A Glimpse At Australia's International Relations Issues

In Australia, immigration have been one of the biggest issues that hit the country in the last few months. And aside from its effects in the domestic scene, this has also been a major matter within the international community. But as it is, there are still a lot more that is stirring up Australia's relation with other countries.

Of these, the above mentioned immigration issues has become one of the biggest things that haws set the land down under at odds with other nations. It should be noted that Australia started to implement stricter immigration regulations since early last year. However, while the move was able to tone done anti immigration sentiments back home, many countries that have large number of immigrants heading to Australia have aired their concerns with regards to the changes made by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

One particular example is with regards to the student migration program. It can be recalled that this program was one of the most affected by the changes made by the DIAC. These changes have made student visa applications hard for many foreign students. Because of this, the government of India, which has one of the largest foreign student population in the country, has called on several times for the Australian government to loosen its tight immigration policies. However, Australia remained adamant with its position on the immigration changes.

Another crucial issue that has observers talking is Australia's policies with regards to asylum seekers. It should be noted that Australia has since been one of the major signatories in several treaties with regards to protecting refugees' rights. But as it turns out, Australia also also has a rather tough stance with regards to them, opting to sent them back to the country of their origin or to other countries, rather than taking them in. This has led some groups to question whether Australia is indeed serious with its commitment to refugee protection.

And one of the latest things to hit on Australia's international relations are the documents released by popular internet whistle blowing site Wikileaks. The said documents have shown how vital areas of Australia's federal government has been heavily influenced by several United States diplomatic personnel. The matter is complicated by the fact that the site's founder, Julian Assange, is of Australian descent.

Australian authorities have since cleared Assange of criminal and legal liabilities with regards to the operation of the web. On the other hand, officials have also said that they are closely working with US authorities with regards to the matter. For its part, the federal government has heavily criticized Assange and the site for alleged security disruptions.