What is the future of multiculturalism in Victoria? How can we ensure Australia is as inclusive as possible? These were the questions posed at community forum ‘The Right to Belong’ held in Melbourne this past week. The forum launched the…

Alternative ways of settling refugees in third countries have been outlined in a ground-breaking report that comes as the global humanitarian displacement crisis continues to spiral out of control. The report by migration think tank the Migration Policy Institute says…

From ‘bogans’ eating ‘battered savs’ to ‘bush baptists’ and ‘chardonnay socialists’, the Australian idiom can be bewildering to visitors and newcomers to this country. ‘Babycinos’, ‘rangas’ and ‘captain’s picks’ are among the more than 6,000 Australian words and phrases that…

The character and disposition of Australia’s migration program has been transformed in recent years with almost two million temporary migrants now living in Australia. These include international students, skilled migrants on 457 visas, working holidaymakers, New Zealanders and refugees on…

Women will be the focus of Australia’s revamped foreign aid effort after Foreign Minister Julie Bishop pledged that empowering women would be the key pillar of the government’s policy. Ms Bishop said that despite cuts to Australia’s foreign aid budget…

Newcomers to Australia cherish our freedom, democracy, and standard of living but some are happier than others and different groups experience varying levels of racism and exclusion, according to a first ever broad survey of the attitudes of recent migrants.…

A photograph of a boy sitting dazed and bloodied in the back of an ambulance after surviving a regime airstrike in Aleppo has highlighted the desperation of the Syrian civil war and the struggle for control of the city. The…

Australia should and could triple its humanitarian refugee intake to 42,000 people a year, according to charity Oxfam. The NGO says that with an unprecedented global demand for resettlement places, Australia should triple its annual humanitarian intake within five years,…

The largest single movement of people in human history occurred in 1947 when India and Pakistan were partitioned in what were literally the last days of the British Raj. When the new Islamic country of Pakistan split from India it…

Two major international magazines have published strong editorials calling for a global action on the refugee crisis to mark World Humanitarian Day (WHD). Time Magazine and the world’s foremost medical journal, The Lancet, have both carried crusading editorials highlighting the…

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ man in Australia, Thomas Albrecht, speaks to AMES Australia Senior Journalist Laurie Nowell about the global refugee crisis.

Non-government organisations working in the humanitarian sector are increasingly becoming beholden to their donors who in many cases are exerting influence on how and where aid is delivered, according to a raft of recent reports. Humanitarian executive and consultant Marc…