All the facts on the numbers of people arriving in Australia by boat since 1989, graphed for your pleasure.
Asylum seekers
Rudd is drowning on boat people
He may have got a bounce in the polls today, but the Prime Minister’s handling of the Oceanic Viking issue has been singularly inept.
Shanahan: Australians dissatisfied with Rudd’s boat bungles
Amid the Government’s stand-off with asylum seekers aboard the Oceanic Viking, Kevin Rudd’s dissatisfaction rating has risen to 34% — a 10-percentage point rise since 1 October and the highest since September last year, says Dennis Shanahan
Mungo MacCallum: Minchin has no excuse for his ignorance
The most depressing statistic of modern times is the one that tells us that well over 50% of adult Americans do not believe in evolution. Or it was — until Nick Minchin came along.
Bartlett: TPVs –- failed policy recycled for political benefit
The human harm done to many refugees on TPVs is well documented, says Andrew Bartlett. It’s a sad day when a blatantly ineffective measure is wilfully adopted purely for political appearances.
Back from the dead: Turnbull’s TPVs
Malcolm Turnbull has announced that Temporary Protection Visas would be back under a Coalition Government. But, putting aside their humanitarian impact, all the evidence is that TPVs don’t actually work.
A confused government’s way forward
Trying to turn the Howard-era foreign policy sow’s ear into a Rudd government silk purse is doomed to policy failure, writes Damien Kingsbury.
What they’re fleeing in Sri Lanka
Matt Wade visits Sri Lanka and discovers why the Australian government faces such a difficult battle persuading asylum seekers to return there: war-torn villages surrounded by landmines, a lack of jobs, medical care and education.
Just a ripple in the global refugee crisis
Australia does not have refugee “crisis”: 78 asylum seekers is just a drop in the ocean of the world’s displaced people, explains Peter Mares in this excellent overview of global refugee movements and our (relatively minor) within it.
Australia’s $1m asylum bill
Australia has spent more than $1 million in its stand-off with asylum seekers aboard the Oceanic Viking, with each additional day costing $42,500.
Myopia and forgetfulness the preferred direction on foreign policy
When the Rudd Labor government was elected two years ago, there were high hopes that it would leave behind the more negative foreign policies of its predecessor Howard coalition government. What we have, though, is a foreign policy shambles.
Rudd’s “secret plan” to increase Sri Lankan migration
The Government is looking to allow more Sri Lankans to emigrate legally to Australia in an effort to reduce the incentive for them to come via people smugglers.
Dear asylum seekers…
Read the letter given to asylum seekers aboard the Oceanic Viking, guaranteeing them resettlement if they get off the boat and are found to be genuine refugees.
The Media Monitors' Top 20: Lunatics on asylum seekers steal the show
The Tamil asylum seeker issue remained number one despite the best efforts of Nick and Tony’s fruit loop academy, writes Patrick Baume.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: A climate change leadership challenge
Crikey readers weigh in who would be the best leader for climate change in Australia and how important climate change is. Plus, readers clarify a few of our latest tips.
Howard’s ghost haunts refugee law
Australia does not have any legal responsibility for refugee claims for the Sri Lankans on board the Oceanic Viking because they were found in Indonesian waters, writes law professor Don Rothwell. But what happens when a situation doesn’t fit the law?
Mungo MacCallum: Saint Kevin’s halo has finally slipped
If last week’s polling switch is really a result of the boat people kerfuffle, Rudd won’t be able to bluster and twitter his way out of it. So what does he have to do to win the voters back?
Asylum seeker polling: Nielsen, Newspoll and Essential
Possum Comitatus combines today’s Newspoll and Nielsen polls on asylum seeker issues with last week’s Essential Report. Voters do think Rudd’s policies are too soft, but it’s not the killer issue for the Coalition that it once was.
Bartlett: A call to stop mandatory detention for people smugglers
Anyone caught assisting with the unlawful entrance of asylum seekers to Australia is brandished a people smuggler and receives mandatory detention. Is Indonesia’s unhappiness at Australia imprisoning some of their poorest damaging our diplomatic relations? asks Andrew Bartlett.
Getting help from Indonesia was a tactical mistake
Lengthy mandatory detention isn’t the biggest deterrent for asylum seekers, governments turning back boats is, says Peter Mares. The most humane thing Rudd can do is stop the boats coming, because otherwise deaths will simply increase.
Grattan: Acting tough is what the voters want
There’s two lessons to learn from the latest Nielsen poll. One, Kevin Rudd needs to maintain his tough asylum seeker stance because the voters love it. Two, the Opposition need to get their act together, writes Michelle Grattan.
Memo Rudd: an asylum solution
Bernard Keane offers the Prime Minister a few thoughts on how to resolve the Oceanic Viking stand-off.
New York Times: Australia fears boat people from Asia
How does the world view Australians following to our treatment of refugees? Here’s the New York Times’s take: “Australia Puts Its Refugee Problem on a Remote Island, Behind Razor Wire”. Super.
Kerr: Rudd gets in a refugee spin
Rudd’s refugee media blitz is just confusing voters, because they don’t want confusing jargon filled explanations, they just want action. Kevin Rudd needs to dump the political cliches and rethink his media strategy, writes Christian Kerr.
Rudd throws water on the asylum seeker flames
Kevin Rudd isn’t fighting the Opposition over refugees, he’s battling the media, and desperately attempting to depoliticise the issue. Look for the telltale Rudd fear fuelled top lip disappearance.
