Monthly Archives:: December 2011

Mike Steketee writes in The Australian about the compromises that were made for the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees  during the Vietnam war. For Australia to return to these much more reasonable policies, Australia must look for regional cooperation on the issue.  He quotes CPD founder and former Department of Immigration head John Menadue: “It would be harder in … more

CPD founder John Menadue appears on ABC Radio to discuss regional solutions to Australia’s asylum seeker policy. After the most recent asylum seeker tragedy off the coast of Java, Menadue outlines the fact that politicians need to reconsider the Malaysia deal as the first step toward a regional agreement. “it doesn’t matter where processing happens as long as it’s fair … more

Bruce Hawker writing in The Australian provides commentary on Tony Abbott’s refusal to negotiate on asylum seeker policy. He qoutes CPD founder and former head of Department of Immigration John Menadue. “Australians don’t seem to have any real problem with accepting asylum-seekers – provided they come here by plane. They do struggle, however, with the idea that the few refugees … more

Opponents of the Gillard government’s so-called Malaysian solution need to think again, writes John Menadue and Arja Keski-Nummi in The Age here. They look back at the agreement, the opportunities it offers for steering us on a different course and why Australia needs to work constructively with its neighbours. “Whether countries in the region are parties to the refugee convention … more

Writing in The Punch, CPD fellow Kate Gauthier criticises the narr0w-minded policies put forward by both parties on the asylum seeker issue. A fair and equitable debate is being called for. The two major parties both propose harsh deterrence as a way of stopping the boats. Public debate is then focusing on evaluating only on those narrow options put forward by … more