http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/refugees/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/it-wouldnt-kill-us-to-save-more-lives/ At a recent protest outside the electoral office of Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon said Australia was mishandling the refugee issue, and it was the “lack of a humanitarian approach and failure to abide by international obligations” that was causing problems. Another refugee advocate at the protest said, “You don’t have to be an Australian to have human rights.” Human rights should be the lens through which we consider the economic, cultural and geographic implications of increasing our intake of refugees and asylum seekers. It is about enacting people’s basic rights to freedom, choice and safety. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/it-wouldnt-kill-us-to-save-more-lives/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/it-wouldnt-kill-us-to-save-more-lives/#item7535 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-more-asylum-seekers-to-ensure-fewer-boats/ The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-more-asylum-seekers-to-ensure-fewer-boats/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/take-more-asylum-seekers-to-ensure-fewer-boats/#item7430 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-year-after-christmas-island-another-awful-tragedy-at-sea/ It’s almost exactly a year since the Christmas Island tragedy, when dozens of asylum seekers died on Australia’s doorstep. In an event which everyone predicted - but which no one managed to prevent - more boats came and sank. Now, there has been a tragedy on an even larger scale, with hundreds of asylum seekers feared dead after yet another overloaded, unsafe boat sank, killing people who were desperate for a better life. Christmas Island, and the spectre of another mass drowning, should have been the crisis that broke the political impasse. But it didn’t. There is an eerie sense of rigid paralysis in our politics when it comes to this issue. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-year-after-christmas-island-another-awful-tragedy-at-sea/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-year-after-christmas-island-another-awful-tragedy-at-sea/#item7407 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-american-dream-our-american-nightmare/ When the Reverend Seth Kaper-Dale took over the running of the Reformed Church of Highland Park, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, he didn’t realise that most of his Indonesian Christian congregation was living illegally in the United States. Now, after almost a decade of battles, a deadline is pressing hard on 73 members of his church, who are being told to go back to Indonesia. This may seem like an old story; and one that is happening far from Australia. And it is, on both counts. But these Indonesians, living in fear in New Jersey, still somehow seem to me like Australia’s neighbours. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-american-dream-our-american-nightmare/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/our-american-dream-our-american-nightmare/#item7341 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-17-no-laksa-for-you/ What happened In a kooky swapsie deal, Australia and Malaysia entered into a “cooperative transfer agreement” on asylum seekers, only to have the deal trounced by the High Court. Under the Malaysia Solution the next 800 asylum seekers to arrive in Australia would be shipped off to Malaysia to join the ‘queue’ there. In return Australia would take an extra 4000 refugees from Malaysia. Refugee advocates were chuffed that we’d take extra refugees but dismayed at the idea of sending asylum seekers to Malaysia, where they were reportedly badly treated. Critics said it was both inhumane and ineffective, and many were pre-occupied by the maths of 800 for 4000. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-17-no-laksa-for-you/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-17-no-laksa-for-you/#item7315 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-the-planes/ There’s nothing like a leaky boat full of traumatised asylum seekers to spark fear and loathing in Australia. Why is that? Today’s news reveals that there are 13 times as many visa overstayers in Australia as there are asylum seekers in detention, but people arriving by planes – who are mostly Chinese, American, British or Malaysian - just don’t trigger the same gut reaction. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-the-planes/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-the-planes/#item7195 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-our-own-backyard/ On the northern tip of Queensland, a young woman from the Philippines worked up to 18 hours a day for a married couple. She looked after their three small children, cleaned their house at night, and worked in their store in the day. The woman, known in court as Ms G, was repeatedly raped by the husband, threatened, abused and exploited. After numerous appeals, in February 2010 the husband was jailed for slavery offences. The wife was also convicted, although she has since lodged another appeal. These workers are Jills of all trades: cooking, cleaning, caring for kids, the elderly and the sick. Domestic workers – nannies, maids, au pairs, “the help” - make the lives of Australian families easier. But sometimes the lives of these workers are unbearably hard. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-our-own-backyard/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-our-own-backyard/#item7064 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/parties-were-politicking-while-people-were-still-trapped/ Before the body count was even finalised politicians used the latest asylum seeker tragedy to regurgitate their entrenched positions on border control. At least seven people – including children - are dead. More are missing and thought to be dead, trapped in their boat which capsized off the coast of Java. Seventy people, from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan were on board. Forty or 48 had been rescued, depending on your news source. Authorities believe the boat was heading for Australia. See news.com.au for the latest information. Last night while the numbers were still murky, political imperatives were crystal clear. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/parties-were-politicking-while-people-were-still-trapped/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/parties-were-politicking-while-people-were-still-trapped/#item7055 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/utopia-and-a-third-world-in-the-first-world/ This week’s Q and A program featured Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, who has been an instrumental figure in drawing attention to the federal and Northern Territory Governments policies which are effectively stripping traditional Indigenous communities - ‘homelands’ - of funds. Aboriginal peoples’ rights to traditional lands, culture, informed consent and adequate housing are being undermined. Last week, Salil Shetty, the Secretary General of Amnesty International and I had the honour and privilege of spending time with Rosalie and the people of the Utopia Homelands on a fact finding mission. This was the first time I had travelled to Utopia in two years. I was struck by the fact that very little had changed. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/utopia-and-a-third-world-in-the-first-world/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/utopia-and-a-third-world-in-the-first-world/#item6953 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.” http://www.thepunch.com.au/hot-topics/immigration/ feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) http://www.thepunch.com.au/hot-topics/immigration/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/hot-topics/immigration/#item6889 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 The grace period for not politicising human tragedy is less than 24 hours. Both major parties are in full swing - misinforming the public, drumming up fear and spinning themselves out of any actual policy action. The fact remains that Australia does not have an ‘asylum problem’ but we do have a problem with our policy response. Receiving less than 1 per cent of the world’s asylum claims in a year is not a problem. People dying at sea is most definitely a problem, unfortunately not one unique to Australia or to Indonesia. The public debate around Labor vs. Coalition policy proposals can be likened to the saying: “When the finger points at the moon, the idiot looks at the finger.”