tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post5039226700078567853..comments2023-12-06T00:23:28.790+11:00Comments on Press gallery reform: From rescue to recoveryAndrew Elderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-3691780973860331912012-07-02T20:58:44.943+10:002012-07-02T20:58:44.943+10:00You speak too soon ...You speak too soon ...Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-90149355445234735992012-07-02T20:05:38.137+10:002012-07-02T20:05:38.137+10:00No post from Andrew Elder since June 25. I blame t...No post from Andrew Elder since June 25. I blame the Carbon tax!Lachlan Ridgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-42157993313481562082012-07-01T17:03:01.456+10:002012-07-01T17:03:01.456+10:00I agree with @cantbeeffed, this is mostly about ra...I agree with @cantbeeffed, this is mostly about race (by both sides of politics who have also been sucked into attacking international education, immigration, population growth, Moslems etc.) while we try to pretend that it is not, yet the numbers are so insignficant? The Turkish/Greek border alone deals with 60k illegals annually but it hardly features in their media?<br /><br />As an American/Oz friend once said, it maybe smart politics in Australia but it reeks of both racism and terrible insecurity (the latter was expressed in less polite terms).<br /><br />My reply is genrally watch this short skit from libertarian comedian Doug Stanhope http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW20EMJr6o4Andrew Smithhttp://www.aiec.hunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-18919554332829399752012-06-30T13:44:21.454+10:002012-06-30T13:44:21.454+10:00You are 100% spot onYou are 100% spot ondextermellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16021535056043477065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-26892819666633407312012-06-29T20:52:07.257+10:002012-06-29T20:52:07.257+10:00I'm a nurse. I provide care for a group of pat...I'm a nurse. I provide care for a group of patients who have a chronic illness that means I provide care for them over many years in reasonably stable groups. I use these people as my focus groups about current affair and I am continuously astonished by their reactions. This week I have stimulated discussions about the refugee problem and of course this really refer to those who come by boat from Indonesia. The patients with the wildest views surprisingly are my aboriginal patients, one of whom has seriously suggested that we should just shoot them. I am supportive of the people who arrive by boat and one of my patients removes his hearing aids so he doesn't have to listen to me and my views on these matters. Sadly only a minority understand the issues in the way they are expressed in this blog. Taking this group as representative of the majority of ordinary people in this country I believe that the majority side with the coalition's view of refugees. It is irrelevant whether this is rational or not, their emotional, gut feeling is that these people are crooks, evil and should not be allowed into the country. End of story. malcolmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-51446388783001453212012-06-29T17:18:52.725+10:002012-06-29T17:18:52.725+10:00Sarah Hanson Youngs crocodile tears were akin to a...Sarah Hanson Youngs crocodile tears were akin to a princess throwing a tantrumAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-30559967615967126772012-06-29T08:51:59.852+10:002012-06-29T08:51:59.852+10:00Morrison (and the opposition generally) get away w...Morrison (and the opposition generally) get away with a lot because most journalists are innumerate.David Irving (no relation)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05728918405973140125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-31389176222075533682012-06-28T10:02:49.458+10:002012-06-28T10:02:49.458+10:00Joe Hockey's crocodile tears about vulnerable ...Joe Hockey's crocodile tears about vulnerable children made me sick.<br /><br />How dare he pretend to care about children considering the Howard government's track record?<br /><br />How dare he pretend to care about children when it's Coalition policy to turn boats around and send them back to Indonesia, a country that hasn't signed the convention? (Putting aside for one moment the little matters of both the Australian Navy and the Indonesian government rejecting this stupid policy.)<br /><br />And just why do lazy and incompetent journalists continue to let Hockey and Morrison get away with this rank and sickening hypocrisy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-35970731471530605712012-06-27T10:53:33.722+10:002012-06-27T10:53:33.722+10:00I agree with E-Girl sentiments. I'm confused a...I agree with E-Girl sentiments. I'm confused as to why they fly to Indonesia, when they could just as easily fly to Australia and then request asylum as a refugee, on Australian soil, sans the leaky boat.<br /><br />There are plenty of people out there who have requested refugee status and who dont have the means to buy international plane tickets. Eg, Africans sitting in camps in the desert. If we are going to have a quota for intake, those people should be at the top of the list.<br /><br />Boat people jump the queue ahead of other, more deserving, refugees. I'm in full support of sending them to Malaysia and increasing our intake quota as has been put forward by the Government.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-33988431856906620032012-06-27T10:51:20.542+10:002012-06-27T10:51:20.542+10:00Scott Morrison regularly claims that Malaysia &quo...Scott Morrison regularly claims that Malaysia "won't work" because the deal is limited to 800 people. Nobody asks him the obvious question - what is the limit in the Coalition's Nauru solution? Nauru is a 21 square kilometre island with less than 10,000 people. It has limited fresh water and energy, which must be bought in. How many extra people are the Coalition planning on sending to Nauru? Even 1000 people will be a 10% increase in the total population!