Friday, May 09, 2014

Australia's asylum seeker obsession puts democracy at risk...

Today, in his address at the Lowy Institute, immigration minister Scott Morrison announced the creation of the Australian border force, a "single integrated border protection agency" of customs and immigrations assets – including detention centre management. A commissioner, to lead the agency, will report directly to Morrison and “pick up where Operation Sovereign Borders leaves off”.

This latest announcement shows that far from being on the periphery of Australian politics, asylum seeker policy is now at its centre. It has taken on a life of its own and now, to varying degrees, dictates the working agenda of a number of key government departments and agencies. The overwrought reaction to what in reality is the movement of a small number of people has in effect created a de-facto "mega department" in Canberra, informal but central to the government's agenda, and not overly concerned with the rule of law.

It includes the department of defence, whose uniformed personnel have become politicised by their involvement in immigration control. It began when the SAS were deployed onto the Tampa under John Howard; now the commando who led the attack is the deputy chief of the army. The Australian navy has also been compromised, made to breach Indonesian sovereignty as it tows boats back across the maritime boundary.

Refugees legitimately seeking asylum, for that is what they are doing, do not constitute a security threat. Yet Morrison, acting on the hysteria generated by Tony Abbott, has chosen to couch asylum seekers' legitimate quest for freedom in terms of an invasion. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Australia, the steroid-soaked neighbourhood bully of the Pacific...
  2. Australia’s election campaign is driven by a barbarism that dares not speak its name...
  3. Australia’s treatment of refugees is 'cruel and mean-spirited’
  4. Christmas Island: patients endangered by IT flaws and drug shortages...
  5. Australia sending refugees to Papua New Guinea, where they are abused...
  6. Kevin Rudd's statement on sending all boat asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea...
  7. Asylum seeker riots escalate in Australia's Christmas Island ...
  8. Asylum seekers in Australia sew their lips together in detention protest...

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