Nearly 29,000 asylum seekers are in Australia on temporary ‘bridging visas’. These people may be free from detention but – with many denied education, healthcare and the right to work – they remain locked in desperate poverty and with no idea what their future holds. See link below to an article in The Guardian Australia. The preparation of this article was assisted by the Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney and other organisations and people across Australia.
John Menadue is the publisher, founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.