The Prime Minister of Australia and the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand have taken contrary positions over proposed legislation which will bar “refugees” in New Zealand from automatically qualifying for entry to Australia—as is currently the case for all NZ residents. According to reports, New Zealand’s deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters—whose father was a Maori and his mother Scottish—said... 

The group is being backed by the education union, but Opposition state education spokesman Nick Wakeling said ‘the classroom isn’t a soapbox for activist teachers’. Hundreds of teachers at 30 Victorian schools will wear T-shirts promoting the closure of offshore detention camps as of Monday as part of a pro-refugee movement. Up to 500 educators with Teachers for Refugees will wear... 

Protesters across Australia have been holding rallies to force the government to close all of its overseas refugee centers, demanding that all asylum seekers be housed in Australia. Separate demonstrations are set to take place in London and Tokyo where protesters will ask the Australian government to take the refugees. The “Close the camps, Bring them here” rallies took place in seven Australian... 

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been lauded for defending his country, after drafting a code of behaviour for the hoards of asylum seekers that threatens to deport them for ‘irritating people, disturbing someone or spitting or swearing in public’. Australia’s tough stance over asylum seekers from Indonesia has soured relations between the two countries in recent months and this document... 

Australia says it would continue to send back illegal Sri Lankan asylum seekers if their claims are not covered by the refugee convention. “When people arrive in Australia unauthorised, any claims they make for their reasons to travel to Australia are assessed by the Department of Immigration. If these claims are not covered by the refugee convention, they will be returned to their home land wherever... 

NASA photo of Nendo, the largest of the Santa Cruz Islands An 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific on Wednesday. At least five people died as the disaster reportedly flattened several coastal villages. Five people were confirmed dead in the disaster. They were two elderly men, two elderly women and a boy aged between 10 and 12, local medics said. The epicenter of...