Is this how we want our visa processing system to run? (more…)
Category: Immigration
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Home Affairs and the bleak hole of humanitarian visa processing – Part 1
There is no shortage of evidence – vulnerable women in Afghanistan are in a dire situation as the Taliban continues to advance its stance on gender apartheid. (more…)
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Freer movement: Pacific priorities for Labor in its second term
Is the Labor Government going to take aid more seriously, and think more globally, in its second term? (more…)
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Incoming immigration minister faces immense challenges
Whoever is appointed immigration minister in the second Albanese Government will face immense challenges from both a policy and political perspective. (more…)
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Why extremists see gold in the migration debate
An immigration debate in an era of rising extremism is fertile ground for a noisy minority keen to distort the facts to sell their “white Australia”. (more…)
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Why has there been no discussion of asylum-seekers in this campaign?
Despite it being a perennial topic during Elections this century, neither major party wants to talk about asylum seekers this time around. (more…)
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Managing overseas student policy is key to keeping migration numbers in check. If I was immigration minister, Part 2
Ever since Scott Morrison told overseas students to go home at the start of the pandemic and then stomped on the student visa accelerator once the pandemic ended, overseas student numbers have increased and policy has been fraught with constant changes to reduce the inflow of students. (more…)
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Good migration policy pays — this is what it looks like
Migration can continue to be a transformative benefit for Australia if it can look past the myths to develop policy that will pay off. (more…)
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If I was immigration minister, I would develop a population plan
If there is one thing politicians should have learnt in the last three years, it is that Australians expect them to manage long-term net migration and thus our rate of population growth. (more…)
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Immigration policy and the federal election
Peter Dutton is desperate to talk about immigration during the current election campaign. That will largely be about pointing fingers at Labor, sometimes misleading fingers as he did during his budget reply and not providing details of his own policies. (more…)
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Four key myths that manufacture an immigration ‘crisis’
A so-called Australian immigration crisis is a central election issue, but it’s based on misconceptions easily debunked by any examination of the evidence. (more…)
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Devaluing Australian citizenship
Public commentary on Peter Dutton’s possible referendum on a ministerial discretion to deprive dual nationals of their Australian citizenship has focused on whether or not this is just a thought bubble and whether or not it is politically wise to be holding yet another referendum. The real issue goes much deeper, to the merits of the proposal. Ministerial powers to remove Australian citizenship fundamentally devalue it. Dual nationals are the biggest losers. (more…)
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Australian immigration and the federal election
The Albanese Government has done a reasonable job in repairing the immigration train wreck it inherited from the Coalition. However, excessive caution and fear of being wedged has severely limited its achievements. In the forthcoming election, the Dutton Opposition can be expected to be short on policy, but to stoke up fears about border security and foreigners. He will borrow from the nasty Trump playbook when convenient. Australia deserves better immigration policy and administration. (more…)
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Denigrating refugees: Media Watch is no exception
Australian citizens and residents who originally came to this country seeking asylum, as they are clearly entitled to do under international law, have been in the news recently, through no fault of their own and not in a good way. Sections of the media and some politicians have attacked them for doing what all citizens and residents have a right to do, that is to bring their partners and close relatives to Australia. (more…)
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A Home For M
Grassroots support can help many refugees find their feet. Working with very stretched organisations to support refugees. Safety is a primary concern. (more…)
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European deportation of Syrian refugees – a sign of the times
Millions of Myanmar refugees could be next if Junta falls (more…)
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Offshore people dumping by a spooked government
The Albanese Labor Government has been spooked by recent High Court decisions which protect the human rights of non-citizens who cannot be returned to their home country because they are owed protection obligations. (more…)
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“Barn of Broken Doors”: Nauru poet deplores offshore detention
Mohammed Salamat delivered this anguished poem about his detention on Nauru outside Federal Parliament last Tuesday November 19, 2024. The reality of ‘offshore processing’ by the Australian government is still very much a fact, in legislation and the news. (more…)
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“The elephant in the room”: the refugee status determination process
Having befriended and worked closely with many Asylum Seekers for the pasts 14 years I have no hesitation in highlighting a key problem with the recent Migration Bill changes. It is the uncritical assumption that the refugee status determination process is professional and fair and sensitive to changing realities. That assumption is simply not true. (more…)
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‘Dark day for humanity’ as Australia chooses cruelty in Migration Bill changes
Refugee and refugee support groups Australia-wide are deeply concerned about the extremely damaging implications of Australia’s new migration laws which are founded on principles of punishment rather than human rights protection. (more…)
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Why oppose the latest deportation and surveillance Bill proposal
The imminent bill must not be passed. (more…)
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Addressing harms caused by Australia’s response to ‘Slavery’
Chris Evans’ involvement in anti-trafficking responses in the late 2000’s was a heady time for the sector; John Howards’ ousting led many to hope migration would no longer be the political weapon of choice, human rights became important and collaboration with civil society became funded, fair and feasible. (more…)
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Dutton’s failure on border protection
Peter Dutton and the Murdoch press are celebrating Trump’s anti-immigration fuelled victory. While he may not use Trump’s extreme language such as ‘migrants are poisoning the blood’, or that they are ‘eating the dogs’, his anti-immigration rhetorical skills are his best pathway to the Lodge. (more…)
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The politics of appeal and the asymmetrical valuing of lives
On October 11, I attended a vigil for Palestinians in Federation Square, Melbourne. The event did not attract politicians’ censure as it was sufficiently distanced in time from Jewish vigils on 7 October. (more…)
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Jason Clare is wrong on net migration and student caps
In a speech at the Australian Education International (AEI) conference, Education Minister Jason Clare is reported to have told the audience that student caps will help with “the government’s ambitions to get immigration levels back to pre-pandemic levels, including international student numbers”. (more…)
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Australia’s unfinished multiculturalism
Large-scale immigration programs have contributed substantially to Australia since 1947, bringing much needed skills and demand into the economy. They have also helped make Australia a more culturally sophisticated country. In the 1970s, the oppressive policies of assimilation and integration were replaced by the policy idea of multiculturalism. Today, Australian politicians boast that Australia is the most successful multicultural society in the world. Their boasting is baseless. A combination of crass political opportunism and policy neglect mean that Australia’s unfinished multicultural project is floundering. (more…)
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Not all deaths at sea are equal
Dave Kellaway reports from Italy, and reflects on the media coverage of the sinking of the luxury yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily compared to the way the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean are usually reported. (more…)
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Unsuccessful asylum seekers now exceed those at primary and AAT stages
As has been the case every month since around 2015-16, the number of asylum seekers in Australia continued to set records, reaching 116,389 at end July 2024. The total number refused at both the primary level and at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), but not departed, is now a record of 43,499. On current policy settings, this number will continue to rise. (more…)
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Record numbers of temporary graduates in immigration limbo
Temporary graduate visas are for overseas students who complete their study and wish to undertake work in Australia, often as a pathway to permanent residence. These visas work best when the bulk of temporary graduates seeking permanent residence are able to secure skilled work and eventually a permanent residence employer sponsored (or other) permanent visa. (more…)
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Dutton’s Trumpian certainties are swamping Albanese’s dithering
One full day during the Republican National Convention in the US last month was devoted entirely to the issue of crime. Under the title “Make America Safe Again”, it referenced a make-believe crime wave engulfing American cities. (more…)