Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s optimism came even as Australia sent a boatload of asylum seekers back to Indonesian territory with a new tactic that has added to Jakarta’s concern over the border protection policy. Dr Yuhoyono’s office says he received a…

NO people-smuggling venture has succeeded in landing asylum seekers in Australia for more than four months, the government says. In the latest update on Operation Sovereign Borders, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said today that vigorous border protection activities was deterring…

Migrants from developing countries sent an estimated $US414 billion to their families last year – triple the total of official international development assistance. More than a billion people rely on such funds to help pay for education, health care, water…

Jakarta (AFP) – Jakarta called on governments Monday to stop “shifting responsibility” for asylum-seekers, in veiled criticism of Australia’s hardline policy of towing boatloads of would-be refugees back to Indonesia. The military-led operation has caused anger in Indonesia, which has…

A Vietnamese refugee has led a pilgrimage of thanks from Melbourne to Canberra, accompanied by three asylum seekers. Tri Nguyen says he set out on the journey to say thanks to Australia for welcoming him — and to ask for…

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has pointed to Australia’s success in stemming the flow of asylum seeker boats and is urging Malaysia to follow Australia’s lead, declaring it “vital” to the “safety and security of our people”. Mr Morrison has addressed…

Australia is undergoing radical and unprecedented change in almost every facet of life and including cultural diversity, according to futurist and social research Mark McCrindle. Addressing the 2014 AMES Conference last week, Mr McCrindle said: “The speed of change is…

For a man whose appointment as Human Rights Commissioner stirred up heated political controversy, Tim Wilson has shown he is a man on a mission to listen. “I am very keen to hear people’s views on a range of issues,”…

LESS than four minutes is all it takes to have your voice heard, as Maria Dimopoulos found out. The Westmeadows woman was one of 10 people chosen to have their film screened at the launch of Finding Our Way, a storytelling…

Hawa Hassan is no stranger to death and destruction. As civil war gripped her home country of Somalia in 1990, she and her husband fled. “When I left, it was awful. I saw people being killed, I see people die,…

About 250 students from AMES West Hub spent a day at Werribee Open Range Zoo on March 20, courtesy of City West Water. As part of Cultural Diversity Week celebrations, students were taken by bus to the Zoo, given free…

Passengers on an asylum seeker boat describe the high drama of being intercepted at sea and their treatment by Australian personnel, in this first of a two-part special, with a warning that it contains strong language. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2014/s3965617.htm