Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Photo: Lion & Blue Studio
An ABC report last night revealed six people smugglers arrived in Australia, claimed refugee status and set up people smuggling operations from within Australian borders. One, Captain Emad – known as ‘the Head of the Snake’ - had allegedly sent his family to Australia beforehand and joined them in a publicly-funded house in Canberra after being granted refugee status within three months. Critics say the investigation was proof asylum seekers were ‘gaming’ the system. But there’s more to the story, writes Senator Sarah Hanson-Young:
After watching Four Corners last night, I knew it wouldn’t be long before the old parties would again try being the toughest on asylum seekers. They don’t want to discuss the options which would mitigate people using smugglers in the first place.
The allegations raised by the ABC warrant an urgent investigation and I welcome the Immigration Minister’s moves to examine them.
We mustn’t forget the people who pay to use smugglers are not taking their decision lightly. No one wants to flee their home, their family, their social networks, and run for their lives. But that’s the reality for nine in 10 asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat and are found to be in genuine need of protection. War or religious or political turmoil are some of the reasons they have been forced to drop everything, sell their possessions or borrow money and flee. For example, Hazaras flee from Afghanistan for Pakistan, but learn they are still at risk of being killed merely for being Hazara, so they keep moving. They might reach Malaysia or Indonesia but are then forced to wait because Australia offers only 60 resettlement places a year, on average, from both countries which do not guarantee their protection. So they canvass their options and willingly risk their lives on a leaky boat chartered by a people smuggler.
Australia is a land of the fair go, and we have offered people sanctuary from all over the world. We Greens think Australia must not stop its generosity toward asylum seekers and refugees, and should offer more places.
Despite what many media outlets claim, Australia’s humanitarian intake is among the lowest in the world. The UNHCR reported in March that Australia accepted 3 percent of the world’s asylum seekers, fewer people as a percentage than Switzerland does.
The Greens have always supported the prosecution by Australia of people smugglers and their syndicate leaders. Unfortunately, over the past few years we have seen Indonesian boys and fishermen – some of whom have been duped into becoming asylum seeker boat crew themselves – face courts and be jailed. These are not the people we should be punishing, because they are merely the pawns of the smuggling syndicates, not those who are running the rackets.
The old parties are using the allegations made by Four Corners to blame each other for their inability to expel asylum seekers to Nauru or Malaysia. We Greens will keep insisting that Australia honours its international obligations to offer protection under the Refugee Convention. We will ensure Australia remains the land of the fair go, which assesses people’s claims for protection here on the mainland, and not offshore. We’ll continue standing up against those who would demonise asylum seekers and refugees, because they deserve our help, not hardened hearts.
Sarah Hanson-Young is a Federal Greens Senator and mother. You can follow her on Twitter here.
Comments
85 Comments so far
Hi,I would just like to say what a great Article by Kim Roach it
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Surely it is our sovereign right to choose who we are going to assist and allow into our country. At this stage, it is looking like the smugglers have taken complete control and they are the rule of law now, not our government.
The really sad aspect of all this is that those that tried to go through legimate channels, have backed a system that is now totally irrelevant.
There is a huge difference between asylum seekers and financial refugee’s, and the reality is regardless of how many people in need we accept, there are millions that will line up behind them.
Would appear to me we are giving a leg up to those that have the money to buy their way into the system.
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the major problem is lack of assimilation programs. there are those who have been brutalized, those who have been forced into and/or seen only violence. when you “drop” them into Australian society, without assimilation, what do you think will happen? in my experience, most Australians don’t say no to refugees, don’t have hardened hearts, but are fed up of bad behaviour and the refusal to mix with Australian people and not speaking English after a significant amount of time spent living here. i do not mean to simplify an excruciatingly complicated issue. we cannot imagine the desperation and fear, the torture and trauma, the grief and scars, but we can give them a safe home and a new start. assimilation and psychological support is a beginning
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Lets ensure our people are housed here before we start congesting this country with more people .
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Got to dislike the Greens even more after this pathetic article. No voting GREENS for Moi
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I didn’t get to see the program but on the issue of refugees – I live in a regional city in NSW and many refugees (people from Sudan, Ethiopia, Burma, Ian, Iraq, Pakistan etc) are being settled here and unfortunately the government isn’t taking into consideration the effects of settling refugees in this area. For example, the average length of unemployment in this area is 30 months (2.5yrs) – the majority of the refugees from this background choose not to attend their English classes – and whether it’s pc or not, if you can’t speak English in this area, with such little available employment opportunity, the facts are that the vast majority of these refugees will not obtain employment because they can’t read, write or speak English and many of them don’t want to learn. The government is therefore setting them up for failure as they all say that they can’t afford local rent prices on Centrelink payments, interpreters are required to be paid for on a monthly basis at their JSA Provider appointments (approx $50 15 minute increments) etc and no work opportunities – not taking into account all the other support services required. There are refugees who have been here for 10 years and still can’t speak English, won’t go to the English classes, don’t work, have large families after being settled here re Centrelink payment entitlements, ask for their extended family members to be settled here and the cycle continues.
