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1 – 10 of 220Angela Page, Joanna Anderson, Penelope Serow, Elvira Hubert and Anne O’Donnell-Ostini
Inclusive education can be viewed as an ongoing active process or journey that is impacted by changes in policy, practices, and values (Anderson & Boyle, 2020). This “journey…
Abstract
Inclusive education can be viewed as an ongoing active process or journey that is impacted by changes in policy, practices, and values (Anderson & Boyle, 2020). This “journey toward inclusion” is not always an easy undertaking, but rather a progression that requires modification to systems, structures, and functioning in schools. Nauru, a small Pacific republic situated in the Micronesian central Pacific Ocean, has worked in partnership with Australian education providers since 2011 to improve educational learning experiences for all Nauruan students. More recently, initiatives by the Nauru Government resulted in the commissioning of a national project to develop a Nauru policy on inclusive education and also to deliver professional development for teachers that would be needed to support inclusion. Inclusive education staff at the University of England, Australia, guided the development of the project which culminated in the Nauru Inclusive Education Policy and Guidelines (2017) (Page, 2018). From this policy, a series of workshops were delivered on unpacking the policy directions, guidelines, and roles and responsibilities for teaching staff in Nauru. This chapter describes the university staff who are working in collaboration with Nauruan teachers in order to develop their capacity to create inclusive classrooms. In doing so, we embraced approaches that incorporated culturally responsive practices into our work, using the framework of Ekereri (educational approaches that embody the core values of Nauruan culture) into our practices. With this chapter, we hope to further the understanding of how contextual factors influence the collaboration and implementation of educational partnerships between culturally distinctive groups of people.
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Ken McPhail, Robert Ochoki Nyamori and Savitri Taylor
The purpose of this paper is to address two questions: first, what contracts, instruments and accounting activities constitute Australia’s offshore asylum seeker processing policy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address two questions: first, what contracts, instruments and accounting activities constitute Australia’s offshore asylum seeker processing policy in practice? Second, how are notions of legitimacy and accountability mediated through the network constituted by this policy?
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is located in the critical interpretivist approach to accounting research. It is based on an exhaustive documentary analysis. Policy documents, contract documents, records of parliamentary inquiries (Hansard) and legislation were analysed drawing on a network policy perspective.
Findings
The paper finds that the Australian Government has sought to escape its accountability obligations by employing a range of approaches. The first of these approaches is the construction of a network involving foreign states, private corporations and non-government organizations. The second is through a watered down accountability regime and refusal to be accountable for the day-to-day life of asylum seekers in offshore processing centres through a play with the meaning of “effective control”. Yet while the policy network seems designed to create accountability gaps, the requirement within the network to remain financially accountable undermines the governments claims not to be responsible for the conditions in the detention camps.
Research limitations/implications
The paper focuses largely on the period starting from when Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister to the death in Papua New Guinea of asylum seeker Reza Barati on 17 February 2014. Earlier periods are beyond the scope of this paper.
Practical implications
The paper will result in the identification of deficiencies inhuman rights accountability for extra-territorialized and privatised immigration detention and may contribute towards the formulation of effective policy recommendations to overcome such deficiencies. The paper also provides empirical data on, and academic understanding of, immigration detention outsourcing and offshoring.
Social implications
The paper will inform debate regarding treatment of unauthorized maritime arrivals and asylum seekers generally.
Originality/value
The paper provides the first detailed and full understanding of the way Australia’s offshore asylum seeker processing policy is practiced. The paper also provides an empirical analysis of the way national policy and its associated accountability mechanisms emerge in response to the competing legitimacy claims of the international community and national electorate.
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Jurgita Rimkeviciene, John O’Gorman and Diego De Leo
Recent reports raise suicidality among asylum seekers as a pertinent issue in current Australian offshore detention centres. However, knowledge on the nature of the suicidality in…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent reports raise suicidality among asylum seekers as a pertinent issue in current Australian offshore detention centres. However, knowledge on the nature of the suicidality in these centres is very limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore in depth how suicidality arises and develops in offshore detention centres.
Design/methodology/approach
A single case study approach was used.
Findings
This case study presents the findings on the suicidal process of an asylum seeker who attempted suicide three times while in Nauru Regional Processing Centre, the last of which being a near-lethal one. The prolonged mandatory detention, together with lack of clarity about the timeframes of detention and constant postponing of the legal processes were identified as the main factors driving the suicidal intent. The suicidal behaviour escalated from an interrupted attempt to a near lethal one within two years, which signals lack of adequate suicide prevention within detention.
Practical implications
The resources for mental health being limited in Nauru, it is likely overall changes in refugee status processing may be a more effective suicide prevention strategy rather than implementation of other additional measures.
Originality/value
Studies in offshore processing facilities have been scarce due to barriers for researchers to access the detention centres. This study offers a unique insight into suicidality in this hard to reach population.
