people humanely. Continue reading »
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Jewish Council of Australia urges the Australian government to reject racism against Palestinian people fleeing persecution in Gaza
This week Sky News reported it had a list with the personal details of 500 Palestinian people who had obtained visas to flee overwhelming violence in Gaza, 81 of whom are in Australia. Continue reading »
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Two boats and hysteria is unleashed
According to the evening news, Australia stands on the precipice of one of the greatest security threats to Australia since World War II, with the Imperial Japanese Army in the Owen Stanley’s overlooking the lights of Port Moresby. A few dozen impoverished, bedraggled refugees right up there with the Imperial Japanese Army as threat! It Continue reading »
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Dutton oversaw largest rise in asylum applications in history. They came by air
The arrival last week of a boat carrying 24 potential asylum seekers, and possibly another one carrying 13, sent Peter Dutton into his standard boat arrivals scare mode. The usual suspects at the Murdoch press went into a frenzy of panic with Chris Kenny calling it a ‘national dilemma’. Continue reading »
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Permanent and long-term movements continue at high levels
While it is highly likely net migration is now past its peak and declining, the data to this stage suggests it may only be falling gradually. Continue reading »
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Weathering the storm: support for multiculturalism resists politicians’ frenzied divisiveness
Reading the latest Scanlon Foundation social cohesion report makes you aware that there are two quite distinct images of Australia. One – totally dark and doom laden – is depicted in the mass and social media and the other – clear-eyed about both serious problems and opportunities – is depicted in the 2023 Scanlon Foundation Continue reading »
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What’s happening with covid visa holders?
The covid visa stream of sub-class 408 was introduced during the pandemic when international borders were closed. It enabled temporary entrants who were unable to leave Australia to maintain their lawful status and keep working. They could apply for a 12 month covid stream visa and then apply for another one if they wished. Continue reading »
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Restricting onshore student visa hopping – harder than it looks
Onshore student visa policy gets relatively little attention as it deals with people who are already in Australia, but it is critical to how the overseas student program operates. Continue reading »
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Time running out for Albanese Government to fix asylum system
Despite its $160 million package to better manage asylum seekers, time is running out for the Albanese Government to get on top of the asylum seeker issue prior to the 2025 election. Continue reading »
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Reviving Australian Citizenship: What the government needs to do
Australian Citizenship should be revived as a positive unifying element in a cohesive multicultural society. The Australia Day citizenship ceremony controversy is just a sideshow. The real issue is the completely unacceptable waiting times for processing Australian citizenship applications. The Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government trashed the good work of previous Coalition and Labor governments by pursuing regressive Continue reading »
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Tide turning on boat people bastardry
A day I have long prophesied, and for which I have been yearning may be at hand. It’s a pity that the Albanese government does not really deserve a place at any celebrations, and may indeed, try to frustrate them. Continue reading »
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If immigration must stay in Home Affairs, here’s how to fix the agency
The founding secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo, was dismissed late last year for egregiously breaching the public service code of conduct. The man who lectured public servants they should live by that code, broke it in a manner no previous secretary in living memory had done. Continue reading »
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From Vietnam to Australia, a refugee doctor’s journey
On 23 November, a boatload of asylum seekers was dispatched to Nauru for offshore detention. They were found wandering the coast of Western Australia by Aboriginal people, three days earlier. This has been Australian policy for unauthorised boat arrivals since 2013; 10 arrivals in the past year. But there was a time when asylum seekers Continue reading »
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Suffer the little children to come unto me…
Well, not so if they are Palestinian children that Israelis keep killing time and time again. It is part of what Israelis calls ‘mowing the grass’. Continue reading »
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Hysteria: Putting the 12 asylum seeker boat arrivals into context
While there is much hysteria from Peter Dutton and the Murdoch press associated with the 12 asylum seekers who recently arrived by boat (it’s a catastrophe apparently), there was less excitement about a new post-pandemic monthly record for primary asylum applications set in October at 2,322. That is now approaching the monthly record of over Continue reading »
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Use of immigration detention needs to be dramatically curtailed
The use of immigration detention in Australia has expanded well beyond its original intended purpose. It has become a political tool, a convenient proxy for dealing with issues that should be dealt with in other parts of government and a vehicle for delivery of immense cruelty. There was a certain inevitability that the High Court Continue reading »