I recognise that there are some refugees who do embrace assimilating into our society and we can’t begin to imagine what they’ve been through and experienced.
But with so many businesses closing on a weekly basis in this area, such high existing unemployment and continuing to rise – why settle refugees in a regional area that financially, socially and economically can’t sustain the impact of their allocation to this area, as well as not having affordable housing etc?
There are already 3 generations of these refugee groups in this area who are experiencing this – at what cost will it be in 10-20 years time? So many of them say “give me a job” but there are no jobs here, let alone for unskilled and unqualified people who can’t speak English (and before you all call me racist – look at it from an employer’s view, how is OHS supposed to be communicated? Employers in this town don’t have the money to pay an interpreter to translate. Better systems need tobe in place and the impact upon the regional environment and the future of the refugees need to be considered more thoroughly prior to placement.
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Thank you for a realistic comment, it sounds like you have first hand experience, not just ideas and I’ll informed opinions.
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Asylum seeker boats have been coming to Australia since the 70s. During Howard AND Rudd’s government, there was an influx of boats. And yes, there are people who have died on those boats en route to Australia, and it has nothing to do with government policy. Leaking, capsizing, overcrowding are all issues with asylum seeker boats that have been ongoing. People focus way too much on stopping the boats instead of quickly processing people and determining whether they are legitimate asylum seekers or not. Meanwhile they are being held in detention, their mental health worsening, rejected for visas 2, 3 times. We should be focusing on helping these people with mental illness. All they want is a second chance at a good life. If we accept immigrants, why not those fleeing from war or persecution? It makes no sense, especially when families are being detained.
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I wish there was a ‘like’ button for this
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there is, Jessabelle
you just have to “Switch to Regular Theme” at the bottom of the list of articles and you will gain access to the normal site – then like away!
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Hi Sarah
I have never believed for a second that refugees should be blamed for the shocking mess our current boarder policy promotes.
I also don’t believe the people smugglers alone should take the rap for the tragic deaths (and there have been hundreds) as these people board their unsafe boats for their journeys.
Nor do I believe that the refugees who arrive here illegally or the smugglers are to blame for the thousands of documented refugees that have attempted to do the right thing to enter this country and now languish in boarder camps unable to join their families because their files are put back due to the illegal arrivals.
No – I blame the Gillard Government and the Greens for all of this.
Some of the greatest opponents to what is happening now comes from those with families waiting in legitimate lines and camps to get their loved ones here – my friends among them – when did those refugees become so unimportant to the current Government (and I include the Greens and Independents in that, as let’s face it, you’re running the show)?
Say what you want about the policies of Mr Howard – fact is, people were not dying in their hundreds en route and thousands of others were being processed legitimately and entering this country with the appropriate levels of housing and support ready for them, under the previous system.
Again this Government has led us into another shocking mess that will take years and years to resolve. If, instead of taking a blind, vote grabbing view, you all stopped for a second to think of the consequences and/or how your knee-jerk policies might actually work in the long term, you would have served us all better.
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“people were not dying in their hundreds en route”
SIEV X?
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Sorry Lu Lu – what’s the question?
People were NOT dying in their hundreds en route to Australia under Howard’s policies because the boats were not coming. They have died in their hundreds en route as their boats have sunk and/or smashed against the coastline (as the tragic WA incident) under this Government, and that’s a fact.
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Alex, as you seem to have a selectively short memory, here is a link to a 2009 article which discusses the 2001 sinking of SIEV-X:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/tragic-legacy-of-sievxs-fatal-sinking-20091019-h38e.html
“SIEVX was the Titanic of refugee boats, with more than 400 mostly women and children crammed into its 19-metre length. Within 36 hours of its departure from Indonesia, most of those people were dead. “
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mostly women and children, that is so much horrible than if there were a few pesky men making up the death numbers hey Lulu.
I agree with pointing out the tragedy of children dying as they are yet to live their lives, but many (including the media) are making a habit of pointing out when women die, as if this is underscores a worse outcome, a greater tragedy, than men dying.