<br />In addition, the Coalition will need to build an extra power station, pay for the fuel, and build and run a desalination plant. Nauru isn't looking like a "cheap" solution any more, especially as the camp built by the Howard Government is either ruinous or being used as a school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-18312425967608028822012-06-27T06:19:45.980+10:002012-06-27T06:19:45.980+10:00The conservatives have consistently refused to ent...The conservatives have consistently refused to enter any talks on refugees, while parroting "No-one has called us." However most voters don't seem to care; selfishness seems to be the order of the day, and Abbott is selfishness consumate.Chris Grealynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-88675697045997881212012-06-27T02:53:45.028+10:002012-06-27T02:53:45.028+10:00The question that never seems to be dealt with in ...The question that never seems to be dealt with in public discussion is WHY people arrive in boats. If they arrived by plane, they would, in theory, be treated in the same manner (ie given asylum - I'm pretty sure Customs can't put you back on the next plane if you have to claim asylum at that point, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Why would you risk a dangerous journey on the sea when you could travel in relative safety by plane? AirAsia for example does very cheap fares from cities in Asia, and somehow I think smugglers charge a bit more than AirAsia.<br /><br />BTW, I'm not saying refugees CAN travel by plane, I just wonder why the reasons they don't are never discussed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-72071815613048424232012-06-27T01:44:02.593+10:002012-06-27T01:44:02.593+10:00You can't get on to a plane to Australia unles...You can't get on to a plane to Australia unless you have a valid visa. That's why asylum seekers from places like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka come by boat.<br /><br />The people who abuse the system are often the ones who come on a tourist visa by plane and then claim asylum once they get here. They are more likely to be from places like China and, once they get here, then assert that they are members of Falun Gong. That's not to say that there aren't also legitimate asylum seekers who also come that way.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02179691507887634088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-70852578603729846072012-06-26T20:49:23.673+10:002012-06-26T20:49:23.673+10:00This has sadly been yet another view into the worl...This has sadly been yet another view into the world of an abbott led government. A world where there is no low point because with every opportunity he and his co-horts will take us another step further into the gutter.<br /><br />The opposition are the most despicable bunch of politicians ever to sit in the house and that they continue to receive the approval of the limited by intellect members of the presser is to the utter shame of all involved in this tawdry attempt to use untold death and misery for political advantage.<br /><br />A truly terrifying look into the future under an abbott priministership.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-61254690268123686422012-06-26T11:50:51.526+10:002012-06-26T11:50:51.526+10:00Truly coalition has reached the pits when it refus...Truly coalition has reached the pits when it refuses to agree to stripping out all human rights protections in the Migration Act so AS can be dumped back in Malaysia.<br /><br />What should be seen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to right the wrongs done by Howard when he callously wrote the human rights protections into the Act back in 2001 is in danger of being missed. Let's hope Washer, Moylan and co can be persuasive in the party room that this is the occasion for bi-partisanship, not for incorrigibility, as you rightly so rightly term it, Andrew.bbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-16844212375901986292012-06-26T10:11:29.332+10:002012-06-26T10:11:29.332+10:00Of course, you can just pop down to the post offic...Of course, you can just pop down to the post office in beautiful down town Fallujah (or Kandahar) any time, fill out your form and wait 6-8 working weeks for your passport, and then apply for a visa at the Australian consulate or embassy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-58419889445557385792012-06-26T09:53:29.856+10:002012-06-26T09:53:29.856+10:00The 'debate' in this country about refugee...The 'debate' in this country about refugees ignores what's really going on under the surface:<br /><br />1. We're not a terribly compassionate nation. Our politicians pander to people's view of themselves that we are a kindly and welcoming nation, but in reality it's a minority who are. I'm not making a value judgement about compassion or otherwise, I'm making a judgement about the hypocrisy of the pretence. I'd be more comfortable about our lack of charity if people were honest about it.<br /><br />2. Deterring refugees from arriving by boat is about measured cruelty. We don't want to be welcoming because that will encourage more, we want to be mean as we can possibly can without giving away the truth of my first point. Malaysia is meant to instil horror into asylum seekers to the point of dissuading them from coming. If that isn't instituted, then the default is exile on a forsaken island like Nauru. But what if that doesn't work anymore? What other horrendous thing can we think of to frighten them away that isn't obviously cruel? If other solutions fail, it might actually confront us into actually having a genuinely compassionate policy or be honest and start sinking boats at sea.