This report reveals the human rights situation for approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat before 1 January 2014. Due to a number of legal and policy changes since 2012, these people are treated differently from other groups of asylum seekers.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale says if the Abbott Government paid people smugglers to turn boats back to Indonesia it would have been a breach of domestic and international law.

This article tries to test the assumption that asylum seeker policy is guided by public opinion. It analyses events in November and December 1977 during the final stages of the federal election campaign.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott claims there is a big between turning boats around in Australian waters and the Australian Navy towing them back to Indonesia.

Indonesian politician Tantowi Yahya claims it is illegal for Australia to turn back asylum seeker boats in international waters.