Michael,
Thanks for your reply.
I don't have anything further to contribute since you've declared your professional interest in high migration levels, we all do what we have to do to earn a living within the parameters set by the state.
I'm more interested in how refugee activism and humanitarian groups intersect with the state and global capitalism and since you've said you have no further information to pass on our conversation is at an impasse. That said if I was an aspiring refugee advocate whose prime motivation was altruism I'd be casting a very critical eye over the spokespeople and facilitators of the movement.
Altruistic, emotionally driven people however are rarely critical thinkers, that's one of life's constants.

The circumstances you outline could just as well apply to an Australian family except they do not have free lawyers and refugee advocates bending over backwards to help them.

Also there are Australian families in worse situations as they are homeless (refugees get preferential housing at the expense of Australian citizens) why don't you help them?

Refugees also have the charities bending over backward to help them but the money then comes from the taxpayer.

My bleeding heart has no pity for your clients.

The only thing taxpayers money should be used for is to send the economic invaders home.

Hello Michael,

Your portrayal of asylum seeker families and reference to human rights standards (particularly with reference to Rights of Children)to me sits in contrast to media reports earlier this month about a 12 year old girl in the Hunter Valley being arranged by her own family into a relationship with a 26 year old Lebanese national. This relationship was also officially endorsed within her community via a religious ceremony.

Pru Goward then spoke out about it saying this was not an isolated case but the secrecy within the community prevented authorities from knowing what the true scale is. I do not know whether anyone involved in this particular case was an asylum seeker or not but they were migrants, perhaps you could check on that Michael.

It is quite possible that asylum seeker families you have represented have gone on to commit this type of child abuse. As an immigration lawyer I wish you would pay more attention to this issue because I think you are in a better position than most to investigate families you represent seeking asylum.

It is not the floodgate of visas that concerns me Michael it is the knowledge that Australian law is being systematically ignored by families you represent who once settled in Australia go on to engage in the type of child abuse.

The root of the problem and source of cruelty is that the state of Australia hogs this whole continent and doesn't allow entry to those it doesn't like. That state is imposed on Australians and non-Australians alike, as most of us were never even asked or given a choice whether or not we want or accept to be part of it. The only thing that allows this state of affairs are certain political/military conditions that prevailed in the 18th century (a time when slavery was still rampant too).

In one extreme, it is clear that the people of Sydney don't want refugees or their families - and indeed they should have the right to block their entry into their city.

In the other extreme, however, Tasmania welcomes refugees and their families with open arms. So why can't Tasmanians invite them, with a condition on their visas that forbids them to cross the Bass strait?

The evil is in having such a vast stretch of land, mostly undeveloped, held under the same law and same administration.

While people (thus societies) may protect their investment/development/social-order in limited, extensively-developed areas such as cities, nobody has a moral right to monopolise the access to significant portions of this planet.

Hi Phillip,

"The circumstances you outline could just as well apply to an Australian family except they do not have free lawyers and refugee advocates bending over backwards to help them."

If you re-read my article you may notice that I am in fact referring to Australian families and the denial of certain parents and partners to settle with their Australian citizen spouses.

As for 'Australian families in worse off situations', I don't think you're trying to suggest I can single handedly end all the various forms of suffering in Australia. By no way does my work in one area diminish the suffering of others and I never said that this was the only area I was active in or concerned about. If you care to engage with the content of the article I'd be happy to discuss further with you.

Hi Farquhar,

I have no knowledge of the case you refer to beyond a few headlines. I do not know if there were any refugees involved and I am not sure whether it is pertinent. If there are higher instances of such problems in migrant communities (I don't know if this is so) then something should be done but i am not aware of any such data.

Given the low number of new australians who are also refugees (~15'000 per annum compared with a migration program of over ~200'000 per annum, if my memory serves me correct) I would be hesitant to conflate all child abuse instances in migrant communities with refugees. But once again this is far beyond the scope of my article. Perhaps this may be an article topic for you to write?

Michael,

Would you be able to respond to the question I asked in my second response above. The one concerning what would happen if there was a substantial drop in applications.

Thanks.