<br /><br />3. We're a nation of cowards because we don't have the guts to stand up and say 'Look, we're over the bleeding-hearted international law crap. We don't want foreigners here, especially ones that are swarthy and muslim. So we're going to walk away from the Refugee Convention and torpedo their boats at sea'. Instead, we're craven hypocrites who mouth off platitudes of concern and sympathy while then trying to get away with cruelty on the downlow.<br /><br />4. Nobody talks about the true cost benefit analysis of this. How much do asylum seekers coming to Australia actually cost the Australian tax payer if we have no mandatory detention? How much does mandatory detention cost? Are we really paying a shitload of money for no economic benefit but to simply pander to the masses terrified of being swarmed by swarthy foreigners? Surely the Liberal party with their allegiance to the free market should see this in purely economic terms. Labor conversely should be viewing it simply as a humanitarian issue.<br /><br />It amazes me that the reporting on this issue sidesteps these issues and reporters are complicit in allowing politicians to play both sides of the fence. Are reporters as afraid of telling the truth as politicians?Cantbeeffedhttp://twitter.com/cantbeeffednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-75097886098875398322012-06-26T09:38:38.843+10:002012-06-26T09:38:38.843+10:00Well at least it's clear that for the IPA Coal...Well at least it's clear that for the IPA Coalition'Stop the Boats' is now officially 'Don't Stop the Boats'. <br /><br />Maybe Michelle Grattan can mention this next time she's lick-spittling That's Just Tone's boots.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-62418863297385822702012-06-26T08:43:19.971+10:002012-06-26T08:43:19.971+10:00My father was a solder in the Danish Army that hel...My father was a solder in the Danish Army that help the Danish Jews cross to Sweden, by boat. <br />In that time Many Jews were told to hide their yellow stars.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-49573430871096369122012-06-26T08:11:58.959+10:002012-06-26T08:11:58.959+10:00I think people like Morrison pretending the Coalit...I think people like Morrison pretending the Coalition have easy solutions does reinforce to the disengaged 'anti-asylum seeker' types (of which there are many) the general preconception of 'Labor - bad, Liberal - good' which is all he's trying to do.<br /><br />Policy detail? Workable alternatives? Cooperation to achieve better outcomes? Why would Morrison want or need any of these?kymbosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-64880965080777432842012-06-26T04:30:10.972+10:002012-06-26T04:30:10.972+10:00It seems strange to me that people claim to be tak...It seems strange to me that people claim to be taking a moral position when the position they take is to discourage people taking the risky ride by making their life more miserable in one way or another.<br /><br />In my view there is only one valid argument for the Malaysian solution, it does create the queue, a miserable queue, but nether less a queue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-21437733930924362732012-06-26T02:02:11.647+10:002012-06-26T02:02:11.647+10:00e-girl, it's a fallacy that refugees destroy d...e-girl, it's a fallacy that refugees destroy documents to avoid identification. You don't qualify as a refugee if you cannot prove your identity, and you cannot prove your identity if you have destroyed all your documents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-40997040264288380882012-06-25T23:26:37.043+10:002012-06-25T23:26:37.043+10:00If you were desperate and someone told you to dest...If you were desperate and someone told you to destroy your documentation, would you? I might. <br /><br />Do they destroy their documentation deliberately, or do they have it taken from them? <br /><br />Isn't the Taliban evil enough for ya? <br /><br />Is there anything Australian forces could be doing for people in Afghanistan that they are not doing already?Andrew Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04705844456819481896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22534369.post-72085061070422889652012-06-25T23:10:19.817+10:002012-06-25T23:10:19.817+10:00The thing I keep tripping on when think about this...The thing I keep tripping on when think about this is that there the small proportion of asylum seekers who arrive by boat. I understand the Vietnamese people coming by sea in the 70s and early 80s.<br /><br />However, here we have a group who, with either genuine or forged documents, fly from the Middle East to Indonesia, destroy those documents, and then pay a large amount to arrive by boat. Common sense says keep the extra, or splurge on business class. <br /><br />I cannot come to any conclusion than that this small group of people have figured a way to beat the system. It's not even so much that they don't have documentation, but they deliberately obliterate theirs. It is understandable that not everyone is documented, but this is a deliberate ploy.<br /><br />I resent this because:<br />a) it is destroying faith in the immigration programme, including the humanitarian intake;<br />b) it rewards dishonesty; and<br />c) there are crappy parts of the world in our neighbourhood, and I would rather we were more generous in this part of the world.<br /><br />All of the words and the television time devoted to this topic are generated by this small proportion of people.<br /><br />I would rather that someone put an end to that stream and concentrated our humanitarian project on our part of the world. One day, there might be a truly evil catalyst for people to come from far away, and we should deal with that then.<br /><br />Ideally, and this is beyond the scope of any one nation, we should look at how to repair those parts of the world that are misery factories. Immigration can be a wonderful thing. People feeling a _need_ to migrate is terrible. We should work toward shutting down the regimes in those misery factories so that migration is a free choice, and people feel safe in their homeland.<br /><br />e-girlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com