Mandatory Detention
The Federal Government now has a clear policy direction on asylum seekers: Confuse them so much they go elsewhere.

What the Government needs is a decisive way to stop desperate people getting into boats bound for Australia while maintaining our UN and human rights obligations to accept asylum seekers.
What they’ve got is a fear-induced policy spasm that tries to keep both sides (the turn-back-the-boaters and the open-armers) happy, but succeeds in pleasing neither.
Continue reading "The Government’s asylum seeker policies are all at sea" »
This is the third in a series of essays adapted from the Centre for Policy Development book, More Than Luck: Ideas Australia needs now. The Labor Government has set itself up for failure by upholding the view that asylum seeking is a national security threat, writes Kate Gauthier.
It is said that any civilised society can be measured by how it treats its most vulnerable people. Asylum seekers, vilified by the media and feared by the public, make an excellent target for unscrupulous public figures who seek to gain power or position through a culture of fear.

In order to appear tough on asylum seekers – tough on the victims of human rights abuses – successive governments and political parties have enacted or proposed policies that severely curtail the rights of people fleeing war, persecution and torture.
The argument in favour of taking a punitive approach is that it discourages onshore asylum seeking. This is shown to be false by two issues.
Continue reading "Big ideas: a sensible policy solution on asylum seekers" »
Latest 2 of 88 comments
View all comments-
Jilianna says:
you must read <a >cheap chanel bags</a> at my estore Read more »
-
XRumerTest says:
Hi there, A man falls in love just as he falls downstairs. It is an accident. <a >Fountas and pinnell grade levels emergent, fluent</a> <a >The busted newspaper wilco</a> <a >Us pokemon heart gold 60 ribbons cheat codes</a> <a >Alcohol 12hrs before surgery</a> <a >Azula and… Read more »
Are the people of Inverbrackie racists? Are South Australians who complain about a lack of consultation in the decision to house 400 asylum-seekers in the Adelaide Hills actually closet rednecks who simply don’t like foreigners turning up unannounced on our shores?

Some of them might be. But overwhelmingly, most of them are not. Whatever you think of Mike Rann, you would be hard pressed to accuse the Premier of racism in questioning the less-than-transparent process by which Inverbrackie was chosen as the venue for a detention centre.
There are plenty of other South Australians with similar concerns, and to suggest that they’re all pitchfork-wielding hillbillies does them a disservice.
Continue reading "Inverbrackie: so much for the new era of transparency" »
Latest 2 of 130 comments
View all comments-
Chris says:
I attended last nights meeting held by Chris Bowen with the local community. To claim the govt. isn’t listening is a fairly unreasonable claim. The govt. handed out leaflets outlining the key issues and what they are doing to address them. The audience then had close to 2 hours to… Read more »
-
RS says:
My goodness. There is so much hatred from people here! What is going on in your heads and hearts? Surely people can think about this from a personal position? My goodnes, if I had to flee from something so terrible that I nhad to risk my life to do it,… Read more »
The last thing Adelaide Hills residents would have expected to hear this week was that their community would be home to Labor’s newest detention centre.

The ambush announcement by the Prime Minister on Monday to turn the defence housing site at Inverbrackie near Woodside in South Australia into a detention centre has caused enormous concern amongst local residents.
Now, I know there are people out there who consider themselves morally superior to me. So to them I make this point very clear to begin with - my issue is not with asylum seekers; my issue is with this Labor Government and the decisions it has made.
Continue reading "Labor detention centres coming to a town near you" »
Latest 2 of 149 comments
View all comments-
ben says:
Im betting they come with Gullotines, just like the FEMA camps in America. End the UN Agenda in Australia Read more »
-
Bobster says:
Yep TimB and it’s that same point now as it was then - you lot struggle enormously with hyperbole or metaphor. I think that’s pretty evident in this response. We’re not writing public service documents here - which is lucky for you really because it provides a lot more straw… Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
Is there a nicotine patch strong enough for this?
Ok. I am not a leading expert in world’s best practice on prisoner rehabilitation — my experience…
A great win by Webber, but it sure as hell wasn’t sport
This morning I joined millions of other Australians in accelerating, braking, swearing and spilling coffee…
Fighting Assad one strongly worded statement at a time
This weekend’s massacre in Houla, Syria, is one of those stories that invites but doesn’t…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Latest 2 of 146 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment