Real World Event Discussions

Refugees banned from Australia

POSTED BY: Magonsdaughter
UPDATED: Sunday, December 14, 2025 19:52
VIEWED: 4160
PAGE 1 of 4

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Saturday, July 20, 2013 5:04 AM

Excuse me while I choke here. This is a Labor Government, left of your Dems, making this appalling, inhumane decision to sure up the dumbasses of the electorate too stupid and too racist not to realise there is no threat from these people.

Quote:

All asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat will be sent to Papua New Guinea for processing and resettlement and none will be allowed to stay in the country, the prime minister has announced, as he sent out a draconian pre-election message that Australia’s borders are closed to refugees.

In what he said was “a clear and undiluted message to every people smuggler in the world that your business model is basically undermined”, Kevin Rudd said the new rules would apply initially for one year and there was no limit on the numbers of asylum seekers PNG would take.

In return, the government announced new aid to PNG for hospitals and universities and said it would pay unspecified “resettlement costs” for the refugees as well as bearing the costs of the expansion and upgrade of the Manus Island processing centre. Rudd said only that the package would “not be inexpensive” but no cost details were immediately available.

Refugee advocates said the substandard conditions in PNG’s Manus Island detention centre, the very high crime rates in the country and “daily pervasive human rights abuses” were evidence the new arrangements contravened Australia’s basic obligations to help refugees who come here.

The Greens leader, Christine Milne, said it was a “day of shame for Australia” and accused Rudd of “lurching so far to the right that he has leapfrogged Tony Abbott in terms of cruelty”.

Milne said it was “appalling” that Australia would “pay our most impoverished neighbour” so it could “dump” people there without any chance of safety or work or a decent life.

The Coalition leader, Tony Abbott, said the crackdown was “a promising development in offshore processing” which he welcomed, but said Australians should not trust Labor to stop the boats or implement the crackdown.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/19/kevin-rudd-asylum-boats-pn
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I'm apalled. So seeing as how we have an election this year, and voting is compulsory, who do I vote for? I'll never vote Liberal, and a vote for the Greens under the current preferential system will end up with Labor and a proxy support of these policies.

*&!?&%!@@?/*

FREMDFIRMA

Saturday, July 20, 2013 11:17 AM

The hell ?
I don't even comprehend this, it's not like there ain't room, although not exactly easy to live on, some of it, and given Australias history and initial settlement, the idea of turning away refugees seems needlessly cruel.

New Zealand wasn't none too happy about putting up an entire village when Yuriko and company jumped ship, but despite language and culture issues they seem to be getting on quite well - never underestimate the political goodwill that hospitality can ensure, America seems to have forgotten that too, it's appalling, it is.

-F

SIGNYM

Saturday, July 20, 2013 3:52 PM

I guess I understand this a bit, which put me well out of the mainstream left here. We also have a problem with "people smugglers", but that's because the USA is still a relatively attractive destination. Because of that, we have 12 million people living here who never came thru the front door. It sounds horrible at first blush, but a nation DOES have a right to control its borders.

What I don't understand is how Australia gets to dump its wretched refuse on PNG's shores.

AURAPTOR

Saturday, July 20, 2013 10:43 PM

And here I thought racism started and ended on the shores of the United States.

At least, that's what the MSM would have us all believe.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Sunday, July 21, 2013 12:49 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I guess I understand this a bit, which put me well out of the mainstream left here. We also have a problem with "people smugglers", but that's because the USA is still a relatively attractive destination. Because of that, we have 12 million people living here who never came thru the front door. It sounds horrible at first blush, but a nation DOES have a right to control its borders.

What I don't understand is how Australia gets to dump its wretched refuse on PNG's shores.

Firstly, I strongly object to your describing these men, women and children as 'wretched refuse'. Whatever their circumstances or reasons for coming to our shores, they are still people, and people who through no fault of their own lucked out in NOT being born somewhere wealthy and free of tyranny and war.

Secondly, we can count the boat people in thousands, not millions. It's a non issue, hyped up to appeal to the xenophobia that clearly still strong feature in our culture (despite the fact that we are a nation of refugees and migrants by and large as Indigenous people make up about 3% of the population).

Thirdly, most people who arrive seeking refugee status are actually determined to be genuine refugees who should be granted asylum.

Fourthly, we have international obligations to accept people seeking asylum, regardless of what the political climate is in this country.

http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/asylum-seekers-and-refugees
#rights

All I can say is we'd better hope that we never get visited by environmental, economic or political disaster which means our country is no longer a fit place to live, because we'd (rightly so) be denied access to any haven.

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Sunday, July 21, 2013 2:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:

And here I thought racism started and ended on the shores of the United States.

At least, that's what the MSM would have us all believe.

That's idiotic. Perhaps the MSM in the US talks about racism in the US because the MSM has little interest in reporting information from other parts of the world.

AURAPTOR

Sunday, July 21, 2013 5:12 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:

And here I thought racism started and ended on the shores of the United States.

At least, that's what the MSM would have us all believe.

That's idiotic. Perhaps the MSM in the US talks about racism in the US because the MSM has little interest in reporting information from other parts of the world.

And that's partly my point. Not only does the MSM shape public opinion by how they report stories , they also shape it by what they DON'T report.

But Chris Matthews, from msnbc, is a prime example. He goes on the air to apologize, for ALL white people, in the matter of racism.

Not only is it not his place to do so, but it also implies that racism is solely a 'white' problem.

Group apologizes, for those living who have done nothing wrong, are meaningless. We can acknowledge sins of the past, by those who committed them. But we don't need to graft those views and actions onto OUR essence, and then try to clean our souls by apologizing for the sins of others.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

SIGNYM

Sunday, July 21, 2013 7:50 AM

Quote:
Firstly, I strongly object to your describing these men, women and children as 'wretched refuse'.

MAGONS- I used the term wretched refuse as an oblique reference to the poem written by Emma Lazarus called The New Colossus which is posted on a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty. It goes, in part

Quote:
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I didn't expect you to catch the reference, it is a complete Americanism.

As far as these people being true asylum seekers... I guess I'm just a little burned out by "economic refugees". You're right: There IS a difference between the two, and Australia should make an effort to discern one from the other.

But I'm still puzzled how Australia can send refugees to PNG. Doesn't PNG have sovereignty? Then how izzit that Australia can use another nation as some kind of perceived dumping ground?

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Sunday, July 21, 2013 8:58 AM

Oookaay

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Sunday, July 21, 2013 9:35 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:

And that's partly my point. Not only does the MSM shape public opinion by how they report stories , they also shape it by what they DON'T report.

But Chris Matthews, form msnbc, is a prime example. He goes on the air to apologize, for ALL white people, in the matter of racism.

Not only is it not his place to do so, but it also implies that racism is solely a 'white' problem.

Group apologizes, for those living who have done nothing wrong, are meaningless. We can acknowledge sins of the past, by those who committed them. But we don't need to graft those views and actions onto OUR essence, and then try to clean our souls by apologizing for the sins of others.

I don't know the context of what you are referring to, as I don't know about Chris Matthews.

I think acknowlegement and apology should go hand in hand, and I was pleased when our government - the self same Rudd who is now banning refugees, apologied to Indigenous Australians for the Stolen Generation. A lot of righties objected, possible for similar reasons as yourself, but I felt it was appropriate. It was government policies that took children from their parents, who implemented segregation, who prevented these people for voting, who gave them the same status as 'flora and fauna' if you can believe it. It was only fitting that a PM apologised for past government activities.

That being said, I have a bit of cringe factor when it comes to individuals doing the white apologist thing, but rather prefer acknowleging past and present discriminations, and refraning from victim blaming - which is a nasty form of inherent racism that I have observed from you and a few others on these boards.