“Boat People” and Borders: Changing Political Debate on Asylum Seekers
Presented by John van Kooy, Research Fellow, Work and Economic Security, Brotherhood of St Laurence
Language used by politicians to describe people seeking asylum can influence how they are viewed by the general public and how they are treated by federal policy. This seminar will present research on the use of the term “boat people” in the Australian parliament from 1977-2013.
Over time, parliamentary language on “boat people” has shifted from concerns with humanitarian aid towards a focus on border control. As the debates have changed, people seeking asylum have been increasingly represented as security threats to be controlled both within and outside Australia’s borders.
About the Refugees and Forced Migration Seminar Series
Across semester two, the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and Researchers for Asylum Seekers (RAS) are partnering to present a fortnightly seminar series on a range of topics related to forced migration, refugees and people seeking asylum.
Events are held between 1pm and 2pm on Tuesdays at Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton.
All events are free and open to all. Bookings are not required. For further information email social-equity@unimelb.edu.au
Semester 2 Program
Download a PDF flyer of the program
Date | Location | Event Name | Speakers |
---|---|---|---|
1 August | Room 224 | Behind “Behind the Wire”: Sharing New Perspectives | Michael Green and André Dao |
15 August | Room 224 | Nowhere People Have a Right to Somewhere: | Michelle Foster |
29 August | Room 920 | “Boat People” and Borders: Changing Political Debate | John Van Kooy |
12 September | Room 920 | Songs of Celebration and Suffering: Music and Refugees | Samantha Dieckmann |
3 October | Room 223 | From Human Trafficking To “Smuggled” Refugees: | Jiyoung Song |
17 October | Room 920 | Rising Seas: Climate change, Displacement and | Celia McMichael |
31 October | Room 920 | Closing the Chapter on Child Detention: Developments | Robyn Sampson |