Failure to resolve Asylum Seeker Impasse reflects dire state of Australian Politics
source: UNHCR
In the wake of the latest asylum seeker tragedy and with news that another boat has capsised off the coast of Christmas Island with one person dead, it would be easy to conclude that we are in the midst of an onslaught, nay invasion of asylum seekers.
That’s certainly what the Coalition would like us to believe particularly if you listen to the likes of Tony Abbott, George Brandis and Scott Morrison.
The media is also complicit in ramping up the hysteria as if somehow, our entire way of life is under threat.
The response, from both sides of politics has been appalling.
With complete disregard for our international obligations, the Coalition’s unashamed approaching to asylum seekers is to not having them arrive here in the first place, and by any means necessary they’d like to have them shipped back, turned around, incarserated indefinitely (or at the very least for a lengthy period of suitable “punishment”) and preferably in some god forsaken hellhole far away from the shores of Australia as possible.
Meanwhile Labor, in its race to reach the moral low-ground is determined to push its own “hell on Earth” policy offloading asylum seekers to Malaysia where the face the prospect of corporal punishment, sex abuse and torture.
The fact that this debate continues to rage amid the hysteria and scaremongering of asylum seekers reflects the disgraceful state of politics in this country.
The government moved hell on Earth to protect the health and wellbeing of cattle exported to Indonesia.
If only they held the same concern and sense of urgency to help people in desperate and dangerous circumstances.
theguttertrash.com 
Watched Talcum in parliament, lecturing without notes, impressive. Too bad he’s a dill.
Talcum is who ‘reasonable’ ALP adherents are waiting for.
But they’re shit out of luck. He ain’t coming! He’ll be hamstrung by affiliation with the panty pissing conservatards.
Turnbull’s a Bolshevik plant. 😯
Yep.
The dark siders like him for a reason! 😉
In other news, Richmond are getting a belting this SaturdayWhy don’t WE look for answers instead of taking partisan stands … how would WE help asylum seekers and refugees?
Just trying to summarise what we have … (a Nominal Group Technique (NGT) – individual brainstorming and then combine ideas)
1. Asylum seekers and refugees will always want to come here (they are NOT migrants, nor are tey illegal).
2. They often come from the countries our ADF is/has been deployed to.
3. The reality is that asylum seekers/refugees (AS/R) have difficulty in our region reaching Australia through official channels. ie UNHCR offices
4. It does seem that we need a co-ordinated regional approach.
5. There will always be some AS/R who will attempt to reach Australia themselves (you have got to admire their courage (especially if you’ve sailed the Indian Ocean)
6. We need to increase our population BUT we also need skilled people not people who would be a welfare “burden”.
7. Maybe we need TWO methods of assessment an offshore and an onshore method …
8. Offshore for men
9. Onshore for women and children
10. If a family turns up at an offshore assessment facility and applies for asylum then they can have the choice … they stay together, or are split and the women and children are shipped to Australia and the men remain.
Just some ideas …
… I’d like to keep it simple and politics free …
… and the men remain and are assessed offshore by Australian officers …
Shit. I really was channelling TB!! 😯
Maybe if the ADF & others stayed the fuck out of their countries, there’d be less people fleeing?
I don’t see how forcing military age males to fight is any different to conscription here?! 😯
Noone should be forced to kill. Period.
I have tremendous sympathy for anyone fleeing conflict not of their choosimg. Gender has fuck all to do with it & noone is forcing young Australian males to enlist.
Fuck me. Possum on Twitter is already sledging Morrison for offering to raise refugee intake. Fuckwit.
I quite like points 8 & 9 of TB’s immigration policy.
Apparently the asylum seekers in Java will be fully informed about the “Malaysian Solution” and will make an informed decision not to travel to Australia. That’s the rationale.
But the humble fishermen in exactly the same location are unable to comprehend the significant penalties for people smuggling. So goes the other part of the rationale.
I think a starting point is conducting an intensive effort to ensure the humble fishermen are aware of the long terms of imprisonment for people smuggling.
