Opinion

At the time of writing, boat people and border protection were major issues in the federal election. The world was watching. The international community, as well as the Australian community, know the atrocities and crimes against humanity committed in countries like Sri Lanka, Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma and other countries where the victims of war and persecution are fleeing. Asylum seekers ...

ACCORDING TO the Australian Government Department of Immigration, up until mid 1989 Australia processed fewer than 500 refugee applications a year. In June 1989 the Tiananmen Square massacre in China brought the issue of asylum seekers abruptly into the Australian consciousness. Then Prime Minister Bob Hawke made an emotional speech after the Tiananmen Square massacre and granted permanent residency to ...

THE FEDERAL Election Hot Issues flyers stated that in 2009 Australia received 6170 applications for asylum. Not all of those applicants arrived by boat, but 90 per cent of those who came by boat were found to be refugees and were granted permanent protection visas. Refugees and humanitarian entrants make up just 6.6 per cent of the places in Australia’s ...

THE POLITICAL orthodoxy that any of the policy solutions offered by the two major parties will “stop the boats” demonstrates some clear misunderstandings of international law. It is not illegal to enter a country for the purposes of seeking asylum. The major difference between Australia and most other countries is that we are surrounded by water, hence the need for ...

AS I WRITE this in the immediate and confusing aftermath of the recent election, my thoughts turn to the qualities and values I felt were missing from the election campaign. In the coming weeks and months the pundits will dissect the regional swings and local issues that were contributing factors in the national result but my sense is that Australians were ...

IT IS EASY to denigrate politicians. With the most participants in this country, denigrating politicians could be said to be our national sport! But what if the old saw is true that we get the politicians we deserve? What does the state of political discourse in the current federal election reveal about us citizens? We criticise our leaders for their apparent ...

I WAS exposed to and involved in politics from an early age. My Dad consistently stood as the opposition candidate (ALP) in Queensland’s safest Liberal seat. Over 12 long years he made it a marginal seat. One year someone even voted for our dog, which travelled around with Dad on election day. From 13 I was handing out How to ...

I BELONG to the local branch of the Labor Party. I hold social justice dear to my heart and I am a member because I believe it has good social justice policies. Being a member gives me the opportunity to reflect those ideals and have an input to debate as well as put up motions in support of that. If I ...

MARK TWAIN once said: “Some people think the world owes them a living. Someone should tell them the world was here first!” This feeling that I am responsible for my own welfare, combined with a strong work ethic was stamped on my psyche from childhood. I have been a member of the Liberal Party (now LNP) for many years and ...

MY JOURNEY into politics was marked out for me even as a child: it was in my blood so to speak. My father is a great story teller and I was brought up with stories of the Irish Struggles and of his mother, Claire Harding. A strong Catholic and Labor Party activist in the 1930s, Claire shared the bounty of her ...