SpotLight

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is standing by the inclusion of unaccompanied children in Australia’s refugee exchange plan with Malaysia despite fierce criticism of the plan. A number of Labor MPs and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have withdrawn their support for the proposed agreement since the Government confirmed unaccompanied children would be among the 800 asylum seekers to be sent to Malaysia. The plan, under which Australia will accept 4,000 registered refugees from Malaysia, has drawn heavy criticism from human rights advocates including Amnesty International and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF. And the UNHCR has