Kevin Rudd’s agreement with PNG on asylum seekers binds Australia to Peter O'Neill’s government, rather than being a true regional solution.
AAP/Dan Peled
The precise details of the refugee resettlement deal struck between Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd and his Papua New Guinean counterpart Peter O'Neill are yet to be revealed. But what we do know…
A legal challenge may loom to the Australia-PNG regional resettlement arrangement for asylum seeker arrivals if it does not meet our international law obligations.
AAP/Dan Peled
The new asylum seeker arrangement between Australia and Papua New Guinea is almost certain not to comply with Australia’s international law obligations. In favour of the Australian government’s legal position…
Kevin Rudd has moved to the right on asylum seeker policy, hoping to court voters.
AAP/Dan Peled
Kevin Rudd has pulled out every available stop to persuade voters that he can stop the boats - not immediately, but eventually. The Australian government has spectacularly outsourced its asylum seeker…
Kevin Rudd has announced sweeping changes to asylum policy, headlined by refugees who arrive by boat will no longer be resettled in Australia.
AAP
Asylum seekers who arrive in Australian waters by boat will no longer have the chance to be settled in Australia under new policies announced by prime minister Kevin Rudd. Instead, asylum seekers arriving…
What are the legal implications for proposals to ‘tow back’ and ‘push back’ asylum seeker boats by the Australian Navy?
AAP/Scott Fisher
The Coalition promises it will “turn back” asylum seeker boats in Australian waters where it is safe to do so if it wins the next election. With Australian border patrols said to be at “breaking point…
Kevin Rudd reportedly plans to revisit the UN’s Refugee Convention as the numbers of asylum seekers arriving by boat continue daily.
EPA/Tubagus
Prime minister Kevin Rudd has indicated that he would like to revisit Australia’s obligations under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. We are yet to learn what this may mean…
1. Julie Bishop: Australia has the right to return asylum seeker boats to Indonesia “We cannot escape from the fact that they are Indonesian boats with Indonesian crews from Indonesian ports. Of course…
Kevin Rudd’s flying visit to PNG to meet with his counterpart Peter O'Neill was more about Australia’s domestic than foreign policies.
AAP/Gary Ramage
Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has just paid an official visit to our nearest neighbour and former colony, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Although Rudd explained his agenda as driven by the two countries…
The Coalition should heed the legal lessons of an attempt by Maltese authorities to ‘push back’ Somali asylum seekers.
EPA/Lino Arrigo Azzopardi
Malta has become the latest country to try to “push back” asylum seekers, implementing a policy similar to that being advocated by the Coalition as its “Real Solution” to the phenomenon of boats arriving…
Asylum seekers and West Papua will be high on the agenda for Kevin Rudd’s talks with his PNG counterpart Peter O'Neill.
AAP/Alan Porritt
As Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd lands in Port Moresby to meet with his Papua New Guinean counterpart Peter O'Neill, several conundrums are set to tax his mind and diplomatic skills. Front and centre…
Fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden continues his fight for asylum - a concept that is grounded in ancient history.
EPA/Kay Nietfeld
As Julian Assange remains inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London and Edward Snowden, last thought to be Venezuela-bound, attempts to avoid capture by an enraged United States, the grant of asylum has…
Glasses, check. Passport, check. Cheque for £200?
Flickr/Justin Vidamo
Another argument has broken out between the government and doctors over a proposal to charge immigrants to use the NHS. The government claims a levy will make the NHS more fair and sustainable and stop…
Kevin Rudd’s visit to Indonesia may yet mark a high point between the two countries.
An Australian prime minister visiting Indonesia is nothing new, but Kevin Rudd’s current visit is generating more than the usual amount of attention, coinciding with the DFAT release of its Indonesia Country…
Australian PM Kevin Rudd and Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will meet today to discuss the asylum seeker issue - what is the view from Indonesia?
EPA/Bagus Indahono
Today’s Indonesia-Australia Leaders’ Meeting - where Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd will meet with Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - takes place against a backdrop of the asylum seeker…
The imagined threat. Edward Snowden’s asylum bid is pushing the parameters of geopolitical diplomacy and international law.
See-ming Lee
Throughout the morning of July 3, Australian news media were reporting that the aircraft carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales had been forced to make an unscheduled stopover in Vienna, en route from…
Australia can break the people smugglers’ business model by changing its ‘prohibition regime’ policy approach.
AAP
As prime minister Kevin Rudd prepares to visit Indonesia and meet with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, he should bear in mind that the asylum seeker problem plaguing the Australian…
Did Foreign minister Bob Carr’s controversial claim that the majority of asylum seekers coming to Australia are economic refugees go too far?
APH
“People are coming here, not now as a result of persecution, but because they’re economic refugees who have paid money to people smugglers.” - Foreign minister Bob Carr, Meet the Press, June 9. There is…
Just how much co-operation can Tony Abbott expect from Indonesia leaders on his plan to turn back asylum seeker boats?
EPA/Adi Weda
In the coming days, prime minister Kevin Rudd will visit Indonesia to discuss asylum seeker policy with Indonesian officials, including Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Rudd’s visit will…
New PM Kevin Rudd will meet with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Indonesia this week - do we see Indonesia as equal partners in our relationship?
AAP/Alan Porritt
New prime minister Kevin Rudd will visit Indonesia later this week for the third Indonesia-Australia Leaders’ Meeting. Rudd will seek to exchange military - and possibly developmental - aid for Indonesian…
The declining health levels of asylum seekers should spark the Australian government to take action.
EPA/Made Mahardika
Seventy asylum seekers have been moved from the Manus Island immigration detention facility to Christmas Island following a long overdue decision by the Gillard government. The decision to keep families…