Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Immigration in the news again
In addition to a number of high profile cock-ups at the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, including the wrongful incarceration of two Australian citizens and a third being lost ‘somewhere’, Federal Immigration Minister, Senator Amanda Vanstone, has recently admitted to a further 85 cases that will go to an inquiry set up to investigate the failings.
Any good opposition would be going to town. Harsh immigration regimes, as Tony Blair found in the last UK election, are an easy target. All kinds of accusations can be thrown, some spurious, but most – those focusing on the inherent racism of the regimes – right behind the eight ball.
Unfortunately, the Australian Labor caucus is in no position to criticise the Howard government, being firm advocates of the current government policy. That is locking up any asylum seeker who doesn’t fancy sticking around the tented transit centres of Pakistan and Jordan and manages to gain entry to Australia under their own steam.
The only acceptable opposition to the policy is currently from a Liberal MP – Petro Georgiou - who has put forward two Private Members Bills calling for the mandatory and universal detention policy to be rescinded or relaxed. Of course this will never happen, but at least someone out there has principles.
John Howard is currently in talks with Mr Georgiou in what will essentially be an arm twisting exercise; a number of Representatives and Senators from the Coaltion have briefed that they are sympathetic to a change in the law.
Public attitudes towards Howard’s policy is a difficult subject to find meaningful research into. Certainly it is suggested that most Australians are aware of the policy and most disagree with it. Unfortunately for those in detention – including until yesterday, a three-year old Vietnamese boy who had spent his entire life in detention – it didn’t really matter enough to Australians at the last election.
Immigration in the news again
Posted by Living with Matilda at 11:47 PM
In addition to a number of high profile cock-ups at the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, including the wrongful incarceration of two Australian citizens and a third being lost ‘somewhere’, Federal Immigration Minister, Senator Amanda Vanstone, has recently admitted to a further 85 cases that will go to an inquiry set up to investigate the failings.
Any good opposition would be going to town. Harsh immigration regimes, as Tony Blair found in the last UK election, are an easy target. All kinds of accusations can be thrown, some spurious, but most – those focusing on the inherent racism of the regimes – right behind the eight ball.
Unfortunately, the Australian Labor caucus is in no position to criticise the Howard government, being firm advocates of the current government policy. That is locking up any asylum seeker who doesn’t fancy sticking around the tented transit centres of Pakistan and Jordan and manages to gain entry to Australia under their own steam.
The only acceptable opposition to the policy is currently from a Liberal MP – Petro Georgiou - who has put forward two Private Members Bills calling for the mandatory and universal detention policy to be rescinded or relaxed. Of course this will never happen, but at least someone out there has principles.
John Howard is currently in talks with Mr Georgiou in what will essentially be an arm twisting exercise; a number of Representatives and Senators from the Coaltion have briefed that they are sympathetic to a change in the law.
Public attitudes towards Howard’s policy is a difficult subject to find meaningful research into. Certainly it is suggested that most Australians are aware of the policy and most disagree with it. Unfortunately for those in detention – including until yesterday, a three-year old Vietnamese boy who had spent his entire life in detention – it didn’t really matter enough to Australians at the last election.
Posted by Living with Matilda at 11:47 PM
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