Closing the Asylum Gate

It seemed like old times last week when Philip Ruddock stepped forward to defend Australia's immigration stance. Five years ago, as Immigration Minister, he steered into law the so-called Pacific Solution to discourage boatloads of asylum seekers. Now, as acting Immigration Minister, he was championing the latest version of that policy against criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Australia was doing nothing wrong, he insisted. Under the new measures, revealed last month, it "will meet its international refugee protection obligations."

Though the policy won't be detailed until Parliament resumes later this month, refugee law experts...