In this hour of need, contemplating a cut to Australia’s refugee intake is cruel populism
The author argues that Australia's potential reduction in refugee intake is a form of cruel populism that ignores the global displacement crisis. The piece highlights that Australia is currently resettling fewer refugees than it did in the early 1980s despite a much larger population and greater global need.
Why it matters
It highlights the tension between domestic political pressures regarding migration and international humanitarian obligations in an era of record-high global displacement.
A boy carries a girl on his back at a camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza. ‘Nearly 130 million people are displaced around the world, more than 1% of humanity,’ Ben Doherty writes./Getty Images A boy carries a girl on his back at a camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza. ‘Nearly 130 million people are displaced around the world, more than 1% of humanity,’ Ben Doherty writes./Getty Images Australian politics Analysis In this hour of need, contemplating a cut to Australia’s refugee intake is cruel populism Ben Doherty Confusion and politics aside, Australia can’t pretend to be removed from the world – and the millions of people in need of sanctuary
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Messy politics aside, this much is clear: Australia is being cruelly parsimonious in resettling people, at a moment when it is of greatest global need.
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