In the wake of the Coalition’s federal election victory last month, some aspects of the leadership structure of the community and humanitarian sectors have changed while much has stayed the same. Peter Dutton remains as Minister for Home Affairs. Mr…

Melbourne’s Multicultural Hub marked its fifth birthday this week with a celebratory event attended by staff and frequent users of the hub’s facilities. “We are celebrating half a decade of providing a friendly venue where people from diverse communities can meet, work…

Women are grossly under-represented on Australian boards and those from non-English speaking backgrounds are almost non-existent, a new report has found. Launching the report, ‘Promoting CALD Women’s Participation on Boards and Decision-Making Positions’, at this month’s Federation of Ethnic Communities’…

Australia’s controversial skilled migrant program has been “a wonderful success” that demands changes to the nation’s migrant settlement services program, according to Migration Council of Australia chairman Peter Scanlon. Speaking at this month’s Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia…

James Brincat calls it his “build it and they will come” moment. As the Ranger in Charge at Werribee Park, he has witnessed the regeneration of an historic garden and, in a remarkable example of cultural cross-pollination, the blossoming of…

An Afghani Hazara refugee has won the inaugural ‘Photo of the Year’ in the prestigious Nikon-Walkley Press Photography awards. Barat Ali Batoor’s photo ‘The First Day at Sea’ was entered as part of a photo essay on asylum seekers travelling…

Australia would see productivity boosted and an increase in the availability of skilled workers through a national program to help skilled migrants into professional jobs, according to new research. The programs would also harness the skills and cultural knowledge of…

A ‘wicked problem’ is one that is difficult or impossible to solve because any solution necessarily creates other additional problems. Refugee advocate and government advisor Paris Aristotle believes the arrival of asylum seekers to Australia by boat is a ‘wicked…

Cutting energy bills can improve the home comfort, health and well-being of low income families, according to new research. As well as saving money, reducing energy usage and being environmentally friendly made people feel better about themselves, according to study…

The cost of detaining asylum seekers in Australia’s Nauru and Manus Island detention centres is set to blow out beyond almost $1 billion in this financial year. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/11/19/15/35/offshore-detention-costs-rising-hearing

The military commander in charge of the operation to stop asylum seeker boats has revealed that not one boat has been purchased under the Australian government’s controversial boat ‘buy-back’ policy because Indonesia does not support the idea. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/an-boats-buyback/5103184

The spying revelations could not come at a worse time for the Coalition Government, and the issue is likely to lead to more resistance to plans to stop asylum seekers travelling from Indonesia to Australia. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-18/spy-revelations-not-helpful-for-government/5100602