Essays & reportage
28 July 2010
Border security has complex effects, many of them unanticipated, some of them pernicious and potentially destabilising, and some of them irreversible, writes Peter Chambers
National affairs
23 July 2010
The reasons for the Howard government’s electoral success are widely misunderstood
National affairs
16 July 2010
People might have strong feelings about asylum seekers, but there’s no sign in the latest polls that harsher measures are a vote winner, writes Peter Browne
National affairs
6 July 2010
Labor power brokers persuaded Julia Gillard to toughen up on border protection because they believed the issue was damaging the party. But are boat arrivals really as electorally…
National affairs
24 June 2010
A visit to Australia’s most remote outpost highlights the failure of the federal government to lead a rational debate, writes Klaus Neumann
National affairs
15 April 2010
Have party strategists got it right about the electoral appeal of targeting asylum seekers?
National affairs
14 April 2010
Like the previous government’s asylum processing freezes, it’s likely that last week’s decision is based on an overly optimistic assessment of conditions in…
Essays & reportage
2 December 2009
Our border cooperation with regional neighbours has entered questionable territory, writes Savitri Taylor
Essays & reportage
12 November 2009
Without more resettlement places, interception in Indonesia is pointless, argues Peter Mares in this overview of recent trends in refugee movement
National affairs
28 October 2009
There’s a price to be paid if we wish to remain a liberal society, write Savitri Taylor and Brynna Rafferty-Brown
International
22 April 2009
Facing an uncertain future in Indonesia, it’s hardly surprising that some refugees and asylum seekers try to continue on to Australia, writes Savitri Taylor
National affairs
22 April 2009
The Coalition isn’t making headway with its asylum seeker campaign, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
21 April 2009
The human cost of turning back boats is too high, writes Peter Mares. So what are the alternatives?
National affairs
18 March 2009
Detention practices have improved, writes Michelle Dimasi, and it’s time for the government to take the next step
International
10 February 2009
Italy’s new system for processing asylum seekers offshore – with its echoes of Australia’s Pacific Solution – is generating unrest on the tiny island of…
Essays & reportage
29 January 2009
The latest release of cabinet papers is a reminder of the political stresses triggered by the arrival of Indochinese boat people in the mid 1970s. Bruce Grant, author of…
National affairs
3 December 2008
Unlike the European Union, Canada and the United States, Australia has no guaranteed protection for people at risk of serious harm in their home country. But that looks set to…
National affairs
5 November 2008
The arrival of two boatloads of asylum seekers is the first test of Labor’s new detention policy, writes Michelle Dimasi on Christmas Island
National affairs
2 November 2008
Detention reform is just the beginning, writes Glenn Nicholls. Labor’s immigration minister now has the task of changing the culture of his department
National affairs
25 October 2008
Independent MP Peter Andren opposed John Howard’s attack on asylum seekers, and his vote went up at the next election