Eureka Street

Keywords: Asylum

AUSTRALIA

Legal ways to spoil the child
- Andrew Hamilton
- 02 April 2025
Countering a rise in youth crime with tough new bail laws will ensure community safety, but risks compounding the very crisis they aim to solve. As more children are placed in detention, the changes raise urgent questions about justice, policy failure, and the long-term social cost of prioritising punishment over prevention.
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RELIGION

Synodality and the federal election: What should the bishops say?
- John Warhurst
- 25 March 2025
As Australia approaches another federal election, the Catholic Church, long ambivalent about democratic politics, prepares to weigh in. Its official statement could play it safe, as in years past — or it could offer a deeper moral vision, confronting the global drift toward division with the quiet radicalism of synodality.
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RELIGION

An honest broker trying to find answers: Frank Brennan at 50 years a Jesuit
- Jim McDermott
- 13 March 2025
Frank Brennan wears his prominence lightly. A priest, lawyer, and tireless advocate for Indigenous rights and refugees, he is as at home in political corridors as he is at the dinner table, welcoming friends with stories and good cheer. Now, celebrating 50 years as a Jesuit, he reflects on faith, justice, and a life of service.
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AUSTRALIA

Reflecting on the year that was
- David Halliday, Michael McVeigh, Laura Kings, Michele Frankeni, Andrew Hamilton, Julian Butler
- 18 December 2024
To close the year for Eureka Street, the editorial team are taking a step back to reflect on the character of 2024. What did it demand of us? What did it teach us about ourselves, and the world we inhabit?
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AUSTRALIA

New immigration laws treat humans as parcels
- Andrew Hamilton
- 04 December 2024
Australia’s recent immigration detention laws reveal a stark shift in governance, prioritising power over human dignity. As families face indefinite separation and bureaucrats enforce policies with brutal efficiency, the High Court's rebuke offers a glimmer of ethical resistance. But can such laws truly claim legitimacy in a democratic society?
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AUSTRALIA

Offshore people dumping by a spooked government
- Frank Brennan
- 04 December 2024
1 Comment
When High Court rulings challenge government policy, they usually prompt reflection and refinement. But for the Federal Government, a recent decision on non-citizen rights has sparked a legislative overreach, mirroring the Opposition’s hardline stance.
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AUSTRALIA

Long-term detention, curfews and ankle bracelets for asylum seekers under the rule of law
- Frank Brennan
- 08 November 2024
7 Comments
Last week, Australia’s High Court blocked government restrictions on non-citizens with criminal records. As Parliament scrambles to impose new restrictions, Chief Justice Stephen Gageler’s court remains steadfast against policies deemed discriminatory and excessively punitive.
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INTERNATIONAL

Pope takes refugee concerns on the road
- Robin Osborne
- 05 September 2024
1 Comment
Pope Francis has frequently voiced sympathy for refugee concerns and before leaving on this trip, he reaffirmed his call for safe migration pathways for people fleeing their own countries for fear of persecution, describing any refusal to harbour asylum seekers as a ‘grave sin’.
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AUSTRALIA

A national declaration of dignity
- Joseph Camilleri
- 28 August 2024
3 Comments
As Australia faces numerous moral crises from domestic inequality to global militarization, a proposed national charter of principles could to reshape our society and redefine our global role. This declaration would acknowledge Indigenous dispossession, prioritize human rights, and shift focus from military alliances to human security.
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AUSTRALIA

Seeking refuge, finding red tape
- Kerry Murphy
- 05 July 2024
There is no doubt that laws for determining refugee status and onshore protection are complex. The cases of NZYQ and ASF17 demonstrate that when laws regarding asylum and protection intersect with laws regarding character and protection of the community, the results can be extremely messy.
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AUSTRALIA

Comic from detention illustrates lives unseen
- Danielle Terceiro
- 18 June 2024
In Still Alive: Notes from Australia’s Immigration Detention System (2021), artist Safdar Ahmed shares the harrowing stories of asylum seekers through comic art. He vividly depicts their plight by incorporating artwork from a drawing group he started at Villawood Detention Centre.
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AUSTRALIA

Hanging in with refugees
- Andrew Hamilton
- 17 June 2024
2 Comments
Like all other persons, refugees cannot be defined in numbers. Nor can they be defined by their condition as refugees. They are human beings like us who belong to families, their hearts are free, and they long for the freedom to live human lives, to work and follow their dreams.
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Keywords: Asylum