Articles 

Bight Petroleum is currently applying to the Federal Government to explore the region for resources beneath the ocean floor. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) says the area is a whale hot spot and that any sub-sea drilling could harm the population. Scientists have long suspected the area is used by whales for breeding and feeding, but have lacked the evidence to prove it. But the group says that is no longer the case after an acoustic analysis of the area captured ...

A former asylum seeker has forged success as a cafe owner in South Australia, winning a barista of the year award for the third year running. Saeid Safavi said he was overwhelmed by his success and it showed how much he had achieved since his time at the Woomera Detention Centre a decade ago. His Port Pirie cafe is a favourite among many locals and Mr Safavi has taken out the top award again in the regional championships, beating some tough competition. "I don't ...

People die of course. Terribly. Sadly. Men, women and children, swallowed alone in the wet wasteland of the Indian Ocean. That's an unarguable reality. Then we come to the politics of it, which have an unreal tinge. There's the outright fantasy of precisely what "national security crisis" can be constituted by a sequence of soggy desperates whose hired craft can barely withstand the 500 kilometre voyage to Christmas Island never mind the next 1, 560 km to Exmouth, the closest - and by ...

Some of Tasmania's newest residents are doing their bit to help declining global bee populations. Young migrants and refugees at Hobart's TasTafe are giving their English lessons a more practical application, taking part in an urban beekeeping project. TasTafe has one hive and about 25, 000 bees on its rooftop. Ian Hewitt, a coordinator of the Young Adult Migrant English Program, says the students are getting a lot out of the program. "They're learning English and they're learning about beekeeping and the ...

IF you've lived in Adelaide long enough you know that poking fun at our city and state is something of a sport for eastern states types. They like to point and laugh at how we're "boring" or "backward", or whatever other negative term they can come up with to make themselves feel better about the fact that our food, wine and lifestyle generally are far better than their own. The "nothing ever happens in Adelaide" gag is a cheap attempt at laughs pulled out by lazy ...

INTERNATIONAL migration is becoming a key issue in the lives of young people with the latest preliminary data revealing that nearly 35 million migrants are under the age of 20. UNICEF Deputy Director Christian Salazar said on Monday the data collected by the United Nations children's agency and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs showed that 62 per cent of the young people are living in developing countries. "Whether alone or with their families, adolescents and youth are increasingly migrating in search of employment, ...

Making South Australia a unique destination for potential migrants is a very difficult task, given South Australia's current economic situation. However,   people factor should not be overlooked.  It is well known (Massey et al., 1993, 1998) that migrant networks shape much migration. Potential migrants are more likely to come and settle in a place  where they already have some form of acquaintances, friends and family.  It is suggested that Immigration SA provides state sponsorship for 489 subclass visa to the potential migrants in case they ...

I am writing this piece because I believe the setting of annual numbers for partner and child visa categories contravenes the intention of the Parliament. The Parliament of Australia in the Migration Act (sections 85 to 87) gives authority to the Minister of Immigration to limit visa numbers by capping. Section 87 specifically excludes partners and children from that authority.  I conclude that Parliament intended that the Minister and Government of the day should not limit partner and child visas by numbers. It seems that the ...

In Peter Weir’s classic film The Truman Show, Jim Carrey accidentally bumps into the hard edge of the show’s enormous set while sailing a small boat. The shocking-but-funny incident confirms Truman’s suspicions that the world in which he lives is fake (it’s a TV show) and he makes ever-more desperate attempts to break free, before eventually succeeding. There was something of Jim Carrey’s poignant collision with reality for us South Australians in April with the release of a national snap-shot of state economies. In ...