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.
Hanson says Australia has a ‘language problem’ due to immigration. After arriving with little English, Marziyah is now a lawyer with a mission. By Adeshola Ore, The Guardian
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.
Over 5,500 children displaced by fighting in Sudan’s el-Obeid, charity says. Aljazeera
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
“A ripple effect of suffering” : Children and young people’s experiences of parental immigration detention and deportation . A Report from University of Sydney
Innovative program sparks unexpected friendships between Jewish volunteers and Muslim refugees. By Leisa Scott and Rebecca Armstrong, ABC News
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.
Couple welcomes refugees to home 'like family' in resettlement program. By Renee Hilton-Jones, ABC News
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.
Opinion: The closure of Canberra’s Afghan embassy is another blow to people on the brink of losing hope. By Shadi Khan Saif, The Guardian
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.
Australia’s migration system lacks something crucial: a plan. By Peter McDonald, The Conversation
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
Opinion: When racism is so entrenched in Australia, could paying lip service to multiculturalism do more harm than good? By Anhaar Kareem, The Guardian
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.
Those in Australia feel the shift. Those outside are watching closely. By Blake Quinn, SBS News
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
Once refugees, now part of Australia’s story. By Luke Hunt, P&I
“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
Football shows how belonging is built. By Mainul Haque, Pearls & Irritations
[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
Teal independents’ new party presents an opportunity – and a risk. By Phoebe Hayman & Josh Sunman , The Conversation
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.
Final 'ISIS bride' granted permit to return to Australia, Tony Burke says. Source: AAP, SBS News
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
Pauline Hanson wants a ‘monocultural’ society. But this version of Australia has never existed. By Alan Atkinson, The Guardian
Multiculturalism has always been here. Like it or not, it is part of the way we are.
Which parties want to cut migration, and how far would they go? By Alexandra Koster, SBS News
Net migration has fallen to its lowest level since the post-pandemic border reopening — meanwhile the subject is one of the defining political fights of 2026.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, released on Thursday, show net overseas migration fell to 301,000 in 2025, down slightly from 306,000 the year before.
Even so, the figure remains above Labor's own targets — with the Coalition and One Nation arguing current levels are still "unsustainable".
One expert says voters real problem isn't immigration and that it's being used as a "scapegoat".
Which parties want to cut migration, and how far would they go? By Alexandra Koster, SBS News
Australia agrees to pay millions to compensate asylum seekers locked in desert. The Straits Times
Australia has agreed to pay A$28 million to compensate dozens of asylum seekers held in Woomera detention centre opened in the southern Australian desert in 1999. Within six months, it held nearly 1,500 people, most from Iraq and Afghanistan. A third of detainees were children.
Separately, human rights group Refugee Action Coalition on June 19 urged the government to medically evacuate a 36-year-old Kurdish-Iranian refugee sent to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea in 2013, saying his mental and physical health had significantly deteriorated.
The group released photographs of the emaciated condition of the refugee, Hatam Yekta, in Port Moresby, where he has been hospitalised.
“Hatam’s condition is an appalling example of the plight of the 10 or 12 refugees who are suffering serious mental health problems as a result of their mistreatment in Manus Island detention,” said Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul.
Australia’s government says Papua New Guinea’s government is responsible for the management of refugees remaining in Papua New Guinea, after an arrangement to process asylum seekers there ended in 2022.
Australia agrees to pay millions to compensate asylum seekers locked in desert. The Straits Times
Once locked out of tertiary education, now Alina is rebuilding her life as a refugee student in Australia. By Biwa Kwan, SBS News
Refugee students are rebuilding new lives in Australia through a new settlement pilot program that connects their university study with industries where there are critical labour shortages like nursing. It has been achieved with the partnership of non-profits, Australian universities and businesses.
The Afghan family who are safe at last and full of hope, thanks to an Australia Pauline Hanson will never know. By Ben Doherty, The Guardian
“Thank you,” Mohammad Ibrahim told the people of Apollo Bay. “Today I am proud to call Australia my home.”
During this country’s longest war in Afghanistan, Mohammad Ibrahim worked on Australia’s behalf, as an interpreter for a government-sponsored aid project in Uruzgan province.
Hiding over the border in Pakistan, Ibrahim – with his wife, Amina, their son, Daniel, and toddler, Helen – had been told his cards were marked. Police knew where they lived. With 36 hours to go before their visas expired, they were preparing to be marched back into the hands of the Taliban.
Then, in the middle of the night, an email arrived bearing four Australian humanitarian visas.
Slowly but inexorably, the people of Apollo Bay willed Ibrahim’s freedom into existence.
Thousands of stateless people live in limbo due to gaps in Australia’s system : report. By Katie Robertson, The Conversation
We have no country, because I am Rohingya. We are born in Burma but we have no documents. No citizenship, no birth registration. No nothing.