Australian Immigrant and Refugee Issues
Australian State Coroner reports on three refugee suicides
By Will Morrow, December 30, 2011
The suicides are a tragic consequence of the Labor government’s refugee policy of compulsory detention.
Australia: Refugees narrowly survive another boat disaster
By Mark Church, November 28, 2011
Refugees aboard a stricken boat almost crashed onto rocky cliffs in stormy weather off Christmas Island, an Australian outpost in the Indian Ocean, on the evening of November 20.
Australia: Bipartisan agreement on retrospective anti-refugee law
By Will Morrow and Mike Head, November 9, 2011
Under the pretext of combatting “people smuggling,” the bill is clearly aimed at the asylum seekers who desperately attempt to get to Australia by purchasing places on board boats.
Australian “border protection” regime responsible for more refugee deaths
By Will Morrow, November 2, 2011
Late last night an overcrowded boat that was carrying more than 70 asylum seekers en route to Australia foundered off Java in Indonesia, killing at least 8 people.
Ten years on: The SIEV X tragedy and the assault on democratic rights
By Socialist Equality Party (Australia), October 31, 2011
The sinking of the SIEV X was not an isolated incident, but part of a fundamental political shift in Australia and around the world, marked by the abandonment of any adherence to democratic and legal norms.
Australian government appeals to anti-refugee sentiment after migration bill collapses
By Will Morrow, October 21, 2011
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her ministers have sought to out-flank opposition leader Tony Abbott from the extreme right by blaming him for the arrival of new refugee boats.
Australia: Ongoing conspiracy of silence over SIEV X tragedy
By Richard Phillips and Linda Levin, October 20, 2011
The tenth anniversary of the worst tragedy in local maritime history, has been met with a deafening silence from Australia’s political elite.
Ten years since the SIEV X tragedy
Did the Australian government deliberately allow 353 refugees to drown?
By Linda Tenenbaum, October 19, 2011
Ten years ago, on October 19, 2001, a grossly overcrowded, unseaworthy boat carrying more than 400 asylum seekers sank in international waters between Indonesia and Australia’s Christmas Island.
Australian government crisis deepens after High Court’s refugee ruling
By Patrick O’Connor, September 6, 2011
The overriding concern of big business is not refugee policy, but whether the Gillard government is capable of implementing the austerity and economic restructuring measures demanded of it.
Australian High Court overrules refugee “Malaysia solution”
By Patrick O’Connor, September 2, 2011
Gillard’s ability to remain as prime minister for much longer is now in serious doubt.
Australian government prepares to forcibly deport refugees
By Will Morrow, August 4, 2011
In a calculated bid to deter refugees from seeking protection, the Labor government plans to film the forced removal of the first group of refugees to Malaysia.
Australian government suppresses mounting unrest in refugee detention centres
By Will Morrow, August 2, 2011
Protests by inmates, attempting to draw public attention to the abuse of their basic rights, are being met by police violence, arbitrary removal to prisons and legal threats.
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