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Monday 5 December 2011

Boat people deserve equal rules

THE federal government decision to start processing asylum seekers who come by boat in the same way as asylum seekers who come by air is good news. It has been welcomed by the UNHCR. In the toxic controversy over asylum seekers it could be a game changer, if done well.

For years, we have had the absurd situation that we lock up asylum seekers who come by boat, but allow asylum seekers who come by air to live in the community while their refugee claims are being considered. This discrimination against boat arrivals is compounded by the fact that boat arrivals in the past decade represented only 24 per cent of total asylum seekers and that boat arrivals have a much higher rate of refugee determination, about 80 per cent, compared with air arrivals, about 30 per cent.    Read More

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