THOUSANDS of people have turned out in capital cities across Australia to protest against the Abbott Government’s policies on climate change, asylum seekers, marriage equality, education funding, indigenous rights and more. The grassroots March in March movement, which claimed to…

In 2007 Ireland elected a Nigerian-born man as its first black mayor. Late last year a Hamas rocket landed in Israel killing a farmworker. Not so unusual, except that the worker was Thai. These two unrelated incidents are indicative of…

Help celebrate Melbourne’s cultural diversity with an afternoon of family friendly fun. The 2014 Community Cultural Fair is being hosted by AMES and the Melbourne City Council as part of Cultural Diversity Week on Saturday March 15 at the Drill…

Climate change will emerge as the largest driver of human displacement and migration, according to a new report. The paper ‘Climate Change and Migration Dynamics’, published by the US-based Migration Policy Institute (MPI), has identified sea-level rise, higher temperatures, disruption…

AUSTRALIA has sent a group of asylum seekers back to Indonesia in a lifeboat, in the latest “turn back’’ under the Abbott government. Senior Indonesian sources have told the ABC that the large orange lifeboat was discovered at about midday…

The Indonesian ministry in charge of security matters says Australia’s policy of turning back asylum seeker boats has led to territorial breaches and needs to be stopped. A review of operations by Australian Navy and Customs has found vessels inadvertently entered…

The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) has urged Australia to increase the number of refugees it accepts under its annual offshore humanitarian program. Releasing RCOA’s annual submission on Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program, Chief Executive Officer Paul Power said there…

Asylum seekers and refugees are made to feel welcome when they move into Melbourne’s north, according to a new report. A research paper commissioned by the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) finds that councils and their local networks are promoting…

AMES this week launched an initiative that will see asylum seeker clients from the City of Melbourne get free bicycles as well as training in cycle maintenance and safety. The Good Wheel Project provides bikes, helmets, locks and lights as…

English classes for vulnerable women with young children have begun at AMES Sunshine in an innovative program trying to reach people who might not otherwise be able to attend language lessons. An AMES staff member is on hand to look…

New arrivals to Australia from CALD backgrounds are at greater risk from climate change-linked extreme weather conditions, according to new research. The study, by researchers from The University of Adelaide’s National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, found that some newly…

In its submission to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s Migration Program for 2014-15, the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV) recommended increasing the family migration intake. Read more: http://eccv.org.au/community/media-releases/boosting-family-migration-for-a-healthier-economy-and-cohesive-society-/