Immigration, refugees
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Massive shortage of early childhood teachers demands skilled migration reform
Increased availability of high quality and affordable early childhood education is central to the Albanese Government’s strategy to increase labour force participation rates, particularly participation of women. Continue reading »
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Liberal candidate supports US-style abortion ban ahead of state poll
The parties of the right in Australia are changing faster than their voters might recognise. It is increasingly the case that a vote for the “conservatives” is a vote for the radical or religious right. Continue reading »
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Death penalty: Singapore’s ongoing killing spree
Singapore continues to risk its reputation as leader in arbitration in the region through its use of the death penalty, primarily, for minor drug offences. This goes against the overwhelming global trend towards abolition of the death penalty and tarnishes Singapore’s reputation as a jurisdiction committed to upholding fair trial guarantees. Continue reading »
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Pro-population increase advocates blind to sustainability crisis
Any new inquiry into Australia’s migration program needs to assess the full costs and benefits of population growth, especially the costs to our environment and the risks of collapse. Continue reading »
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Asylum Seeker Policy – Where to now?
One of the most complex and controversial issues the Albanese Government will deal with during the current budget process will be asylum seeker policy. Continue reading »
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Shocked by London, bored by Singapore, expats return to Hong Kong
This is bad news for all the Hong Kong/China critics. Continue reading »
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UN report on Xinjiang is depressing in more ways than one
‘May” is such a wonderful word in the English language. It can support perhaps the deadliest of accusations but can simply be justified by “Hey! I said ‘may’, didn’t I?” Continue reading »
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Immigration Inquiry – A new beginning?
At last, a government that recognises where immigration and the contribution of immigration sits in our national life. For some ten years we have endured the demonisation of migration, the systematic downgrading of immigration policies and procedures that has left us worse off. Continue reading »
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Is Hong Kong experiencing a ‘Teacher Exodus’? Time to correct the record
Is Hong Kong’s world class education system really seeing an exodus of teaching staff? Are reductions in staffing levels linked to political crackdowns and the COVID 19 Pandemic? Not so fast. Let’s correct the record. Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers languish through the job summit
In the week of the Albanese government’s job summit, the immigration department again sent out a raft of letters to bridging visa holders in Queensland advising them it was time to reapply to rollover their permission to stay in Australia. While politicians and sector representatives debated whether we needed skilled and unskilled migrants to tackle Continue reading »
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Impact of increasing the permanent skilled migration intake
Businesses are crying out for more workers. But boosting permanent migration won’t fix their problem. Here’s why. Continue reading »
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International accountability: Myanmar, the ICJ and the genocide question
The indomitable spirit of Raphael Lemkin, bibliophile, assiduous documenter of humanity’s dark deeds and inexecrable conduct, is bound to be an unsettled one. Continue reading »
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The inexcusable “Immigration Refugee Determination” assessment system requires a deep clean
The stories of ‘invisible’ refugees who had entered Australia by plane on valid visas seeking protection from their persecutors and encountered even more unspeakably harsh oppression in this country cast a blot on our culture. Continue reading »
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Peter Hughes: Albanese is right to give New Zealanders a fairer go
The new directions that Prime Minister Albanese has foreshadowed to make life easier for New Zealanders in Australia in relation to citizenship, deportation and voting are the right way to go. Continue reading »
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Once were mates or a relationship reset?
Prime Ministerial visits from New Zealand usually pass unnoticed but not this one. Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers in Indonesia-alive, but not living
In one of its nastier theological fabrications seemingly driven by schadenfreude, the Catholic Church invented purgatory – heaven’s waiting room where sins were cleansed oftentimes by fire. The medieval idea has been largely smothered by modern church teachings more in line with Christ’s compassion, but the worldly equivalent thrives next door through Australian indifference. Continue reading »
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Partner visas – another Dutton scandal
Under Dutton, the Department of Home Affairs just ignored the law. Continue reading »
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Tripartite bargain on Immigration Policy
Given current skill shortages and how gummed up the visa processing system has become, the new Government will need a focussed strategy on what needs to be fixed first. Continue reading »
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Morrison Government’s high risk visa switch for migrant meatworkers
We are on a very slippery slope with these visas towards the slavery-like conditions that have existed for migrant workers in North America and Europe for decades. Continue reading »
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Fixing Immigration: five things an incoming Labor government could do
Labor, if elected, has a big job ahead of it in fixing the immigration shambles that the Coalition has created in nearly 9 years of office. Continue reading »
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The repeated lie that Morrison stopped the boats. An updated repost from March 11, 2021
Our corporate media will not acknowledge that Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison did not stop the boats. Despite clear evidence, the Canberra Press Gallery fell for the spin. With a tame media and cooperation by the military, the big lie was repeated time and time again and became accepted as fact. This was all before Donald Trump Continue reading »
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Kenny Stancil: Copycat Cruelty – The Australian solution – Britain to send refugees to Rwanda
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to deport asylum-seekers to another country thousands of miles away will “only lead to more human suffering, chaos, and at huge expense to the U.K.,” said one refugee advocate Continue reading »
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The cry of refugees
The Coalition remains committed to detaining asylum seekers in Australia if they have arrived by boat without a visa. The Labor Party has not made any commitment to cease such detention. Continue reading »
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Home affairs misleads Senate on Djokovic case
The responses Home Affairs officials recently gave to Senate Estimates on the Department’s handling of the Novak Djokovic case were a mixture of smoke and mirrors overlaid by outright misinformation. Continue reading »
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A refugee deal with NZ after nine years of cruelty
The sickening cynicism of the Morrison government is never far from view. Continue reading »
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How many refugees will drown at Bhasan Char in Bangladesh?
Over 20,000 Rohingya refugees have been recently moved to Bhasan Char, and are at risk of drowning. Continue reading »
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Smoke and mirrors: Afghans neglected in Australia’s humanitarian program
Far from holding out a helping hand to Afghans left stranded by the withdrawal of foreign troops, Australia has been even less generous than normal. Continue reading »
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Long-term immigration detention has again become a pointless exercise in cruelty
The Howard government released long-term detainees into the community, but the current Coalition government refuses to do so for political reasons. Continue reading »
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The torture of asylum seekers has twisted our perceptions of right and wrong
A whistleblower on the horrors of Manus Island laments the passing of an Australia that was welcoming, kind and caring. Continue reading »
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Djokovic case highlights need for change in how we check vaccination status
With international travel ramping up, changes to passenger visa checks should already be in place — and could’ve prevented the Djokovic debacle. Continue reading »