This seems to be what the authors are arguing. We are tempted to believe that if we can just get the facts out there to enough people we can get a change in the national mood, and politicians can be pushed to follow. The anecdote will resonate with many refugee advocates. She attempted to set him straight on the facts about refugees in the hope that she could wean him off his thoughtless acceptance of the views of Ray Hadley of 2GB.
In the introduction one of the authors relates a conversation that she had with a Sydney taxi-driver. We are not the only country to do so (for a historical comparison, Claire Higgins, also of the Kaldor Centre, has written a fascinating book drawn from an insider’s view about how refugee processing worked in the context of the 1970s Vietnamese evacuations). This reader’s conclusion from the book is that our government interprets, bends and breaks much of the law with impunity. The book’s title signals a critical perspective, and its recommendation is “just follow the Refugee Convention law which you signed up to” in its spirit and precedents. A second warning: being a legal guide, this book skims across the politics and debates and is not a guide to the many issues which are so challenging to policy and politics, nor does the book deal with the new threats to refugee policy which I mention below. The Liberal National government changes are reported, such as new visa categories, fast track reviews, Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) and various Migration Act amendments. Readers expecting something new should note that this is an updated version of the 2014 book “Refugees: Why Seeking Asylum is Legal and Australia’s Policies are Not” by the same authors, and largely follows its structure and content. There is an index and extensive endnotes. The complexity of legal and bureaucratic arrangements necessitates technical and complicated explanations at times, and it is another strength of the book that it provides these. Its coherence and focus make the book accessible to non-lawyers, and it reflects the views of refugees and experts. The last was an important factor in the recent decision on the Biloela family case. As well as the Refugee Convention, the following relevant treaties are covered: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention against Torture (CAT), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also makes the comparison with current Australian policy and practice, which comes up well short. This book by legal academics from the Kaldor Centre at the University of New South Wales is a lay person’s introduction to the requirements of international refugee law. “Refugee Rights and Policy Wrongs: a Frank, Up-to-date Guide by Experts”, Jane McAdam and Fiona Chong, UNSW Press, 2019, 277 pages
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