The Edmund Rice Centre has today called on political leaders of all persuasions to support the Gillard carbon plan. "The Gillard carbon plan is an important and significant first step that all Australians should get behind," said Jill Finnane, coordinator of Eco-Justice programs at the Edmund Rice Centre.

According to the Edmund Rice Centre, Malaysia's poor human rights record and refusal to sign the Refugee Convention, raise deep fears for the asylum-seeker deportation deal announced by the Australian Government at the weekend.

In the wake of a week that saw Australian Federal Police using tear gas and 'bean-bag bullets' to end asylum seeker protests on Christmas Island, Edmund Rice Centre Director, Phil Glendenning, today called for a major policy overhaul of Australia's management of asylum-seekers.