New legislation aimed at simplifying Australia's migration laws will come into force on 1 September this year. The introduction of the Migration Reform Act has provided a timely opportunity for the Government to review one of its most controversial migration policies: the mandatory detention of people claiming refugee status at Australia's borders. But if the Government follows some recent recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, the policy will remain in place.
In 1902, Australian women were granted the right to stand for election in the Commonwealth House of Representatives and Senate. It wasn't until 1943 that two women actually cracked it for seats. Dame Enid Lyons MP and Senator Dorothy Tangney were recently featured on a postage stamp commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of women in Federal Parliament. Nowadays, women make up thirteen per cent of our federal representation, and similar figures apply in the State and…
