There’s more to Labor’s new policy on refugees and asylum seekers than we learnt from most media reports Labor’s national conference. With the focus on factional battles and the most contentious of the proposed changes, key elements of what could be a viable policy were largely overlooked, writes Arja Keski-Nummi.

Now that the acute phase of boat arrivals appears over, this paper urges all parties to use this opportunity to construct an overarching national asylum and refugee policy for the long term.

This report comprehensively critiques Australia’s refugee and asylum policies and finds they are inhumane, ineffective and expensive. It argues that Australia needs a circuit-breaker in our treatment of people seeking asylum from war and persecution. On the 10th anniversary of the Tampa, Australia’s asylum and refugee policies are still sadly characterised by human tragedy, political...