Australian institutions show a shocking callousness to the welfare of children in its care.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbul and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten refuse to acknowledge and act on the parallels between the situation in the NT and that of the asylum seeker detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.
It costs a fraction of the billions of dollars we are spending annually on the offshore facilities to process claims for refugee status here. The money saved could be far better spent setting up orderly queues in our region, thereby undermining demand for treacherous trips on boats
There have never been more displaced people, and it is well within the means of our nation, one of the world's most prosperous, to increase its humanitarian intake.
We not only have a duty so to do; it is in our interests. Refugees make a positive contribution socially and economically. They are an asset to the nation, not a drain on the economy.
