It is possible to deter asylum seeker boat arrivals while meeting and exceeding our humanitarian obligations. But no one has put the policy together yet.
Nauru
Political snippets: Gillard’s pig-headed stance on Nauru
I would have thought ordinary politeness dictated that our neighbour be briefed on what is in the Australian government’s mind.
Onshore or offshore? That is the question
Crikey media wrap: Thanks to the High Court, Julia Gillard essentially has only two asylum seeker policy options: reinstate a Pacific Solution 2.0 with Tony Abbott’s help or abandon offshore processing altogether.
Cost of detention? $113,000 per asylum seeker
Over the last decade we’ve spent over $100,000 detaining each and every boat arrival.
Essential: no support for Malaysian solution, Coalition’s biggest lead
Voters would far prefer asylum seekers to be transferred to Nauru rather than Malaysia and nearly a third don’t like either option, new polling from Essential Research reveals.
Letter from...: Letter from … Nauru — the worst place in the world?
Not many people go to Nauru unless they absolutely have to, writes Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely Planet.
Why phoning the President of Nauru is a bad idea
Caroline de Costa, a Cairns gynaecologist who worked at a Nauru detention centre, explains why reopening the camps there is a bad idea, particularly for the mental health of detainees.
‘Opportunistic’ Nauru not fit to sign refugee convention
Asylum seeker advocates have lashed out against Nauru’s proposal to sign the UN Convention on Refugees, saying that the tiny island nation is nowhere near ready to take on the responsibilities enshrined in the document.
ASIO, not the government, calling the shots on refugees
ASIO says that five refugees from Oceanic Viking constitute a threat to national security. How can this be a healthy democratic country when a secret agency plays such a major role in a political debate, without even making its sources available?
Congratulations! You’re a refugee!
You can bet the 72 Sri Lankan men on Nauru who’ve just been granted refugee status wish they didn’t wash up during an election year, writes Sophie Black.
The Pacific Solution turns to guano
It seems the Nauru government are fed up. Earlier this year they demanded that the detainees on the little island that just happens to be part of the government’s Pacific Solution be processed within six months and not left to languish for years. Now, the island has a detainee hunger strike on its hands and a group of six Sri Lankan asylum seekers have been charged with rape or indecent assault of a local Nauruan woman, writes Sophie Black.
