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'Politicians outdo each other with tough measures to deal with asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. But someone has to look people in the eye and do the questioning, the arresting, the detaining and the deporting. For a time, that someone was Peter Mitchell.
'Hoping for a quiet public-service job, Mitchell walked into the Department of Immigration in 1990 and quickly found himself on the frontline of one of the nation's most divisive issues.
'With the wry humour shared by those in uniform, Mitchell describes his early years collaring illegal workers and visa overstayers. But things became a lot more challenging when he was appointed manager of the infamous Villawood Detention Centre, and later of Operation Safe Haven, ministering to the desperate flood of refugees from Kosovo and East Timor. How do you reconcile your sense of compassion with the demands of fair and proper procedure?
'For the first time, Compassionate Bastard takes us behind the razor wire to reveal the sometimes difficult, sometimes farcical processes our public servants are duty-bound to implement while dealing with people in traumatic circumstances.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Dedication: For Penny. Her encouragement led me to the Immigration job and her support for my writing gave me a life beyond it.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Memoir and Moral Dilemma
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 16 no. 2 2012;
— Review of Compassionate Bastard : How an Ordinary Bloke Came to Manage Villawood Detention Centre and Still Live with Himself 2011 single work autobiography -
Inside with the Outsiders
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 8 January 2012; (p. 7)
— Review of Compassionate Bastard : How an Ordinary Bloke Came to Manage Villawood Detention Centre and Still Live with Himself 2011 single work autobiography -
In Short : Nonfiction
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 24-25 September 2011; (p. 37)
— Review of Compassionate Bastard : How an Ordinary Bloke Came to Manage Villawood Detention Centre and Still Live with Himself 2011 single work autobiography -
Human Face of the Hard Line
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 28 August 2011; (p. 8) The Sun-Herald , 28 August 2011; (p. 19)
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In Short : Nonfiction
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 24-25 September 2011; (p. 37)
— Review of Compassionate Bastard : How an Ordinary Bloke Came to Manage Villawood Detention Centre and Still Live with Himself 2011 single work autobiography -
Inside with the Outsiders
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 8 January 2012; (p. 7)
— Review of Compassionate Bastard : How an Ordinary Bloke Came to Manage Villawood Detention Centre and Still Live with Himself 2011 single work autobiography -
Memoir and Moral Dilemma
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 16 no. 2 2012;
— Review of Compassionate Bastard : How an Ordinary Bloke Came to Manage Villawood Detention Centre and Still Live with Himself 2011 single work autobiography -
Human Face of the Hard Line
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 28 August 2011; (p. 8) The Sun-Herald , 28 August 2011; (p. 19)
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