October 23, 2013
What motivates a democratic, peace-time government to imprison innocent men, women and children? Former Liberal MP Judi Moylan looks at the divisive history of Australian border policy.
Few matters have been more fiercely debated in the Australian Parliament or more unsparingly ventilated in the media than the recent and ongoing treatment of asylum seekers arriving by boat.
To understand what motivates a democratic government in peace-time to implement policies that imprison indefinitely thousands of men, women and children who have not been charged with or convicted of any crime we must turn to historical, social and political attitudes.
Though countries around the world guard their sovereign powers jealously to determine who may enter, the treatment of asylum seekers in Australia has been particularly high profile and divisive. This article seeks to understand why.
The White Australia Policy
Immigration has been contentious in Australia since the early days of European settlement. It was an issue during the establishment of the Federal Parliament in 1901 when two early bills underpinned what became known as the White Australia Policy.
The Pacific Islanders Act prohibited islanders from entering Australia and the Immigration Restriction Act imposed an English language test, effectively barring entry for most non-English speaking people. One Member of Parliament said: “No matter what measures are necessary, Australia must be kept pure for the British race who have begun to inhabit it.”
Between 1945 and 1955 one million immigrants came to Australia. Even after the Menzies government signed up to the 1951 UN Convention, refugees continued to be selected according to the colour of their skin.
(You can read on clicking above link.)
Tags: Australia, Boat People, British, UN, White Australia
Posted in Gerard Oosterman |
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
I’m astounded by the venom from people who have not addressed the question posed at the beginning. They can’t deny the detention or imprisonment, but at least they could give a reason.
But the question you are posing, Gerard, can be answered by pointing out that we all came here as boat people and the first ones stole it from the Aborigines. So there is a certain degree of guilt in us.
Now that we are here and have had possession of the land for over 200 years we behave like all other people in other countries. We are afraid of “the others”.
Australia is a big country but people have no idea of the real size. . They think it is Malta. On a size A 4 piece of paper Australia does not look any larger than Malta. It is the scale that confuses us.
The reasons put up, on why those people should not be admitted, are all irrational and are being exploited to win elections.
The inhumane treatment of asylum seekers comes as a huge financial cost too. The billions of Dollars could be spend developing housing and infrastructure for the new arrivals. We all get more work and the country will go ahead.
But we don’t want to share “our piece of paradise” and instead show them what hell would look like. And some of the people who added their pennies worth, here on this blog to the debate, are adding only to our discomfort.
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Well said.
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Welcome to this blog Berlioz. We hope to see you here often. It is a cyber pub and like most pubs, sometimes there can be an outbreak of scuffles and the debate unfortunately becomes inflamed by personal insults and overexcited spirits.
We have been going for a number of years and by and large it has worked well, not least by contributors who, tirelessly, put up the different pieces of all political persuasions or non- persuasions. There are no limits on subject matter as long as it stays clear of personal bastings.
I think you are right that our attitude to the ‘foreign’ creates a lot of angst and unnecessary indigestion of which exposing the futility of all this angst and xenophobic rumblings might eventually work a bit like Mylanta.
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Welcome, Berlioz, let me purchase a Pink drink, from the bar, or, if your innards can stand it, a Trotters’ Ale, with diesel bouquet, and a delicious afterburn! Keep the ranitidine handy.
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When I have been in Adelaide city a few times recently, the relief i feel about being among the grouping that makes up ‘the city’ has really delighted me after being ‘in the country’, but sadly isolated. Just walking down the street among people speaking their own languages comfortably and multifariously is like being at my mother’s breast. I feel so happy. A very few short years ago I would have disliked the numbers of people and crush without a thought to the sounds of the languages and the vocal tones around me. The distress caused us by isolation is an experience we all need to some degree to understand how wonderful it can be to be included, feel the same. Once I am among people who are from differerent cultures, hear the sounds they make between each other in their family groupings, I am happy. I generally feel cosy. We need this sharing of our space and our resources so to be somehow topped-up, but primarily we just need to share.
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This is beautiful. Australia has become this way only in the last twenty years. It all changed with the large influx of Vietnamese refugees and people from Hong Kong after the takeover by the communists. Now people from the Middle East are coming. We should welcome them all. In a couple of generations the mix of the Australian population will be nothing like it was fifty-five years ago when I came to Australia. I’m grateful that Australia was, and still is, welcoming to newcomers. It is only a minority who are fearful of new arrivals and the politicians who play on those fears.
