A system of cruelty

They are the most vulnerable members of society, yet they are trapped behind bars for indefinite periods with little hope of a future. Camille Howard explores Australia’s practice of placing asylum seeker children in detention, an issue fast becoming a national disgrace. Continue Reading →

Restoring hope — if only

This week is Refugee Week, where Australians are encouraged to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees, while celebrating the positive contributions refugees make to Australian society. Continue Reading →

Inquiry into children in detention

The Australian Human Rights Commission is currently holding an inquiry into children in immigration detention, looking at the short- and long-term impact detention has on children. Continue Reading →

What’s new in #auspol

We went digging through the twitterverse (ok, less digging, more clicking) to bring you news as it’s shared about Australian politics…

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Interview with an artist: Deborah Kelly

It is viewed as the premier event on Australia’s visual arts calendar, with the invitation to exhibit a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many artists. But this year, a shadow was cast over the Biennale of Sydney, with several artists boycotting the festival’s long-time sponsorship by Transfield Holdings (Transfield is a shareholder in Transfield Services, the company recently contracted by the Abbott Government to run the detention centres on Manus and Nauru islands.) Continue Reading →

What’s up with #auspol?

Our weekly ‘newspaper’ trawls the twitterverse to bring you all the hottest stories and links in the murky world of Australian politics. Continue Reading →

Desperately seeking asylum

January in Australia is usually hot. Stinking hot. Right now, this minute, Australia is literally the hottest spot in the world*. Adelaide reached tops of 46+ degrees today, which is pretty bloody hot, but I am reminded by many on Twitter about the horrible conditions the asylum seekers on Nauru face, every day. Continue Reading →

Asylum seekers – the sad state of affairs

The site of Senators Kate Lundy and George Brandis slugging it out on Monday night’s episode of Q&A on ABC Television pretty much summed up the sad state of affairs in the national political debate on asylum seekers – lots of talk, argument, grandstanding, pontificating, blame, but not much listening.

This, of course, is not an issue that is going to go away quickly, and there are no easy solutions for the ALP, politically speaking.

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