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“And that’s a fact”?? Alex your post is not rooted in fact at all..or context. the Howard Government lead Australia into wars its people protested. Then, it refused to offer sanctuary to those who fled their wartorn countries, the leaders of which we thought were so heinous we just had to go to war against them. Don’t go hailing the Howard Government as heroes for either rule loving Australians or fleeing refugees. That government was hypocritical in the extreme.The actual fact is, that there are not always (as you put it) “legitimate” ways of entering Australia if you are “legitimately” fleeing for your life. Great that some people can and do choose to take that route – even in the deplorable conditions they often have to endure. let’s not criticise those who don’t have that option or who are so desperate they can’t use that option. until we truly know what it is to walk a mile in the shoes of those fleeing persecution, let’s open our eyes, minds and hearts to their situations instead. And if we can’t do that, at least lets not distort the facts wehn discussing the situation.
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Since KR relaxed the policy in 2007 more than 17,000 boat people have arrived. More than 700 have died en route – and that’s conservative, we don’t know about all the disasters. The governments “budget” has blown out by more than $3.9 billion.
And still it’s a mess.
There are no figures on the numbers of people whose legitimate applications to enter Australia have been shelved indefinitely due to these arrivals.
Please don’t spout legitimacy – re-read the first paragraph of this article… about the Snakehead joining his family in public housing.
While I understand not every boat arrival has the same agenda as this monster, every arrival affects those who have been working on legal arrival, waiting for years, and were on their way to getting here.
Sadly I have first hand knowledge of this – have a chat one day to the refugee families affected by this – the ones that couldn’t afford $20k plus to pay a people smuggler, so they played by the rules.
Then see if you’re happy to give the government’s “policy” and attitude to this humanitarian crisis the thumbs up.
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Again, these figures you use are not facts when you use them free of context. The Rudd Government also had do deal with the aftermath of Howard policy and your budget “blowouts” (aka deficits- something that got us out of economic trouble like so many other countries are experiencing..and which we are now working back to surpluss) have so little to do with the refugee issue. As for firsthand knowledge, i am sorry for your personal circumstances but I do work in refugee services and have done for many years – with people who suffer further problems once they arrive on our shores because they are branded “illegals”. It is better to have good information and humane policies than to twist facts and figures to misrepresent the situation and the fact Australia is punching way below its weight in terms of accepting refugees.
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OMG KatieG – we got out of trouble in the GFC because of the fiscal policy of the previous government! Labor has crippled this country financially.
Everything they have implemented has been ill thought out and badly researched and they have left us with a legacy of financial mess that my 4 year old will probably feel by the time she starts paying tax.
We agree to disagree – I’m off this now – have work to make sure I’m in a position to pay through the nose for Labor’s fiscal management.
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I stopped reading when you described them as ‘boat people’…
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I notice you haven’t responded to what I said about SIEV-X.
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Apologies for using the term boat people – it’s unpleasant and you’re right.
Lu Lu I would respond to your comment, but I have been trying to work out a way to list the same links to the stories of the multiple carnages at sea that have occurred since KR and Co changed the policy.
There are so many it seems impossible. So while 2001 event was a tragedy – why are you now supporting a policy that has been proven encourages this? Over and over and over again!
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Alex, I mentioned SIEV-X because your original comment said this:
” Say what you want about the policies of Mr Howard – fact is, people were not dying in their hundreds en route”
No, fact is – they *were* dying.
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Lulu, siev x happened before Howard changed the policies. His changed stopped boats coming and saved lives.
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No voting greens for me thanks…
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Thanks so much for this article Sarah! You are so amazing at explaining these issues. Sometimes I get so depressed by the major parties and I remember you have a voice in the Senate and you make sure you are heard. It gives me hope that one day the Greens will have more of a say of what going on in this country. I do wish people would take the time to look at the Greens policy and what you have to say on issues to realize that the party has amazing ideas. I’m a big fan of yours btw
keep up the amazing work!
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Please explain Sarah whereyou propose these people live when they get here. What housing do you know of that can accommodate them comfortably? Do you intend to give them priority over the people living here already of whom are homeless. I remind you that there are families living with young children in tents as our public housing is in crisis. Please tell me what you suggest.
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Out of all the Australian political parties, the Greens propose the most investment in social infrastructure like affordable and emergency housing. They also promote a holistic solution to the treatment of the homelessness issue such as better treatment for mental illnesses and drug, alcohol and gambling addictions, improved safety nets for when people become unemployed etc. – a view to preventing people from becoming homeless, rather than just fixing the problem once it has happened.
