Welcome to the parallel universe of Australian politics on asylum seekers — or more correctly a real world and a fantasy world.
Refugees
Crikey Says: Reality v fantasy
You can’t jump a queue when there is no queue
With the federal government having announced a new asylum seekers deal with Malaysia, now is a good time to ditch tired rhetoric and acknowledge that terms like ‘queue jumpers’ are misleading and insensitive, writes Erdem Koc.
‘It felt like an electric shock’: life inside Malaysian detention
Asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia are often subjected to judicial canings, long periods of incarceration and arbitrary arrest, according to reports from within the country’s immigration detention system.
Gaddafi’s guards steal from African refugees as they flee Libya
“Working without payment” — a nice way of saying “slavery” — is a common theme among the sub-Saharan Africans who made it to Libya, writes trade consultant Martin Bendeler, who has just returned from the Middle East.
Asylum seekers escape from Malaysian detention centre
Police are using road blocks and tracker dogs as they try and hunt down 109 asylum seekers who burned down a Malaysian detention centre before escaping, writes Richard Farmer.
Nothing to see here: Serco (probably) fined for (possible) breaches
What happens when Serco breaches its multimillion dollar detention centre contract with the Depearment of Immigration and Citizenship? Well, we can’t tell you, because no one has the obligation to say.
ASIO confirms resources
pressure
Questions are still being asked about the length of time taken by ASIO to complete security assessments of asylum seekers.
asylum seekers 
The children that arrive alone
Almost half the children held in immigration detention in Australia arrived without their parents, with the number spiking in recent years. This brilliant interactive ABC site examines the phenomena of the “castaway kids”.
Scott Morrison defends your taxpayer dollars from dead refugee children
I’ve been trying to avoid jumping to conclusions, but in light of Scott Morrison’s gut-turning comments about refugees I’m beginning to suspect that he might not be a particularly nice man, writes Jeremy Sear.
Bowen’s Afghan memorandum: is it better for failed applicants?
Despite the rhetorical battle from both sides, there’s a question that needs to be asked — is it better to ensure people whose asylum applications have been rejected are sent home, instead of languishing in indefinite detention?
Were Customs and the Navy ready for Christmas Island rescue?
Questions have been raised about the preparedness of Australian Navy and Customs personnel in responding to last Wednesday’s Christmas Island asylum-seeker boat wreck.
Crikey Says: Crunching the numbers on our refugee intake
42 million (more than): the number of people forcibly displaced at the end of 2008.
Wilkie’s ‘disruption operation’ solution: sugar in the fuel tank?
Intelligence sharing, sugar in the fuel tank or drilling holes in boats — just what did Andrew Wilkie mean when he called for re-energised “disruption operations” as a way of halting the people smuggling trade?
Is Christmas Island prepared for boat tragedy?
Australian authorities were repeatedly warned over a lack of health services on Christmas Island to deal with a disaster in the mould of yesterday’s boat tragedy, which has claimed the lives of at least 28 people.
Jack Marx: Cruelty doesn’t mind kindness, just cowardice
A wonderful rant by Jack Marx against his fellow News Ltd stable mates and their reactions to the Christmas Island boat crash. “Iron fists in velvet gloves,” declares Marx, against those who claim compassion while preaching cruelty.
Marr: The killer cliffs of Christmas Island
It’s incredible that this boat loaded with asylum seekers was able to get those to shore without being stopped. Why was this boat allowed to get so close to those cliffs? It’s reminiscent of the SIEV X, says David Marr, but this time there are photos and video.
Asylum seeker boat crash at Christmas Island
Crikey media wrap: A boat carrying up to 100 asylum seekers crashed into cliffs at Christmas Island in terrible weather yesterday, killing 28 people, including women and children. It’s a heartbreaking tale, with Christmas Island locals providing distressing first-person accounts.
‘Bizarre’ and ‘unworkable’ — Morrison’s plan for asylum seekers
Opposition immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison’s plan to send Afghan asylum seekers — who arrive in boats — back to camps in countries such as Pakistan and Iran is doomed to fail, say asylum seeker advocates.
Beaten and bruised: graphic photos of a detention escapee
Crikey has obtained graphic photos of a beaten asylum seeker sent from within an Indonesian detention centre.
Mungo MacCallum: Government can’t have a bob each way on boat people
The Liberal Party’s cadaver in waiting, Phillip Ruddock, described last week’s High Court decision on the rights of asylum seekers as “diabolical.” The misuse of the word was so grotesque as to suggest that the former Immigration Minister and Attorney-General’s use of it might have itself been satanic inspiration.
A win for asylum seekers: but how big?
Crikey Media Wrap: The High Court ruled yesterday that two Sri Lankan asylum seekers were denied “procedural fairness” by the Migration Act, as they were processed offshore. Will it end offshore processing or instead lengthen the time it takes to process claims?
High Court rules in favour of asylum seekers
A High Court ruling that two Sri Lankan asylum seekers were denied “procedural fairness” under the Migration Act will allow offshore arrivals to challenge their decision in Australian courts, says the instructing solicitor behind the case.
Marr: Should ministers make life or death decisions?
Canberra waits nervously for today’s result to the High Court case involving the processing of two Sri Lankan asylum seekers. It could fundamentally affect how refugees are processed in Australia, explains David Marr.
Locals’ response to new detention centres — not in my backyard
The decision to hold 1900 people in Inverbrackie and Northam appears to have provoked only one response — not in my backyard.
