Australia - heartless hypocrits?

Politics International Politics
1

A nation that was established as a penal colony for Britain’s lowest, that dragged itself from the gutter by its threadbare velveteen britches, turned itself around from a mish-mash of Eastend loaf-stealers, syphilitic moonshiners from Connemara and cowardly noose-dodgers, that built itself up ONLY through immigration and the strength of diversity, and has managed (credit where it’s due) to drag itself to the heady heights of - and I quote the Prime Minister of Singapore - the white trash of southeast
Asia, is now turning away a boatload of starving and ill asylum seekers.

Does Australia have a MORAL OBLIGATION to take these Afghans?

2

It’s your opinion that people can imigrate into any country illegaly? If not - than why is Australia the exception? People are more than welcome to imigrate into Australia just not illegally. Australia has a very open policy.

Australia is finally making a stand. The country is currently being bombarded with illegal ‘boat’ people - much more so than usual due to smugglers who provide the route and take indecient amounts of money from these poor people. Australia does not currently have the room to house this huge unflux of people dispite having just opened up two more facilities. These people are entering illegaly, are not in Australian waters and knew the risks envolved. Australia is currently providing food and medical assistance, meanwhile Indonesia (the country with the closest port) is doing nothing.

It’s a basic fact that neither Australia or any other county accepts illegail entry. Fare enough the ship needs assistance but Indonesia is the closest port.

3

Mmm, I’m not really concerned about legality (I think international law indicates the refugees are actually Norway’s responsibility). I’m concerned more about moral obligations and the fact that Australia putting its foot down and refusing these people is actually just a racist backlash against non-whites in general and is more to do with vote-winning from whites at home who feel put upon, despite the fact that Australia is only what it is today through immigration, legal or otherwise.

And please, there’s plenty of room and money in Australia, that’s so not an issue!

4

Yes I did start the one on the Source - as a wind up to an Aussie friend - though I’d get a different level of debate here, but just your stuff again - oh well!

Here’s something from the UK

5

I just read that New Zealand has offered to take in some of these refugees, I do hope that this is to the satisfaction of these illegal immigrants!

"New Zealand To Take Refugees
IRN

New Zealand has today become involved in the worsening crisis for 460 Afghan asylum seekers on board a Norwegian ship off Christmas Island to the North of Australia.

Prime Minister Helen Clark says it has become an international problem and as part of a solution this country would take some of the refugees.

However, Miss Clark says that would provide a solution for just part of the problem.

She believes there are many others in Indonesia who are looking to try to do the same thing.

Miss Clark says it is desperately urgent that Australia, Indonesia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees get together to try and stop that from happening."

This is just great! Sure New Zealand has a lot of space, and heck, there are only about 3.8 million people living there ( and a few billion sheep).

By why are they getting involved? It is not like NZ can afford to do this.

There is a massive unemployment problem, university fees are SKY High, the social welfare benefits (unemployment, domestic purposes and student benefits) are extremely low and barely cover the cost of living (about nz$110 to $130 per week), and there is also a lack of affordable state housing.

And on top of this the government is continuing to pay the Maori people millions of dollars every year, as part of the Waitangi Tribunal Land Claims,which is compensating Maori today for land theft issues from the 1860’s (Take note Australia).

In short, why not fix those internal problems first, instead of taking on other people’s problems. New Zealand already has a HIGH record of accepting legal refugees. from Cambodia, Vietnam etc, and most recently Albenia.

Hey, why don’t the refugees go to Singapore? I read recently that they are concerned about their dwindling population, low birth rates etc!!

Helen Clark (NOT), formely know as ‘Don’t Pi*s on Australia’

6

Ha ha,

NZ probably thought it was a good chance to indulge in their favourite passtime - showing up the Aussies (thing is Australia is always so obliging). Now they can say “look how humanitarian and un-racist we are in comparison to those heartless, Hansonite, abo-shooting, throw another shrimp on the barby Aussie thugs” :wink:

Bri

7

I’m almost 100% sure you’ve misspelled hypocritss, hypocrites, hippocrates,hippopotaums,posthumous, humerous, flatulent octopussbrain.

As for Australia…uh…Olivia Newton John? What a big ol’ honnkkeeyy!

poop.

8

It seems that because Australia has finally had the courage to determine who and how people enter their borders they are branded inhumane & racist. Australia has an extremely liberal, and COMPLETELY unracist, and extraordinarily humanitarian policy for migrants and refugees. By UNHCR listings, we are in the top 6 nations IN THE WORLD with regard to per capita intake of refugees.

What Australia does is to take in legitimate refugees via camps and centres BY PLANE. Not leaky boats filled by criminal people smuggling gangs. If you encourage this type of behaviour and action (i.e. let in every boat load full of asylum seekers) you do 2 things:

a) you encourage further crime and exploitation by people smugglers, and

b) you encourage more people to risk their lives in these deathtrap boats (also taking away places or delaying repatriation of legitimate asylum seekers already being processed)

Magnolia, Australia WAS founded by migrants, refugess (and not just the English. Like the US we took in many from Europe and the Balkans after WWII, and have continued to take in a vast number of Asian and middle Eastern migrants from the '70’s until today. Most Australians (except a tiny lunatic minority) support a healthy migration quota -it what we are as a nation. We need this growth simply to survive. But the majority (as evidenced by opinion polls)support doing so in an orderly and humanitarian fashion.

So Magnolia, are Australia heartless hypocrites? I think the answer is no.

9

Yeah, yeah. Australia and her supporters have all trotted out these arguments (which are sound in themselves), but they fall flat in the face of the racist backlash wave that Howard is currently riding.

It’s not about Australia’s choice to decide who she lets in, it’s about using racist sentiment at home to win votes. The situation is being shamelessly manipulated. Why are liberal thinkers being hoodwinked into believing this is all something noble on Australia’s part?

THAT’s why Australian’s are racist hypocrites…

10

The Australian National/Liberal Party coalition may be racist hyprocrites but that does not therefore make the entire nation so. That would be like saying all yanks are gun toting, hamburger munching obese loudmouths… oh hang on… they are.

11

Whilst I wouldn’t exactly condone shooting wayward asylum seekers who caused trouble on the ship that rescued them (although some threatened to jump overboard - OK so jump, I won’t stop you), the fact remains that the Aussie Govt. is not hypocritical or racsist.

Far be it for a politician to gain polularity from some action they are responsible for!?! They are politicians for chrisakes! You paint the picture of the current coalition being like Hanson and her lunatic friends. You know this is not so, and you know that the current immigration policy for both settling migrants as well as refugees and asylum seekers is not racially biased - there are very well policed anti-discrimination laws in place in Australia to ensure this.

Is Australia a shrinking violet that will allow criminal gangs to push the world’s refugees on to our beaches? well no.

When next time you consider Australia on this issue, take a minute or two to think about her neighbours in the Asian region. I think you will find her behaviour exemplaray, especially when compared to Malaysia and Indonesia. How many refugess has Singapore taken in lately… hhhmmmm any?