The election campaign showed how we don’t seem able to have a rational debate about population, writes Peter Mares
01 Sep 10 Comments (0)Remembering refugees
The parties are making promises like there’s no tomorrow and policy like there’s no yesterday, writes Klaus Neumann
20 Aug 10 Comments (0)The moment of truth
Both major parties have announced policies that will be difficult to implement after the election, writes Ben Eltham
18 Aug 10 Comments (1)The rising tide of border security
Border security has complex effects, many of them unanticipated, some of them pernicious and potentially destabilising, and some of them irreversible, writes Peter Chambers
28 Jul 10 Comments (1)Boats and votes: more evidence on the opinion gap
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
16 Jul 10 Comments (0)Boats and votes
Labor power brokers persuaded Julia Gillard to toughen up on border protection because they believed the issue was damaging the party. But could the belief that boat people influence the way people vote be one of the great myths of Australian politics, asks Peter Browne 06 Jul 10 Comments (6)
Strange days on Christmas Island
A visit to Australia’s most remote outpost highlights the failure of the federal government to lead a rational debate, writes Klaus Neumann
24 Jun 10 Comments (0)Six days on Nauru
Tony Abbott has raised the possibility of a revived Pacific Solution and Nauru’s high commissioner says the island nation would consider a request. Michael Gordon, the first journalist to gain unrestricted access to the Nauru detention centre, recalls his visit in early 2005
04 Jun 10 Comments (0)A vote-changer?
Have party strategists got it right about the electoral appeal of targeting asylum seekers, asks Peter Brent
15 Apr 10 Comments (0)The asylum freeze and international law
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 source countries, writes Savitri Taylor, and breaches Australia’s international obligations
14 Apr 10 Comments (0)