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So nice to see you berlioz, welcome. And thanks for your sober input here. There was a time in the last 40 years where we as a country were sympathetic to those who sort asylum here then the rules changes with bi partisanship blown out the window. Now it seems a lottery on who can be the most cruel playing to a bogan audience.
Again welcome, please come again.
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It might be helpful if responses were somewhat more directed about the issue at hand. Judy Moylan is trying to give a historical background to why Australia is dealing so harshly with refugees by detaining them for years on end and now denigrating them even further by calling them illegals.
It hardly helps or is relevant to point out other countries are even more inhumane. There is not much I can do about funerals of refugees in Italy or the VVD political party in Holland.
Should we just allow any form of torture just because it pales into insignificance compared with what happened at Auschwitz 1940-1945 or at present in Libya?
Nothing will happen if people don’t speak out or, when they do, they get personal abuse and hatred.
Leave that to the ABC Drum which has gradually been allowed to sink to a 2GB level.
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No we shouldn’t allow torture. But we should challenge torture when we see it. We shouldn’t divert ourselves with the untestable hypothesis that Australians are more prone to commit torture than Swedes.
I find this latest tack breathtaking, Gerard. You’re the one who performs the comparisons. Now that the facts show things aren’t as clear cut as you had argued you try to dismiss the idea of comparison. I’m happy to move on. Lets focus on issue by all means. See how long you can keep it up.
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I would suggest also in this hypothetical discussion on torture we avoid insulting Libyans by insinuating they are generally tolerant of torture and backing it up with racist speculation about its cultural antecedents.
I don’t think that would be helpful at all. I feel it would be counter productive.
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I didn’t read in to Gerard’s words what you have. Reading things into what has been written doesn’t make it so.
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To me, this is so blatantly disingenous it’s laughable, gerard. As is the pitiful attempt to silence rebuttal by calling it bullying and to discredit it by suggesting that Sea Mendez and I are the same person.
I’ve already pilloried the idea that posting close together means you are the same person so won’t bother doing so again except to note in passing that I used it not much earlier on this article to prove that you, Helvi, and Sea Mendez are the same person. I still find it astonishing that you persist with it though in the face of all evidence only inches away.
Gerard, is was you who raised the issue of comparing Italy’s treatment of refugees with that of Australia, not Sea Mendez and not I. As I wrote below (again, I find it astonishing that you just keep repeating the same thing, this time that you didn’t raise comparison with Italy, in the face of all evidence), you wrote an article based on this this exact funeral service earlier this month.
Personally, as I’ve said repeatedly, I find country comparisons that present or insinuate conclusions based on grossly misleading fact-picking, to be quite invalid, and when done repeatedly, quite reprehensible. Again personally, I have NO, NADA, ZIP, ZILCH interest in who wins on the league table of better refugee treatment between Italy and Australia. I simply dislike dishonest argument.
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If two witnesses notice the same thing they are the same person. Only one person disagrees with me. Most Australians disagree with me.
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Thank you , Judy Moylan for your article, and New Matilda for publishing it.
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Here then is a time log of when the last posts were submitted during the last two hours on this article. I’ll leave it to the few remaining readers to make up their minds about the bullying methods by just a single person. I haven’t included Carisbrooke as I don’t think he is that same sort of spiteful and bullying league. Carisbrooke does not pretend to be a different person or identity
Sea Mendez 8.14
Sea Mendez 8.28
Voice 8.45
Sea Mendez 9.28
Voice 9.38
Southern Cross T 9.41
Sea Mendez 10.04
If the different pseudos were just a lark, so what? However, they are pretending that others also support opinions while in fact it is just a single identity spewing their unhappy bile
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The Italian government did not release victims from detention to attend the memorial service. They did welcome the victims’ oppressors. Please deal with the facts.
Your article is one of a series about how Australians treat refugees poorly and Italians treat them well.
I’ve introduced facts. I believe your characterization of them as hate filled bile is poor form. I believe it is a less-than-courageous attempt to avoid a weakness in your argument.
Come on! Just once admit you got something wrong.
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Sorry. Unhappy bile.
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Sorry. Working from memory.
But its bloody offensive, right? Its dehumanizing. Instead of acknowledging your thoughts they invent reasons to dismiss them. I bloody hate it. I was angry on your behalf.
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IT IS NOT MY ARTICLE. Take it up with Judi Moylan. One on your side of politics. No one talks about Italy.
Why is every response by you, to no matter who, always tinged with bitterness, laced with sarcasm? Why the personal attacks? Why go out of your way to damage and spoil Emmjay’s blog?