Your emotions are getting in the way, HD, I’m talking about ALL males not just Afghani men …
… ensure the humble fishermen are aware of the long terms of imprisonment for people smuggling
I agree, ToM, but they need a better way to make a buck … and is it the fishermen or the “smugglers” that need targetting …
ADF not in Sri Lanka, Iran, China…
Where did I specify Afghanistan?
I don’t see how forcing military age males to fight is any different to conscription here?! 😯 Noone should be forced to kill. Period.
None of us truly understands persecution or volatile government.
Why the gender bias. I thought we were ‘equal’? This isn’t the fucking Titanic sinking…& I bet they locked the poor women & children belowdecks with the men then anyway.
I don’t see how forcing military age males to fight is any different to conscription here?!
Then I hope someone here will explain it to you … FYI, I would pick up a rifle tomorrow and even come down to South Australia to defend my country … but as I did in 1970 I object to fighting other people’s wars … especially the USA’s!
And a reminder the ADF is sent they don’t choose …
No, but they do choose to enlist.
I wouldn’t piss on Queensland. I’ll kill when there is a direct threat on my doorstep.
I don’t do hive-dying.
As far as I’m concerned, a war in the next town is “other people’s wars”.
I realise that this likely won’t compute with the majority.
I will never subborn myself as a soldier but would be the world’s best subversive guerilla…on my terms.
I will never subborn myself as a soldier but would be the world’s best subversive guerilla…on my terms.</i.
I know you listen to funny music, HD, but you must get out of them funny books … do you not learn from Game of Thrones, brother!
United we … divided we …
BTW, HD, how do you think the ADF “works” … they don’t line up in red jackets and fire front rank, rear rank …
I’m not silly, TB. I just arrive at different conclusions. 😉
Funny books? It may surprise you to learn that I read/have read a lot of the same miltary history books by the same authors that you have read. I blame Dad. He had me reading The Rise & Fall of The Third Reich by age 12 (?) [William Shirer]. He was in the CMF to avoid conscription & would have been a conscientious objector had his marble rolled.
War is an ass. One sided wars that are sold to us are worse. I am the eternal pessimist & I will not kill for the notions of others. 🙂
The answer is to stop running the Australian Tourism ads on Brown Peeplz TVs. They’re clearly to blame for the increased level of inquiry.
Sorry Toilet, I’m with TB. If it wasn’t for alliances there would be three superpowers today, Russia, Japan, and Nazi Germany. None of them benevolent.
Don’t be sorry…but you & TB are no more an oracle than I am…& your alternative endings are supposition.
BTW, the US is hardly ‘benevolent’.
‘US is hardly ‘benevolent’.’
No, but they are big fans of democracy and that can’t be a bad thing.
Old mate Jeremy Sear reckons the problem is that we don’t restore the boats, train the crews, and send them back for more passengers! Good grief.
Not my old mate.
They are big fans of democracy right up until the point where the democracy of others becomes inconvenient to them. Ask Hamas.
Glad it was not politicized tonite .
That would have been awful .
Sarc
Milne is nothing but a callous murderer.
Bet she was too busy getting her hair done for the Ball rather than give a fuck about refugees.
Gillard might be a sack of shit but Milne is an evil sack of shit. She bathes in buckets of blood to get ready for the Parliamentary Ball.
Evil
An increase in the refugee intake to 20,000 and still the Greens refuse to budge.
They are the most evil collection of scum that has ever called itself a political party
Green zealots are Bolshies of the worst sort.
I see a lot of progress was made last night* Until it degenerated into politics and personalities … maybe we do have the government we deserve … 😦
*sarc
I couldn’t believe my eyes when watching Christine Milne on ABC breakfast News this morning declare that they won’t be supporting any of the government or Coalition’s offshore processing policies in one breath and then when pressed to offer a solution just said that the government should increase the immigration intake…
Two completely unrelated issues I would’ve thought…
Is she living on another planet or what?
And how about her voice…? Next to Julia Gillard’s it must be the most irritating little squealy thing in Parliament..
(Planet Oz’s-fair-share-equates-to-minimum-60Kpa-to-safely-resettle-backlog-stocks-within-the-decade-and-thereby-lend-hope-to-extant-resettlement-structures-and-reduce-flows, maybe.)