The absence of political statesmanship and sound judgment was again highlighted last week with the announcement by the federal Attorney-General concerning under-age ‘people smugglers’. One of the three children is Yasmin Ali, a (now) 16 year old boy who has been held In Western Australia's Albany maximum security prison and Perth's Hakea Prison for over two years. Yasmin was 13 years of age when first arrested for so-called 'people smuggling' in 2009. At the time Yasmin's only crime was to accept a job as a de…
The Australian Government has this week announced that as part of a review into the incarceration of Indonesian children in adult jails in Australia, three minors will now be sent home. One of the three children is Yasmin Ali, a (now) 16 year old boy who has been held In Western Australia's Albany maximum security prison and Perth's Hakea Prison for over two years. Yasmin was 13 years of age when first arrested for so-called 'people smuggling' in 2009. At the time Yasmin's only crime was to accept a job as a dec…
“Its good politics to be seen to be ‘tough on people smugglers’ but it’s even tougher to acknowledge that we are locking up the wrong people.” Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Julie Bishop’s visit last week to Jakarta proved a challenge as she explained to senior Indonesian ministers her leader’s policy of wanting to turn back the asylum seeker boats before they reach Christmas Island and dump the hapless passengers back on Indonesian soil. The irony of Mr Abbott's policy is that privately, many Indonesian officials probabl…
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