Australia's offshore refugee policy has failed

 Such policies may seem like a quick win with some domestic constituencies, but they are not wins in the long run. 

There is also an important lesson here for other countries who might be looking at Australia's policy as an example of how to stoke fear about - and among - people seeking safety..... Ultimately they are inhumane, unlawful, unsustainable, costly, and damaging to a country's reputation. 
(Anmerkung von Spurensuche: Der letzte Absatz ist wohl auch für Österreich´s Bundeskanzler Sebastian Kurz und seine Regierung!!!!!!!!)

..... I was furious to see hundreds of women, men and children subjected to physical and psychological harm that could only be characterised as torture: They were attacked, held in inhumane conditions, deprived of vital medical help and driven to insanity, self-harm and suicide. On Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea, my colleagues witnessed a similarly shocking situation. ....
.... Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government suffered an unprecedented defeat, as Parliament passed a law making it easier for refugees from offshore locations to receive medical treatment in Australia. This may not sound like a ground-breaking development, particularly since the government now intends to reopen a detention centre on the Australian territory of Christmas Island. ....

..... The new law will literally save lives. And it is another sign that Australia's long-standing "offshore detention" policy is slowly being whittled away as it is exposed, time and again, for what it is: a vicious attack on people for the simple act of having sought sanctuary....

......Perhaps equally significant is the international recognition of the very people that the Australian government tried to make invisible, delegitimise, silence, and deprive of agency and hope....

... One is Kurdish Iranian writer Behrouz Boochani, a refugee on Manus..... No Friend but the Mountains was his first book, which he wrote by text messages from the detention centre on the Island.....
The other is Behrouz's fellow detainee from Manus Island, Sudanese human rights defender Abdul Aziz Muhamat...... Aziz has worked continuously to advocate for humane living conditions and adequate medical care on Manus, including through mass peaceful Protests.

All of these developments indicate that the Australian government's "offshore detention" policy has utterly failed. The only way to avoid further suffering for the refugees and shame for the country is to put a decisive end to it, accept responsibility, and do everything possible to rebuild hundreds of lives affected by years of abuse. 
complete article on aljazeera