In this hour of need, contemplating a cut to Australia’s refugee intake is cruel populism

Confusion and politics aside, Australia can't pretend to be removed from the world - and the millions of people in need of sanctuary

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Messy politics aside, this much is clear: Australia is being cruelly parsimonious in resettling people, at a moment when it is of greatest global need.

There are more people in the world requiring protection right now than at any time in human history, but Australia is obsessed with cutting numbers in the face of febrile anti-migration rhetoric.