Harry Clarke

An excellent article on asylum seekers by Ken Parish.   I agree with the central argument that queue jumping should be prevented.  John Howard was right – Australia should determine who becomes a citizen of Australia.
‘Asylum seekers brought to Christmas Island and found to be genuine refugees should not be automatically granted a visa entitling them [...]

One of the worst policies of the Hawke/Keating era in Australia was its migration policy.  Bob Hawke was a garrulous cry-baby with his eye keenly on the ethnic vote.  Hence he, as with many former governments, promoted ‘family-based’ rather than ‘skilled-migration’ to Australia on the basis of ‘family-reunion’ principles*.  If the economy soured a little [...]

There is no doubt that Labor policy ending the Pacific Solution on queue-jumping migrants has encouraged illegal migration to Australia.  Labor is seen as ‘softer’ on border control than was the previous Howard Government despite the stench of hypocrisy amid talk of ‘toughness’ from the Labor faithful.  Whatever people may claim about the Howard policy [...]