http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/11/austra13964.htm

Human Rights Watch, whose Middle East arm is so busy documenting all the Israeli and Hizbollah war crimes at the moment, has had to turn its attention to Australia as the Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill 2006 winds it way through Parliament.

The Bill was approved by the House of Representatives yesterday 79-62, but with three Liberal Party members voting against the motion (Petro Georgiou, Judi Moylan and Russell Broadbent). Bruce Baird abstained, as did John Forrest, who immediately resigned as National Party chief whip. The number of government members who have crossed the floor in the ten years of Howard government could, until yesterday, have been counted on one hand.

The Bill enters the Senate on Monday. There's a very good chance that it will be voted down.

Here's a report from today's Sydney Morning Herald. (Parlinfoweb is down at the moment, but once it's back, I'll link to some of the speeches from this week's House of Reps debate.)