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Well isn’t that what I did? Moylan argues that Australian treatment of refugees is that exceptional and then attempts to place it an a half-arsed narrative context. I the former with facts and lampooned the the latter. Gimmee a break, Gerard! What am I supposed to do when I see Moylan’s facile BS (which borders on racism itself)?
Did you Vivienne complaining that Alpo had attacked for being ignorant of fire management on the land? It made me angry. Its an attempt to dehumanise her and deny the validity of her opinion. Its bullying. It ignores what she says.
So tell me. When have I ever uttered support for ‘my side of politics’? When have I advocated a policy that would not be at home in the Labor party?
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Gee, what coincidence that both of you seem to write at the same time again. Perhaps it is just symbiotic.
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Wow. 7 billion people in the world and two agree on some issues. What are the odds?
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It was Ardy who ignorantly attacked me.
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Here then is a time log of when the last posts were submitted during the latest two hours on this article. I’ll leave it to the few remaining readers to make up their minds about the bullying methods by just a single person.
Helvi October 24, 2013 at 12:07 am
gerard oosterman October 23, 2013 at 11:48 pm
sea mendez October 23, 2013 at 11:12 pm
sea mendez October 23, 2013 at 11:10 pm
gerard oosterman October 23, 2013 at 10:57 pm
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Pilloring of complete absurdity aside.
I agree with Sea Mendez’ comments and I quote “Please deal with the facts.
Your article is one of a series about how Australians treat refugees poorly and Italians treat them well.
I’ve introduced facts. I believe your characterization of them as hate filled bile is poor form. I believe it is a less-than-courageous attempt to avoid a weakness in your argument.”
It really is a bit much to hide behind accusation of being bullied whenever someone tackles the content of your articles. That some of your articles consist of no more than cherry-picking other people’s articles and adding your own title is hardly a defense.
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In the post war period The Netherlands was trying desperately to hold on to Indonesia. Australia pursued a policy of Indonesian independence. More recently the PVV forced Dutch politics rightwards, managing to put racist laws on the books (such as banning dual citizenships) and forcing the large parties in accomodation and compromise. Dual citizenship remains legal in Australia.
YESSSS!!!!!
Australia 2 – Netherlands 0 in the World Cup of Progressivness Competition!
Honest to God! Aussie’s the best bloody country in the world!
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-23/an-gold-found-in-gum-tree-leaves/5039226
It is now.
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This article is incorrectly titled.
The correct title is : Why does The Labor Party imprison women and children?
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Did you hear the Lampedusa state funeral was canned? A memorial service was held on Sicily instead. The survivors weren’t allowed to attend. They were in refugee holding centre on Lampedusa.
Did you know they’ve also stepped up drone and ship patrols in what they call Operation Mare Nostrum? I wonder what that means?
They’ve also been complaining that the rest of Europe should resettle more of their arrivals. They might have a point. You could add the resettlement totals of several European countries and not come close to Australia’s total. You could add all Europe and not come close to the Anglo Giants of Resettlement (if I may coin a phrase) being the US, Canada and Australia.
Shall we attempt to modify your theory about Italians now? Perhaps in its place we can trace their cruelty to Mussolini and his black shirts. Or maybe the colleseum.
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Plus the mayor pulled out.
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The mayor pulled out on principle, I believe. If the survivors couldn’t go he didn’t want to go. I’ve got nothing against the mayor. He seems to have his principles.
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I’ve got nothing against him. I’ve got nothing against any of his cousins, or even his pets.
I don’t know why he isn’t going and can’t be bothered to find out. I was just mindlessly repeating what I heard on ABC Coast FM.
I don’t even know why I’m writing in this gloomy section of The PA. I think I’ll go and spray for mossies, it’s been a hot day.
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Yes, I noticed this yesterday. I recalled that Gerard had put up a piece about this very memorial service few weeks ago contrasting Australia and Italy’s treatment of refugees. But it seems he has since lost interest since, as there was no update or follow-up.
The tone of the article was that Australia is remiss by comparison. Frequent visitors to the site might have noticed a pattern there with one (hundred) or two (hundred) of gerard’s other pieces.
Italy has a law which makes it an offence to offer aid to illegal immigrants. The service in question commemorated only one of two separate disasters in which 550 African migrants drowned . Several survivors have said they were spotted in distress by fishing boats that did nothing to help, apparently out of concern that they could be penalised under the law. Gerard considered this of no relevance when he wrote that piece.
