Rethinking Australia's practice of ‘turning around’ unauthorised arrivals: The case for good faith implementation of Australia's protection obligations*

Abstract

Australia presently has a practice of ‘turning around’ most unauthorised arrivals without giving them an opportunity to apply for a protection visa. The practice reflects a deliberate choice on the part of the Australian government not to implement Australia's international protection obligations in good faith. The choice is easily explicable in domestic political terms. However, it is not a rational choice for the nation in an era of globalisation. By contrast, a choice to implement Australia's international protection obligations in good faith would be a choice to take responsibility for remaking the world into the sort of place in which we would all prefer to live: a world governed by an international rule of law founded on universal moral principles. This article argues that active moral agency is a choice worth making.