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Keywords: Immigration Detention

  • 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

    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

    Under pressure from High Court and Dutton, government rushes immigration bill

    • Frank Brennan
    • 13 May 2024
    2 Comments

    The Albanese government’s refugee and asylum policy is in a mess. When Minister Giles introduced his Migration Amendment Bill, they bypassed typical parliamentary procedures, wanting to be seen as tougher than Peter Dutton in getting unvisaed non-citizens out of the country. It’s time for the government to return to due process in this whole field. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Dodgy brothers lawmaking

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 04 April 2024
    1 Comment

    This week, the Federal Government quickly introduced a new policy in response to a recent High Court decision that prevents them from indefinitely detaining a small number of individuals they wish to remove from Australia. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    On striving officiously to keep alive

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 22 February 2024

    If the treatment of persons is unethical, it will inevitably lead to ethical corruption in the people and the institutions involved in administering it. It is almost impossible to participate in a policy based on such unethical premises without being complicit in it. If we do, we become blinded to what we owe one another by virtue of being human.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Best of 2023: How Australia's asylum seeker policy has evolved over thirty years

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 04 January 2024

    Throughout recent decades of Australian history, the stance every government has taken on asylum seekers has reflected the shifting political landscapes and challenging humanitarian issues that have continually shaped Australia's response to those seeking refuge. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Eureka Street person of the year 2023

    • David Halliday, Michael McVeigh, Laura Kings, Michele Frankeni, Andrew Hamilton, Julian Butler
    • 21 December 2023
    10 Comments

    To close the year for Eureka Street, the editorial team wanted to nominate who we considered to be the Eureka Street ‘person of the year’ based on this year's newsmakers.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The curious case of Benbrika and a near-cancelled citizenship

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 19 December 2023
    3 Comments

    Accusing someone of being ‘un-Australian’ is easily done, but what crimes or potential threats to the security and safety of Australians should trigger the practice of stripping someone of their citizenship?

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