Asylum seekers: what now?

In the face of the continuing controversies and hardships in Australia’s refugee and asylum seeker policies and practices, Michael Liffman proposes consideration of an initiative he first suggested over ten years ago. It is not, he notes, an entirely novel idea, and has much in common with the ill-fated Malaysia policy that received such lamentable treatment by Australia’s political processes in 2011.

Manus Island – a firsthand account of a humanitarian crisis

A recent trip to Manus Island left Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Jana Favero deeply shocked and confirmed the humanitarian crisis that has developed from Australia’s asylum seeker policies. She shares her experience with Open Forum and calls for an end to partisan politics on this issue.