Playing Catch Up

NEED TO KNOW

Playing Catch Up

Australia has garnered headlines recently, but not for the happy-go-lucky stories usually associated with the island nation.

After US President Donald Trump dissed a refugee exchange deal between Australia and the previous American administration as “dumb” earlier this month, the Land Down Under has come under scrutiny for its poor handling of a litany of political and economic issues.

Take its stance on refugees. The long-negotiated deal between the US and Australia was an attempt by the so-called Lucky Nation to offload 1,200 refugees caught in bureaucratic limbo due to what the Washington Post calls “draconian immigration policies.”

The Australian government notoriously blacklists asylum seekers who arrive by boat, rarely allowing them to permanently settle. Many end up in detention centers on the islands of Nauru or Papua New Guinea’s Manus. International agencies have condemned the facilities for alleged human rights abuses.