The Wire

While we may think Australia’s current responses to refugees such as boat turn-backs and shipping people off to remote places like Nauru and Manus Island are unprecedented in our history, a close examination of the facts reveals a different story. Klaus Neumann is an historian who, in his new book, Across the Seas, has investigated how Australia has dealt with refugees since Federation. What he found is a history with surprising resonances with the current language around asylum seekers and stopping the boats.