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Trifin J. Roule and Michael Salak
Describes how Nauru was put on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of countries which are centres for money laundering; in response to this, the Nauruan Parliament passed…
Abstract
Describes how Nauru was put on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of countries which are centres for money laundering; in response to this, the Nauruan Parliament passed the Anti‐Money Laundering Act of 2001. Mentions its provisions: it criminalised money laundering, established the Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority, and introduced know‐your‐customer obligations. Points out, however, that this failed to meet all the FATF 40 Recommendations, mainly because it did not mandate oversight of over 400 offshore centres or “shell banks”, so that FATF members applied sanctions to Nauru. Outlines the Republic’s existing financial services regime; the Evidence (Confidential Information) Act 1976 established Nauru as a safe haven by defining individual rights against disclosure, and its banking and company law were similarly deficient from the FATF’s point of view. Concludes that Nauru has made progress towards effective anti‐money laundering regulation, but serious issues remain unresolved in the ongoing political and economic turmoil.
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This chapter discusses the use of law and legal institutions by the emerging social movement seeking to end Australia’s policy of mandatory detention for refugees and asylum…
Abstract
This chapter discusses the use of law and legal institutions by the emerging social movement seeking to end Australia’s policy of mandatory detention for refugees and asylum seekers. Through an examination of Australian inquiries and court cases alongside social campaigns, it considers the ability of legal institutional responses to identify the harms, in particular state and institutional responsibility, and the subsequent impact of these legal processes in inhibiting and promoting social and structural change. It shows how social movements are harnessing law and creating new legal and civic spaces in which to contest Australia’s refugee and asylum seeker regime.
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Erin Jade Twyford, Farzana Aman Tanima and Sendirella George
In this paper, the authors explore racialisation through human-centric counter-accounts (counter-stories) to bring together critical race theory (CRT) and counter-accounting.
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors explore racialisation through human-centric counter-accounts (counter-stories) to bring together critical race theory (CRT) and counter-accounting.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilise CRT to demonstrate the emancipatory role of counter-stories in (re)telling racialized narratives, specifically the narrative of asylum seekers who arrive by sea and are subjected to the inhumane and oppressive nature of the Australian government's policy of offshore immigration detention.
Findings
Counter-stories, as tools of accountability, can make visible oppressive forces and the hidden practices of racialized social practices and norms.
Research limitations/implications
This paper emphasises that we are not in a post-racial world, and racialisation remains a fundamental challenge. We must continue to refute race as an ontological truth and strive to provide a platform for counter-stories that can spark or drive social change. This requires allies, including academics, to give that platform, support their plight, and offer avenues for change.
Originality/value
The authors introduce CRT as a theoretical tool for examining racialisation, opening space for a more critical confluence of accounting and race with potentially wide-reaching implications for our discipline. The paper also contributes to the limited accounting literature concerning asylum seekers, particularly in the use of counter-stories that offer a way of refuting, or challenging, the majoritarian/dominant narratives around asylum-seeking.
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On 22nd June, 2000, after a good deal of speculation, the much anticipated list of non‐cooperative countries was made public by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). They had…
Abstract
On 22nd June, 2000, after a good deal of speculation, the much anticipated list of non‐cooperative countries was made public by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). They had assessed 31 countries before deciding on the final 15, deemed non‐cooperative as their laws and practices were construed as providing an impediment to the fight against money laundering. They were the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Dominica, Israel, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Panama, Philippines, Russia, St Kitts & Nevis and St Vincent & Grenadines. Unfortunately for the Dominican Republic, a number of news sources from around the world substituted them for Dominica, assuming the two names referred to the same country.
IN SPITE of the relatively small numbers so far sold — sales are spread over all six continents. At this time 69 aircraft have been sold to 23 customers. The sale to Air Nauru is…
Abstract
IN SPITE of the relatively small numbers so far sold — sales are spread over all six continents. At this time 69 aircraft have been sold to 23 customers. The sale to Air Nauru is particularly noteworthy in view of the distance to the mainland areas in Australia and Japan. In addition to the definite sales several options are held.
Uncontrollable movement of people across international borders is one of most pressing contemporary challenge encountered by nation-states. Their response to this challenge is…
Abstract
Uncontrollable movement of people across international borders is one of most pressing contemporary challenge encountered by nation-states. Their response to this challenge is often rooted on a reconceptualisation of (in)security from a state-centric to a non-state-centric one. This has been the case with Australia where insecurity from asylum seekers, or what is referred to as the ‘boat people’, dominating the country's discourse on protecting its borders. Such conceptions are rooted on historical anxieties from ‘foreigners’, resulting in exclusionary policies of ‘White Australia’ to recent assertions of exclusive sovereignty over the refugee intake. In this context, while reviewing government documents, reports and other secondary sources, the chapter examines Australia's policy towards asylum seekers domestically as well as at the regional level, while placing them within the broader debate between deterrence and human rights. The chapter is significant as it provides an important case study of the inherent contradictions that come into light in a nation-state's response towards refugees on the one hand and undocumented arrivals, in this case, the ‘boat people’ on the other. This chapter provides analytical support to the primary assertion that while Australia has been an active international player regarding refugee issues, there is bipartisan exclusivity and hard-handedness towards asylum seekers.
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