Seismic shift in asylum policy exposes ghosts of intolerance
CPD Fellows ask how to best implement the imperfect set of solutions that is the Houston report
While the government has acted wisely in its decision to implement the recommendations of the Houston report in full, such a roll-out will resurrect the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres, signalling a return to Howard-era policies on asylum seekers.
Given the UNHCR’s refusal to co-operate with Nauru and Manus Island, and the Opposition’s determination to cherry-pick the report’s proposals, as suits them politically, “our next best hope is that the Government will use these islands for the shortest time and for as few people as possible.”
The report is a puzzle of pieces and removing one may well prejudice the total package
