I absolutely agree. Our society, national identity etc were largely built on people coming here hoping for a better life.spook said:We're all boat people in this country, except for the blackfellas if you believe they walked here. We all came here to escape hunger or persecution, in the hope of a better life. To deny others a battler's chance is emblematic of how far we've drifted from our supposed egalitarian roots.
mld said:People are stuck in the the paradigm of stopping people coming here, be it by plane or boat or whatever.
I reckon people should be free to make their way here regardless of how they do it, and people should be free to bring them here without being considered as people smugglers. People should be free to move to where they need to without interference from governments.
mld said:People are stuck in the the paradigm of stopping people coming here, be it by plane or boat or whatever.
I reckon people should be free to make their way here regardless of how they do it, and people should be free to bring them here without being considered as people smugglers. People should be free to move to where they need to without interference from governments.
Not just the population but the rate of population growth. Also not just the growth nationally but how it is distributed across cities, towns and states.MB78 said:I think Australia needs a national debate on what population that we think we can sustain while maintaining current living standards. Until this can be answered people will fear immigration and the face of it boat people.
mld said:I reckon people should be free to make their way here regardless of how they do it, and people should be free to bring them here without being considered as people smugglers. People should be free to move to where they need to without interference from governments.
spook said:It's a disgrace how blase we've become about locking up children and sending desperate people to their deaths. Anyone who uses the terms 'boat people' or 'illegal immigrants' ought to be ashamed. We're all boat people in this country, except for the blackfellas if you believe they walked here. We all came here to escape hunger or persecution, in the hope of a better life. To deny others a battler's chance is emblematic of how far we've drifted from our supposed egalitarian roots. Whenever I see or hear someone espousing 'border security' as a euphemism for denying others their human rights, I want to ask them how long their family has been in Australia - and if it's less than 170 years, telling them to get the *smile* out of MY country.
The second (never performed at sporting events) verse of our national anthem states that "for those who've come across the seas, we've boundless plains to share". Time to officially scrub that or live up to it.
It's ironic that the same people and politicians who want to spend far more money to lock up asylum seekers than it would cost to release them into the community are generally the same ones who carp about government waste.
If you want to punish people for risking their lives to escape death and persecution, put them to work in a nation-building project while assessing their claims. Oh wait, we don't do them anymore. That would require vision and courage from our leaders, and the last display of either was Howard with the gun laws.
The xenophobia, cynicism and opportunism of politicians and media going back to the Tampa is reprehensible. Malcolm Fraser, the arch-conservative PM of the 70s and 80s, is a pinko-lefto-commie compared even to the Labor Party these days. His compassion towards Vietnamese refugees is a stark contrast to the current shameful approach.
Peaka said:I understand the politics behind the motion but sets a pretty slippery slope for any future government with a hostile senate.
In essence a senate could pass a motion requiring reporting on all manner of things which would make government almost unworkable. Interesting times.