Julia Gillard has adopted the narrow rhetoric of the anti-immigration lobby that will cost Australia dearly in the future. It’s the ultimate in vision-less leadership.
Immigration
Bartlett: Lies and leaflets from the LNP
The Liberal National Party is constantly labelling asylum seekers and refugees as “illegal immigrants”. No point letting accuracy get in the way when an extra few votes can be won by inciting hatred, writes Andrew Bartlett.
To kill a leadership: what Atticus Finch can teach Kevin Rudd
Atticus Finch may be a fictional character, but that doesn’t mean his ideas about prejudice aren’t relevant to today’s asylum seeker debate. Playing to xenophobia is a political nightmare, says Greg Barns.
Why Leonora? ‘There are a range of considerations’, apparently
Nearly 90 asylum seekers recently arrived at the small town of Leonora in outback WA. We’re still not sure why, since it’s in the middle of nowhere and has few support services.
Rudd’s tougher refugee line could criminalise humanitarian aid
In true post 9-11 politics style, the Australian government is going after anyone to look tough and in control on refugees. And it’s put humanitarian aid in the firing line, writes Brami Jegan.
Sneaky new laws that terminate student visas
A new bill is before parliament that gives the Immigration Minister the power to deny long term international students their applications for permanent residency. Peter Mares reports.
Petro Georgiou: “Regression has become the order of the day.”
An extract of Petro Georgiou’s valedictory speech, delivered to the House of Representatives this morning. He had one last dig at the Opposition’s “cruel” asylum seeker policies.
Are adult asylum seekers posing as kids?
There are claims that asylum seekers are exploiting our preferential treatment of child asylum seekers by claiming to be minors. But refugee advocates say it’s yet another discredited myth about refugees.
Doc Abbott goes back to the future
For a devout Catholic, Tony Abbott has little notion of social justice. His cruel new immigration policy makes no economic or social sense, writes JJ Fiasson.
Will voters board the HMAS Border Control?
Daily Media Wrap: Tony Abbott wants to bring back Howard’s “Pacific Solution”, but will voters get on board? And will the Liberal Party’s moderates finally jump ship?
The refugee who’s waited a decade
Mrs Bao, a sickly 56 year old Chinese woman, is Australia’s longest serving immigration detainee, despite criticism by the UN. Geoffrey Barker reports on how she got entangled in the tricky diplomatic relations of Australia and China.
Awakening the ‘reds under the bed’ fear
Tony Abbott’s new immigration ads are hysterical. There are no queues to jump, it’s not illegal to arrive in Australia without a visa and human rights are dumped as both sides of government go hard on refugees.
Sarah Palin: We’re all Arizonans (sic) now
Sarah Palin has posted a message to President Obama on her Facebook page: follow Arizona’s lead on border control. Apparently 14,263 others like this.
Here come the towelheads
The Coalition’s coordinated campaign to exploit xenophobia has hit its stride, with Cory Bernardi calling to “ban the burqa” and a new asylum seeker attack ad.
It’s a good time to be in the detention centre business. Just ask Serco
Concerns over Serco’s management of Curtin are rising, but that hasn’t put a dent in the company’s profits.
revealed 
Meet the group behind Arizona’s “draconian” new immigration laws
Arizona’s harsh new immigration laws are the work of a group called Federation for American Immigration Immigration Reform — and it stands to make a tidy profit from it.
Abbott’s crass populism will have many casualties
Tony Abbott is replacing Liberal values with crass right-wing populism. Abbott’s Liberals increasingly resemble Tea Partiers, albeit without the brains.
Crikey Says: Abbott whistling for an us-and-them contest
The dog whistle is out of the drawer. Tony Abbott intends to press the population button as an issue — maybe the issue — of the upcoming election.
We want you: exploit the poor PIGS to fill our skills gaps
The financial chaos in Europe is a fantastic opportunity for Australia to help address its skill shortages.
Guy Rundle: Rundle’s UK: Everything would be fine if it weren’t for these immigrants
Has any polity in history ever been more grievously split between its dominant mood, whatever one thinks of it, and its political/admin/media elite?
NYT: Arizona is now a police state
Arizona has passed controversial new laws requiring all immigrants to carry proof of their status and requiring police to interrogate them if they suspect they’re illegal. The NYT’s Linda Green says the US state is now on par with the Soviet Union and apartheid-era South Africa.
Christmas Island a ‘ghetto’, but ‘dire’ Curtin could be worse
The “ghetto-like” Christmas Island detention centre is bursting at the seams as boat arrivals swell. But housing asylum seekers at the long-defunct Curtain facility could make conditions even worse, writes Elizabeth Redman.
Tony Burke: lies, damned lies, and net migration figures
Population minister Tony Burke wants to make some things clear: there is no 2050 population target; natural growth rates are different to birth rate; and net migration rates are different to permanent migration rates.
Sheridan: Stop the boats!
The old Howard classic “We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come” is still the best refugee policy for this country and Kevin Rudd is slowly realising it, writes Greg Sheridan.
