A refugee searching for a rental home says he attended more than 100 inspections, but on each occasion his application was rejected.
Latest Domain figures show rental vacancy rates across Australia are near historic lows.
Despite the long wait for a home, Mr Biayi and his family said they had been welcomed as newcomers in their new neighbourhood.
Exclusive: Tribunal accepts three siblings could face ‘persecution’ for refusing military conscription due to their political opinion on war
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has sparked a new discussion about the resurgence of a 'White Australia' policy — a controversial series of laws that discriminated against non-European migrants.
Hanson has since clarified her remarks, saying she doesn't support the White Australia policy.
…The deeper problem with the politics Hanson is running is its claim to Christian foundations. The civilisational identity these politicians invoke is that of the “Christian West”. But the central tenets of Christian ethics are completely at odds with a politics built on fear of the other, the exclusion of refugees and the cultivation of grievance against minorities. The Sermon on the Mount, the most celebrated distillation of Christian ethics, talks of loving your enemies, turning the other cheek, and caring, especially for the poor, the meek and the stranger. Samuel Johnson put it well: “Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.” And Rabbi Hillel summarised the Torah as: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary.” It is very hard to read those words alongside One Nation’s immigration policy.
The deepest irony is that the primary target of this politics, Muslim immigrants, belongs to a tradition that shares these foundations entirely. Islam reveres Jesus as a major prophet whose teachings carry the weight of divine revelation. Muhammad’s Farewell Sermon, delivered in 632 CE, is a close parallel to the Sermon on the Mount. It was ahead of its time in proclaiming human equality, condemning racial hierarchy and insisting on the sanctity of every life. Politicians who invoke Christian ethics to exclude Muslims are invoking a tradition that Islam itself venerates.
And this ethical resonance does not belong only to the Abrahamic faiths. It is the common inheritance of nearly every major spiritual and philosophical tradition on earth. Confucius taught: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.” The Hindu Mahabharata calls it the sum of duty: “Do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you.” The Buddha: “Do not do to others what you know would cause you suffering.” The African philosophy of Ubuntu holds that one’s humanity is inextricably bound to the humanity of others. The same moral logic appears in every tradition, on every continent.
Unsurprisingly and profoundly the same kinds of values are found in the oldest continuous culture; the one on this continent. Australian Indigenous worldviews are built on principles of respect, responsibility and reciprocity. Anthropologist Deborah Bird Rose, in her seminal Nourishing Terrains (1996), documented a moral universe in which human beings are situated within a web of obligation – to other species, to the land, to future generations. Marcia Langton has observed that Indigenous leadership is earned by elders who are “kind and strong and morally centred”. The ethic of Dadirri, articulated by Elder Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann, calls for deep listening and quiet attentiveness that she likens to contemplation, a gift, she says, that Australia is thirsting for. The Uluru Statement from the Heart speaks of Makarrata: coming together after a struggle, a call for justice and reconciliation built on the same foundations of universal dignity and care for the other.
Multiculturalism is the middle ground Australia needs. By Robin Brown & Nick Bogiatzis, P& I
Government’s response to 54 recommendations made by the special envoy to combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, includes new education taskforce and federal police social cohesion team.
Albanese did not comment specifically on Hanson’s remarks when invited to by Malik but said the One Nation leader “has been undermining social cohesion for 30 years”.
“The movement away from the White Australia Policy wasn’t just the Labor government of Gough Whitlam,” Albanese said. “It was actually a bipartisan position. That began in the 1960s, and that was a good thing.”
The house the women are in is home to Women's Power of Inspiration (WPI), a not-for-profit organisation Esperance set up to help address loneliness and isolation felt within the refugee and migrant community in Logan.
For three years, makeshift English and maths classes in an Indonesian refugee camp were the extent of Marziyah Razi’s education.
When Razi, who was born in Afghanistan and raised in Iran, arrived in Australia as a 17-year-old with a basic understanding of English, she was hungry to resume high school.
This year, Razi, now 28, was admitted as a lawyer.
Save the Children says families in and around the besieged city of el-Obeid are facing increasingly difficult living conditions………….
………….“Throughout June, the situation… was extremely challenging – drones rained heavily in and around the city,” Emad, a civilian living in el-Obeid with his family, told Save the Children. “About 11 fuel stations were hit, along with fuel tankers… Additionally, tankers sitting idle inside the city were also hit, including water tankers.”
Siege-like conditions and overcrowding from internal displacement have also exacerbated a seasonal cholera outbreak, with 300 cases confirmed by Sudan’s State Ministry of Health, the charity said.
Over 5,500 children displaced by fighting in Sudan’s el-Obeid, charity says. Aljazeera
The six friends were volunteers in a federal government initiative called the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Program (CRISP), which matches refugees who have no family ties in Australia with a group of five or more locals who help them navigate life here.
Refugees in the program are referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Nicole Schlesinger had seen an advertisement for the program at a time when she was feeling hopeless following the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, and the devastating attacks by Israel on Gaza.
It was in this climate that joining together with friends to help a refugee family felt like an optimistic thing to do.
A couple who have opened their home to refugees from across the world say a "soft landing" remains critical for helping people settle and integrate into Australia.
Since early 2023, Anne and John Roberts have opened their home in Margaret River, in Western Australia's South West, to vulnerable people seeking a new life under a federal resettlement program.
The Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) program trains community volunteers to support refugees during their first year of settlement.
Last year, the Albanese government announced it would be a permanent fixture in Australia's Refugee and Humanitarian Program.
The Afghan embassy in Canberra has quietly closed its doors, lowering the country’s tricolour flag and dimming one of the last remaining lights of a fallen democracy.
The decision, by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, reportedly followed a request from the Taliban and has left members of Australia’s Afghan community on edge.
The political debate about migration often boils down to a numbers game. The question is typically what the precise level should be and the answer depends on who you ask.
Clive Palmer says zero. Pauline Hanson says around 130,000. Angus Taylor says it should equal the number of dwelling completions (175,000 in 2024–25). Anthony Albanese has recently opted for the Treasury’s long-term estimate of 225,000. One Nation’s David Farley has said he is happy with 306,000.
This is a very wide range suggesting that there is not the slightest agreement about what the level of migration should be.
Part of the reason for this is political, but another reason is policy. Australia’s migration levels are rarely a result of careful and sophisticated planning, but it’s time they were.
Australia’s migration system lacks something crucial: a plan. By Peter McDonald, The Conversation
When my seven-year-old sister dressed up for her school Harmony Day parade this year, my dad sent a long message to the family group chat responding to a photo of her in a tiny Egyptian abaya. He recounted the history of the day, which he said was introduced by the Howard government in 1999 to “hide the longstanding systemic racial discrimination many people have faced in Australia”.
The day coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which was originally meant to commemorate the shooting of anti-apartheid protesters in South Africa in the 1960s.
Having a day to celebrate supposed “harmony” diminishes the ongoing truth of racism in this country, and instead reinforces a comfortable and easy myth: that Australia is a global example of a tolerant and accepting multicultural society.
It may be useful to think of the rise of racism in Australia not as a departure from but an extension of such messaging. There is a risk that simply paying lip service to multiculturalism does more harm than good when it comes to fighting racial injustice.
One Nation's rise is hardening Australia's migration debate — shaping belonging for those inside and decisions for those outside.
The debate has left some migrants questioning how they are viewed in a country that continues to rely on immigration to drive population growth and fill workplace shortages.
The federal government recently completed a major review of Australia's multicultural framework, focused on strengthening social cohesion, inclusion and belonging as the population grows.
For many watching from overseas, that debate is shaping perceptions of Australia long before a visa application is ever made.
Those in Australia feel the shift. Those outside are watching closely. By Blake Quinn, SBS News
“The first years in Australia were difficult. I worked hard in a factory. Long hours and menial work while studying at university to become an interpreter, but Australia was very good to us. Australians opened their hearts, and no one here will say a bad word about Australians.”
The Vietnamese Museum will be one of six multicultural galleries to be built in Australia and will open amid far-right pressure – most notably from Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation party – for a sharp cut in immigration numbers.
Hanson recently faced a public backlash across the country after calling for multiculturalism to be replaced by a “monoculture,” which was dismissed as incomprehensible by the Asian, Aboriginal and European Australians who christened the Mythical Crane Boat.
Once refugees, now part of Australia’s story. By Luke Hunt, P&I
[The Sydney Olympics 2000] What stood out was that the most enduring outcomes were not economic. They were social.
Yes, there was tourism, infrastructure and global visibility. But the deeper legacy lay in civic pride, volunteerism, and community participation.
The Olympics showed that large sporting events can strengthen national identity and social connection in ways that are difficult to achieve through policy alone.
We have seen similar effects through the Socceroos at successive World Cups.
When Australia qualifies, something shifts in the national mood. People from every background come together to support a shared team. Homes, workplaces and public spaces become gathering points. For a brief period, differences recede and a sense of collective belonging emerges.
Just as importantly, the Socceroos reflect modern Australia itself.
The squad is made up of players whose family origins span Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific. In that sense, the team is not just representing Australia; it is reflecting it.
For many Australians, this diversity is not symbolic. It is familiar. It mirrors everyday life in schools, workplaces and neighbourhoods across the country.
Australia is one of the most culturally diverse societies in the world. Nearly one third of Australians were born overseas, and many more have at least one parent who migrated here.
The challenge is not diversity itself. The challenge is ensuring people feel connected within it.
Football shows how belonging is built. By Mainul Haque, Pearls & Irritations
Former independent MPs Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender have announced the formation of their new political party, Community Strong Australia, kicking off a 100-day consultation period.
Community independents have always displayed some features and shared some benefits of political parties, while remaining distinct. These candidates have shared expertise, branding, and endorsed one another — all while maintaining their own independence and local organisations. They have also often held a unified position on key issues.
Community Strong’s constitution formalises this “party-like” organisation, eschewing leadership and formal grassroots members. So far, Steggall and Spender are the only teals to have joined the party.
A woman with links to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group who was banned from entering Australia over potential national security risks will now be allowed to return home from Syria.
The woman, who is an Australian citizen and the last of the so-called "ISIS brides" stranded overseas, will be subject to intensive monitoring when she enters the country.
Final 'ISIS bride' granted permit to return to Australia, Tony Burke says. Source: AAP, SBS News
Multiculturalism has always been here. Like it or not, it is part of the way we are.
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