The AAP via the Herald Sun (News Corp) reports on a deal between the Australian government and the former U.S. administration. Under the arrangement, people seeking asylum in Australia—who have, controversially, been detained in centres on Nauru and on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea—would have been resettled in the United States. However, according to the story, the plan is now in question due to the change in leadership there.
According to The Guardian , "the U.S. could resettle zero refugees from Manus Island and Nauru and still be 'honouring' the deal."
related story:
Manus Island Centre Deemed Illegal; Detainees Seek Compensation
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 03 2017, @03:11PM
Australia has a huge arid region inland. Many (most?) of these asylum seekers come from arid regions. Bus those people into the interior, and see how they get on with the aboriginals. It could be helluva good thing - or it could be helluva bad thing. But, the US has been kicking the can down the road (immigration reform) for half a century - Oz can probably get away with the same thing.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Saturday February 04 2017, @03:23AM
Bus those people into the interior, and see how they get on with the aboriginals.
First of all, not that many Aboriginals survived to this day [wikipedia.org] for yet another cruel experiment. What had the Aboriginals done to you to wish them such a fate?
Secondly, how would you keep the migrants constrained to a specific territory? There is transportation. You dump them in Great Victoria desert, and the next day they are drinking beer in Sydney. This is why the refugees are kept in other countries, in camps. Once they are free in Australia, the horse has bolted. You have to accept them as they are, in their entirety, before letting them immigrate.
(Score: 1) by Myfyr on Saturday February 04 2017, @10:23AM
Funnily enough, there are multiple deeply rural towns crying out for any refugees willing to live in the bush to be allowed to settle there. These are towns that have been trying to literally give houses away to entice people to come - they are slowly dying as the younger generation moves to the city, because there's just no real money in family scale farming anymore.
And many of the refugees would jump at the chance. Hard work in a peaceful rural setting is miles better than anything some of them (maybe not academics fleeing persecution etc., but there are plenty of asylum seekers with less comfortable backgrounds) have ever experienced. Win-win.
No interest from the government though (either major party). They're all terrified of being called "soft on terror", or the optics of disasters at sea. Cowards.