Public Policy
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Don’t race to the bottom on asylum seekers!
Kevin Rudd, in your review of asylum seeker policy please don’t let Foreign Minister Carr lead you to a race to the bottom with Tony Abbott. The media is clearly being briefed that in a revision of asylum policy, the Government is considering tougher new country assessments by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade…. Continue reading »
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Joining the dots on Asia. John Menadue
The advocates of stronger ties with Asia spend a great deal of time with seminars and press statements about the importance of the region to our future. They are correct but they refuse to join the dots and advocate the changes on the really important issues impeding our relations with our region. Some of those… Continue reading »
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Japanese language learning in Australia – declining and mainly for beginners. Guest blogger: Professor Chihiro Kinoshita Thomson
Japanese has been Australia’s most studied foreign language in schools for a number of years. Japanese is neither a traditional school language subject such as French and Latin, nor a community language such as Italian and Greek. Japanese is distant from English linguistically and culturally. Thus it is remarkable that Australia is fourth place on… Continue reading »
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Regional cooperation is the key. Guest blogger: Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser
Australia’s problems with asylum seekers and refugees are not unique. We are not the only point of destination. There are around 30,000 in Australia, over 160,000 in Canada, 51,000 in Austria, 22,000 in Belgium, 74,000 in Netherlands with a population much less than ours, nearly 150,000 in the United Kingdom and 589,000 in Germany. There… Continue reading »
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Pope Francis blasts ‘globalisation of indifference’ for immigrants. Report from National Catholic Reporter
The treatment of asylum seekers in Australia brings shame to all of us. Pope Francis called for an end to the ‘globalisation of indifference’. In his first visit outside the Vatican Pope Francis called for decency and humanity in the treatment of outsiders. John Menadue Published on National Catholic Reporter (http://ncronline.org) Francis blasts ‘globalization of… Continue reading »
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Tony Abbott – one-liners won’t work. John Menadue
Sorry if I keep repeating myself, but Tony Abbott keeps repeating his one-liners about stopping the boats. He provides little explanation about how or why his policies will work today. He tells us that John Howard’s policy stopped the boats and he will do the same. But John Howard’s approach was over a decade ago. … Continue reading »
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Ending the policy paralysis on refugees. John Menadue
In my blog of July 6, ‘Asylum seekers … good news at last’, I expressed concern that it had taken so long for the government to take action and really put effort into the development of a regional framework. It has been obvious for years that this was the path we had to take. We… Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers – good news at last. John Menadue
The joint communique issued yesterday by President Yudhoyono and PM Rudd is the best news that I have read on asylum seekers for many years. A regional framework is the only viable policy for the future. Individual countries cannot do it alone. The communique said ‘As co-chairs of the Bali Process, the two Leaders reaffirmed… Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers. Don’t let us be diverted from regional arrangements. John Menadue
Foreign Minister Carr is focusing on whether some asylum seekers are refugees or economic migrants. This is symptomatic of a government that is continually in crisis mode over boat arrivals. It should focus on the strategic issues such as orderly departure arrangements in source countries like Afghanistan and regional agreements with Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia…. Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers – a regional solution and Bob Carr’s nonsense. Guest blogger: Frank Brennan SJ
This morning Frank Brennan was interviewed by Fran Kelly on ABC Breakfast. See link below to the interview. (John Menadue) http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2013/07/bst_20130702_0821.mp3 … Continue reading »
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What should Prime Minister Kevin Rudd do about boat arrivals? John Menadue
The new government has indicated that it will be reviewing current policies on such issues as carbon reduction and boat arrivals. I have written extensively about asylum seekers and refugees. I suggest that in the short term, the PM should consider the following on boat arrivals. We need some perspective in the political debate. We… Continue reading »
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Stopping the boats decently – can it be done? Guest blogger: Frank Brennan SJ
In this last financial year, “25,145 people have arrived on 394 boats – an average of over 70 people and more than a boat a day” as Scott Morrison, Tony Abbott’s Shadow Minister never tires of telling us. Except for Sri Lankans, most of those arriving by boat come not directly from their country of… Continue reading »
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Never underestimate a survivor. John Menadue
It is surprising to see that the Foreign Minister Bob Carr suggests that we need to be much tougher in refugee determination as many claimants for refugee status are really economic refugees. Some claimants will undoubtedly be economic migrants posing as refugees. But the refugee determination process which we and others have developed over decades… Continue reading »
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Back from the brink of disaster. John Menadue
Many people and particularly women will be disappointed that our first female Prime Minister has been forced out. She has been most unfairly treated by the media. Things have been said about her by Tony Abbott and others that would not be said about a male Prime Minister. But my view is that a… Continue reading »
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Taiwan shows the way in health insurance. John Menadue
I have spoken and written many times about the inefficiency and inequity of the taxpayer subsidy of $3.5 billion annually to the private health insurance funds in Australia. These funds favour the wealthy; enable some people to jump to the top of the hospital queue; they have administrative costs three times those of Medicare; they… Continue reading »
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The Vatican appeals in vain for decency towards refugees. John Menadue
