Immigration

1. According to international refugee law, a refugee is someone who seeks refuge in a foreign country because of war and violence, or out of fear of persecution. The United States recognizes persecution "on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group" as grounds for seeking asylum. Until a request for refuge has been accepted, the person is referred to as an asylum seeker. Only after the recognition of the asylum seeker's protection needs, he or she is officially referred to as a refugee and enjoys refugee status, which carries certain rights and obligations according to the legislation of the receiving country.


2. People have many reasons to leave their country to come to Australia such as War, Famine, Political Opinion, Racism and Religion.


3. A person will only be granted Asylum after recognition of their protection needs which carries certain rights and obligations.


4. Most Asylum Seekers that come to Australia come from countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, Indonesia & Malaysia.


Video Questions


1. The Deal with Malaysia states that Australia will send 800 Asylum Seekers to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 Genuine Refugees who's cases have been verified by the United Nations Refugee Agency.


2. The deal states that they will be treated with dignity and respect by the Malaysia Security Forces and they will have human rights protected. Australia will be covering the costs of health and education expenses. They will also have the right to work.


3. Malaysian Asylum Seekers are often rounded up and put into detention camps. They also face harsh punishments such as caning and breaches of Human Rights.


4. Yes, Children are being sent to Malaysia but they have access to health and education sources.


5. The 500+ people will now be processed in Australia rather than overseas in places such as Papua New Guinea as was previously announced.


6. Refugee Advocates worry that there is no way that the Australian Government can guarantee that Human Rights won't be breached for the Asylum Seekers in Malaysia.


7. The Goal of this swap program is to receive genuine refugees while giving Asylum Seekers to countries with much less of an Asylum Seeker Problem.


8. I don't think it will work because I agree with the fact that the Gillard Government has no way of guaranteeing that Human Rights will not be breached in Malaysia and that the program will get too out of hand for the Australian Government to handle.

Australia as a Nuclear Target

1. Kevin Rudd holds the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Australian Government. He is responsible for overseeing the International Diplomacy of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

2. Mr Rudd's concern is that Australia could be under direct threat from long range North Korean nuclear weapons such as the long range Taepodong-2 Missile and that North Korea has become 'detached from reality'

3. Mr Rudd expressed his concerns while attending the ASEAN Regional Forum, which is being attended by all ASEAN Member Nations along with the United States.

4. The Attack and Sinking of the South Korean frigate "Cheonan", the shelling of Yeonpyeong and the deliberate disobeyment of United Nations sanctions on uranium enrichment have Kevin Rudd alarmed and have made the region very unstable at this moment in time.

5. According to Mr Rudd, the North Korean Uranium Weaponisation Program is designed to put Nuclear Warheads on long range missiles and this is a direct threat to Australia. In particular, the long range Taepodong-2 Missile is being developed to have a range of over 14,000km however recent tests of the missile into the Sea of Japan have been unsuccessful.

6. Mr Rudd is trying to show that Australia is very concerned about the issues on the Korean Peninsula and he is trying to encourage high level talks between South Korea and North Korea. He is also trying to put Australia in a major player position in the conflict.Mr Rudd is also attempting to help build further our relationships with key allies such as the United States, who are against North Korea.

7. This relates greatly to Australia's relationship with its allies because it is a key issue in the Asia-Pacific region and if Australia supports South Korea, then it has the support of the United States, our major ally. If Australia is shown to be committed to the unification of Korea, then it looks good in the eyes of its allies.

Australian Aid

Foreign Aid Review:

• Economic Growth is the key to overcoming long term aid.
• In the past 5 years, Australia's aid budget has doubled, and will double again in the next 5 years.
• Australia will be spending $8 Billion on foreign aid in 2015.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd, commissioned a review of Australia's overseas aid budget.
• The Report does not really cover why the budget is growing so fast.
• Many people think the answer is obvious, helping people in need.
• Emergency Aid only makes up for 7% of the budget.
• 1 Billion people still live on less than USD $1.25 a day.
• In 1981, 54% of the World's population lived in poverty, by 2005 this had fallen 25% and in 2015 it will be less than 15%.
• Economic Growth of developing countries is the key to overcoming poverty, not foreign aid.
• The developing world has now overtaken the developed world in terms of economic output.
• Since 1990, massive economic growth in China has lifted over 500 Million people out of poverty.
• Australia's Aid program to PNG has been one of the largest and most innovative aid programs but there has been no improvement in poverty levels since independence in1975.
• Many people say that Australia is only contributing to foreign aid because it is about serving Australia's national interests. 
• People also say that sending extra aid to Africa and the Caribbean is all about our bid for a place on the UN Security Council. People also say that our participation in Afghanistan is just about impressing Washington.

Australia is giving more aid because of a combination of reasons, I think because they do generally care about  poverty and economic growth of developing countries but I also think it is in a large part because of the national interests of the country and impressing other countries such as the United States and the European Union.I think the benefits of such a policy are for the developing countries, because Australia is contributing a large amount of money to foreign aid but it also helps the international image of Australia, because it shows us as a kind, giving nation.