Australia has a long history of incarceration of migrants, Indigenous people and those considered ‘enemies’ of the state. This has formed a ‘template’ for modern-day quarantine and detention policies.
For the first time, a woman has been appointed to the hawkishly masculine home affairs portfolio. Whether this will bring a change of approach on asylum seekers and other issues remains to be seen.
The government lost another appeal in the fight over whether a Sri Lankan family can stay in Australia. It’s time to ask a fundamental question: is this hardline approach appropriate anymore?
If history is any guide, the new US president’s forward-thinking approach toward refugee resettlement could help drive Australia’s commitments to refugee protection, too.
In the Howard government, there was near-consensus in Cabinet that an ETS was eventually likely. A spike in asylum-seeker arrivals stimulated the hard “deterrent’ strategy” that would morph into the “Pacific Solution” in 2001.
New data shows self-harm incidents in immigration detention have spiked his year amid concerns over the pandemic. We must take steps to reduce asylum seekers’ vulnerability and prevent further harm.
As countries around the world develop their own private sponsorship systems, they should acknowledge how elusive refugee status can be. Policy-makers should proceed accordingly.
Denying protection to asylum seekers is neither sustainable nor defensible as long-term policy. Here are ways to make the screening process at airports more just when the borders do reopen.