On June 6, the Vatican emphasized that governments protect refugees. It said that the world’s governments must give ‘absolute priority’ to the fundamental rights of refugees. Cardinal Veglio who heads the Pontifical Council for Migrants said: ‘Protection must be guaranteed to all who live under conditions of forced migration, taking into account their specific… Continue reading »
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Asylum policies leading nowhere. Joint blog: John Menadue and Arja Keski-Nummi
This piece was published in Crikey 11 June 2013. The destructive and divisive debate about various asylum policies is designed to scare us. The most shameful manifestation of this in the past week has been the alleged “terrorist” in community detention. A person sought asylum in Australia. He was given an adverse security… Continue reading »
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Doctors scared Maggie Thatcher. John Menadue
Excuse me for dropping names but at a round table discussion with Maggie Thatcher in the late 1980s that I attended in Sydney she was asked “Now that you have fixed the work practices of the miners and the printers in the United Kingdom what are you going to do about the restrictive work practices… Continue reading »
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The Miners’ Lament. John Menadue
It is only a matter of time before the miners start lamenting that they did not seriously negotiate with Kevin Rudd over his Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT). The mining industry has always favoured rent/profit taxes instead of royalties. What the mining industry really disagreed with was the rate of the Resources Super Profits Tax…. Continue reading »
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Catholic Health still leaves the impression that it wants to destroy Medicare. Joint Blog: John Menadue and Ian McAuley
On Mar 14 John Menadue wrote, on this blog site “Does Catholic really want to destroy Medicare”. Martin Laverty responded on 29 May. This is a further response by Ian McAuley and John Menadue. Together we have written many joint articles on health policy. See johnmenadue.com. Catholic Health’s response through Martin Laverty identifies two problems… Continue reading »
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Does Catholic Health really want to destroy Medicare? A Catholic Health response by CEO Martin Laverty
On May 14, I wrote a blog ‘Does Catholic Health really want to destroy Medicare? Martin Laverty, CEO of Catholic Health, responds as a guest blogger. Catholic Health Australia (CHA) commissioned the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) in 2010 to provide a contemporary assessment of the link between a person’s health and… Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers and refugees – political slogans or humanitarian policies? John Menadue
Australia has a proud record in accepting 750,000 refugees since WWII. But the mood has now turned sour. It is so easy for unscrupulous politicians to exploit fear of the foreigner. It is paying off politically. We no longer ‘welcome the stranger’. The continually repeated slogan ‘stop the boats’ is with us almost every day…. Continue reading »
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We are a more generous people than the politicians think we are. John Menadue
It is easy to be disappointed and depressed with the whole toxic debate about asylum seekers. The government is doing some things well, such as releasing more people from detention, but it is failing to provide political and moral leadership in this sensitive area. Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison do their best to demonise asylum… Continue reading »
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Truth, Trust and the Media. John Menadue
Our mainstream media is in a downward spiral. Its decline is driven by new technology and a growing sense by readers that we can no longer trust the media. We have a lot of spin, but very little well-informed debate. Ken Henry has commented that he can’t recall a time when public debate was so… Continue reading »
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Euthanasia – A denial of human dignity. Guest blogger Dr Joanne Wright
It is concerning that The Greens and organisations such as GetUp have seen fit to re-ignite the debate about the legalisation of euthanasia. I am a doctor. I worked in palliative care and now work with the elderly. I have seen first hand the complexity of the issues at the end of life. In reality,… Continue reading »
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Our better angels. Guest bloggers Brenda, Edith and Elizabeth
Dear Elizabeth, At our church, Liverpool South Anglican Church, we have befriended some men from Sri Lanka who have been released from the Curtin Detention centre. They are setting up house in Sydney. We held a BBQ and cricket match on Anzac Day and about 30 men came along. Our Minister explained to them about Anzac Day and why it is… Continue reading »
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National Party fails farmers. John Menadue
Warren Truss and Barnaby Joyce have allowed the National Party to be dragged along at the heels of the Liberal Party on climate change and other issues. What was it that Tony Abbott said about climate change being ‘bullshit’? Australian farmers particularly in Western Australia are now paying the price of failed leadership by the… Continue reading »
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A canary in the coal mine. John Menadue
When environmental activist, Jonathon Moylan, sent a hoax email concerning Whitehaven Coal to the ANZ in January this year, there was outrage and tut-tutting by business journalists about his action. A few months later, it is becoming clear that the future of new thermal coal mines is doubtful. Australian resource companies have let over-optimism skew… Continue reading »
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Tony Abbott keeps telling us that boat people are illegals and by inference, criminals. John Menadue
Last week on radio Tony Abbott was at it again, repeatedly referring to illegals and illegal boats. It cannot be ignorance to keep calling asylum seekers illegals. He must know they are not illegals, but by using this language he inflates fear and hatred of people in distress. We cannot presume that boats are illegal… Continue reading »
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There’s nothing basic about basic nursing care. Guest Blogger: Professor Mary Chiarella
The Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler has announced a new aged-care workforce compact which will result in 350,000 workers receiving supplementary payments of 1% over and above award increases. This amounts to $1/hour more for each worker – the lowest paid workers in the health care industry. Why is “intimate” nursing care, for… Continue reading »
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