Taken in conjunction with the Greens’ policies on social justice, therefore, this is an entirely practical and workable point that Sarah makes.
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I think Laura was asking where the money/infrastructure will come from.
It is an unfortunate fact that we do have a housing crisis within our current population ( as does most of the developed world) and the question of *how* its planned to happen is a valid one.
Even a “workable” policy has a pricetag, and I think we need to know where that money is to come from before people believe a particular policy is the answer.
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Oops, accidently alerted the mods when I tried to reply! Mods – please don’t delete!
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Okay, after this morning’s inadvertent ‘Alert Moderator’ incident (I blame the iPhone!), I can answer your question! A couple of points:
1. The housing crisis is not a blanket crisis. As a nation we now have the largest metre squared sized houses in the world. That leads to lack of affordability. Supply – particularly in mining towns – or lack thereof, is also a contributing factor. The Australian mentality of home ownership being akin to something of a right, also contributes to it. Most countries have much lower rates of home ownership than Australia. Finally, the tax incentives for property investment have led to some people owning many properties – which also puts pressure on supply. There are a number of factors which contribute to our current difficulties with housing and addressing one or more of those will lessen the impact. This can be done through things like regulation, removal of favourable taxation for investment properties and a cultural shift.
I don’t think that it really answers your valid point though about how the policy should be funded and how much it costs – which I can’t answer here either, but which does lead me to another point.
2. It costs a significant amount for us to house asylum seekers in detention centres. It could cost less through reconsidering whether this is appropriate for all of those currently in there. It could also cost less if we didn’t privatise these facilities.
3. The cost benefits of many of the Greens’ policies are not seen in the short term – they are medium to long term results. For example, Denticare. Through greater productivity, less pressure on the hospital system due to ED admissions for acute dental problems (I think the estimates are that 1 in 10 patients seen in ED are actually dental patients who could have been treated much cheaper through universal dental care). Those savings may take 5-10 years to materialise though (I don’t have access to the financial modelling). Another example of a policy – which unfortunately the Greens have moved away from – that could represent enormous cost savings, as well as social benefits, is in the decriminalisation of drugs. I’ve seen estimates that over 50% of crimes that are dealt with in the lower courts (magistrates) are drug related. There are the associated prosecution costs, the police investigation and paperwork costs, the costs of incarceration, the costs in social services (children of addicts in care etc) which are huge and which would be minimised enormously by treating this as a health issue, rather than as a criminal issue. The Greens propose that but, I feel, don’t go far enough in decriminalising the drugs. Portugal has done so, has an incredible evidence base around health (metrics in significant drops in the transmission of blood borne viruses, particularly Hep C and HIV, as well as a significant increase in people seeking treatment) and has actually noticed a drop – yes, a reduction! – in the people starting on drugs in the first place. Extend the benefits to a reduction in organised crime (bikie turf wars, which would all be wiped out if the profitability of drug importation and dealing was not there). Continue to harshly prosecute anyone who imports or deals drugs. Now, this may seem a little off topic but it is illustrating my point about how much money can be saved through changing one policy and how that could be used to fund several other policies.
Sorry for the novel but I got a little over-excited about actually having a computer to type out my response!
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And how are the Greens going to pay for all these grand altruistic plans?
By the time they’ve evaporated all incentive for business, industry and manufacturing in this country, just exactly how do you think it is possible to economically support their ‘initiatives’????
Hope to God we never have to find out.
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They can tax us all more. I (low income student) am happy to contribute more. Are you?
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I’m single, already paying a ton of tax and not prepared to pay more. They could use the millions in revenue they get from fuel and pokies, where is all that money going???
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Oh Hayley… They ARE taxing us more…
Get back to me when you’ve actually felt the true effects of the CT on your student’s sized wallet…
And/or perhaps have a family to support and let’s see just how much more you are prepared to part with for policies that do not work and have not been thought out
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I’m a high income earner, happy to be taxed more. In terms of taxation rates throughout the world, Australia’s is certainly in the lower half, perhaps even lowest quartile, of tax rates from other countries.
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You need to look at the sum total of Greens policies in order to see. Some policies that they have will undoubtedly cost more than what the Labor or Liberal policy will; some will cost much less. Some require a high initial outlay e.g. Denticare but will become cost neutral or a cost benefit on the medium to long term with better workforce participation and productivity, reduced ED costs in hospitals etc.
So, there is no short answer.
