Refugees who arrived in Australia by boat a decade ago are pleading with the government not to punish them and their families. Read more: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2014/01/15/13/09/govt-punishing-boat-arrivals-refugees

A Sydney researcher says some government multicultural programs are unnecessary and potentially divisive. Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/01/15/call-end-hard-multiculturalism

Hindmarsh Shire Council wants photographs of Nhill’s Karen community to adorn the walls of the nation’s political powerhouse. Chief executive Tony Doyle said council was putting together an application for the Seeking Refuge in Nhill exhibition to be displayed at…

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has dramatically escalated the debate over his Government’s secrecy about asylum seekers, claiming the battle was akin to war and Australia would never tell its enemies everything it was doing in wartime conflict. Read more: http://couriermail.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showarticle.aspx?&article=0a44a2b0-db68-4dc3-88a2-34bb1d62398f&viewmode=2&page=14 

The majority of Australians think asylum seekers who arrive by boat are not genuine refugees, prompting Warrnambool humanitarian advocates to say fear has replaced the once-proud Australian tradition of standing up for the underdog. Read more: http://www.standard.net.au/story/2012365/plea-for-compassion-on-asylum-seekers/

The Australian Navy has been accused of manhandling asylum seekers in the first public descriptions of how the Government is turning back the boats. Two men – who say they were on two boats that were turned back by Australian…

The Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria says migrants and refugees need to be educated better about the role of emergency services. Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/310554/Call-for-better-emergency-services-education

Asylum seekers intercepted on unseaworthy boats could be sent back to Indonesia on large, engine-powered lifeboats, in an escalation of the Abbott government’s turn-back policy. Read more: http://www.winghamchronicle.com.au/story/2009990/government-mulls-lifeboats-plan-for-intercepted-asylum-seekers/

Members of Melbourne’s large Afghan community are concerned over warnings from the United Nations and human rights groups that Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran are increasingly becoming targets for extortion, beatings, harassment and illegal detention. Thousands of Afghans, particularly…

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…

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…

Helping increasing numbers of refugee children who have been exposed to violence or trauma is emerging as a major challenge for agencies working in the settlement area, according to victims of torture support agency Foundation House. The organisation’s 2012-2013 Annual…