Neither has he appeared to notice that Italy uses the term illegal immigrants for boat people. Perhaps he has noticed, but hasn’t considered it of interest. Although he’s very exercised by the term when used by Australia.
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But I didn’t consider any of this to be worth raising. Surely everyone’s cottoned on by now.
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I had a weird dream once. Maybe even a nightmare.
I was crossing a suspended foot bridge above a crystal-clear, fast-flowing stream. Perhaps it was in the Alps.
It was a hot day. The water was deep and enticing. Half way across I came across a person. You know how weird and fluid dreams are. The person kept changing. Mostly it was Gerard but he would morph into Helvi, Mulga or Granny. He/she/they were set to fall into the water. They were hanging desperately to the side of the bridge with their hands.
I was seized with a impish desire. I wanted them to have swim in the georgous waters on this hot day. Slowly, painstakingly, I pryed each finger from its hold. One finger was left holding. I laughed and pryed it from its hold…
And Lo! Gerard/Helvi/Mulga/Granny levitated.
I wonder what it signifies?
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Cruelty toward the afflicted, SM (:
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😦
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Sea mendez that is fearful. You are inducing fear. Something is very wrong not only that you find the imaginative ability to write so luridly and murderously, but that you choose to. 😦
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So, I take it that you were dreaming of murdering Gerard? “They were clinging to the bridge, obviously not wanting to perish in the deep water below. You prised each finger from its hold”?
I can see why internet bullying is sometimes responsible for people killing themselves. I did not before, thinking, surely one can just switch off the computer. What about those though who write articles in good faith who then are subjected to constant personal abuse?
The psychopath however lurks in the background enjoying their work.
Another esoteric joke (dream) by Sea mendez
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I think murder is a bit strong, old chap. Particularly as I defended you from a similar charge recently. Very disappointed.
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It signifies that, I think, that, er, um – you made it up. That it serves no purpose, being a fairy tale, seems particularly strange to me.
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You’re probably right, Vivienne.
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http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/prime-minister-kevin-rudd-is-turning-back-the-tide-on-the-boats/story-fni0fha6-1226682214720
Isn’t this the article that you meant to table. Here’s a quote from it.
“But Rudd has already conceded he got asylum seeker policy wrong in his first term as prime minister. Now he is hoping to convince voters his plan will be more effective than Abbott’s.”
Well, one can only sigh and say, “If only”. However we can’t turn the clock back. Your party did what they did. Cold hearted bastards. 1200 drownings!!
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400 of them belong to your lot. Rudd is not well. I don’t give a shit what Carr says either.
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Carisbrooke;
I don’t quite get your leaps of bizarre logic but will leave it for the time being. I think the article is about our treatment of refugees AFTER they have made it here. Judi Moylan relates our fear of the ‘foreign’ to our British past and gives us a bit of insight by including quotes of the White Australia policy.
I can’t remember our family ever being related to illegals but I know on official migration acts there was mentioning of non British as being “Aliens”. There was the Aliens act.
Anyway, irrespective of political powers, Judi Moylan as many others, could not stomach our treatment of refugees.
Now, again Carisbrooke; do you also concur with boatpeople being called the belittling ‘illegals’ even though there is also available the ‘refugee’ or ‘asylum seeker’ term?
If you don’t answer |I assume you prefer the dehumanising term of ‘illegals’, putting you in the same boat as Morrison.
Give us some hope!
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It is all the fault of the poms. But it went viral. We need a vaccination.
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from Bob Carr, today SMH:
But the outgoing senator was not without some negative reflections on the Labor years in government.
He said that moving his support away from Ms Gillard – who had invited him to come to Canberra and join her frontbench – to Mr Rudd was a purely pragmatic decision, based on how Labor was faring in the polls.
Senator Carr also said he had been “struck by a lack of canniness in the government”.
“A lack of caution, cunning – canniness is probably the best word.”
Senator Carr said that Labor had not been cautious enough about introducing the carbon tax.
He added that there was also a lack of caution around “”Labor’s DISMANTLING of the Pacific Solution,”” arguing there was not enough consideration over what it would mean for people smugglers.
End of story. If you hadn’t voted for Labor, there wouldn’t be any detainees.
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Or drownings!
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Wishful thinking on the part of all Libs. Push factors changed. Try reading Moylan’s article – she’s the last of a dying breed – a good Liberal.
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Carr is not a Liberal.
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Yes, and the Pope is catholic !
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Does the comment ” he/she/it is a dud” , originates from the Earl of Dudley?
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Is that where the term ‘dud root’ originated?
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Is that one of those new organic teas?
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Yes, if you like!
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