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There are services and departments that can provide housing for BOTH homeless and asylum seekers. I know for a fact that the SydWest Multicultural Centre helps people who have just been given refugee status find housing, help them seek education and employment, fill out applications for housing, direct them to the department of housing, etc. Once someone is legitimately allowed to stay in this country, they have equal rights to homeless people, etc. There is no prioritising. There just needs to be more affordable housing available for homeless people and refugees, because ultimately these two categories of people are essentially the same, refugees do end up homeless when they dont have access to the right services. And not trying to be rude in any way, however Laura your comment about families in crisis also applies to these refugees, they are families with young children as well. And homeless families in Australia should have access to services that place them in temporary accommodation until affordable housing is made available for them. No one takes priority and it takes a long time for applications to be processed and houses to be found. It is now an issue of putting government money into building more affordable housing as it is now being wasted on temporary accommodation when ultimately stability is a much better option. No family wants to continue living in a this kind of temporary housing, whether they are refugees or not. We also need to consider those who don’t have families, they may not have children to support but they still have equal rights.
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wellAmandaroseWell written article- love it.
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wellAmandaroseWell written article- love it.
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I feel for asylum seekers and would hate to be in their situation. I think the government can do more to help these people but allowing more people to migrate to Australia is not the answer.
You’ve got to keep the intake at a sustainable level. If refugees were sent to country towns then the dynamics of that town will change and they also wouldn’t have the infrastructure to support them. As for the city, housing is an issue and also employment. Most refugees will arrive with very little and therefore require public housing and a job.
We won’t be squashed in like sardines but we definitely don’t have the infrastructure to accommodate.
It’s a terrible world we live in and I think people need to be educated more so they can do something to help if they want but simply saying that we need to increase our intake of refugees is not the solution.
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This seems more like a reason to invest in infrastructure rather than not accepting more refugees. I appreciate your compassion – there are simply too many people who do not even try to imagine what a good proportion of these people have gone through. I’ve worked with HIV positive asylum seekers and refugees abroad and their stories were harrowing to say the least. There was not one day I spent working with these people when I couldn’t help but be grateful for the circumstances of my life.
I suppose the thing that people don’t consider so much is the potential for contribution these people have. Many great and/or successful Australians (http://www.kochie.com.au/some-great-australians-who-happened-to-be-refugees) were once refugees; some even came by boat. I know a few Vietnamese doctors whose parents came over by boat, bought a small business when they could, worked 14 hour days seven days a week to support their families and pay for their children to go to university. I’ve met many doing great things in community groups, in universities, in the public sector.
It is about giving them a leg up, some initial support, so that they can go on to contribute to to economy, to create wealth, to raise educated children.
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I agree with you. I teach at a school where the majority of parents and some students were refugees. Their stories opened my eyes to the reality of what is happening beyond our shores.
Most people see the problems associated with refugees as it isn’t until the next generation that we can truly see what they can contribute as when they arrive they’re too busy working low paying jobs to support their family (either her or back “home”).
A big issue is society’s perception of refugees. I’d be concerned that people would focus too much on how the increase in population will affect employment, house prices, crime rates (just think of Cabramatta, Springvale and Footscray is the 80s) and the overall culture of our country. If society was more educated on this issue then hopefully we could decrease any finger pointing but at the end of the day these are still issues that affect people and we can’t assume everything will stay the same.
Highly contentious issue but I think that it is important for people to be educated so that they have more compassion for refugees and offer them a hand instead of a pointed finger.
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Excellent piece, Sarah but I do agree with the poster below who said that it would be better if you could also explain what measures the Greens propose to address the people smuggling problem.
I for one do vote Greens, primarily because of their stance on social justice issues and because their policies are primarily formed using an evidence base rather than ideology.
In fact, in recent months I’ve spoken to five different people who specifically mentioned the point at which they decided to vote Greens and that point was the Tampa crisis. This IS an issue that many Australians are concerned about and the major two parties are not offering solutions that espouse a commitment to the international conventions that we have signed up to.
And, as Sarah rightly mentions, our intake of asylum seekers and refugees is comparatively small which is a shame especially given the strong economic situation (relative to world terms) that this country enjoys.
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Firstly let me say I admire and agree with Ms. Hanson- Young’s sentiments but I think this would have been a better piece if it touched on how the Greens propose to stamp out people smugglers, and help genuine asylum seekers at the same time. As it is, the piece sounds a little
bit ‘bleeding heart lefty’ with no pragmatic policy behind it
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Great article.
Despite what we hear on Today Tonight and so on, it is perfectly legal for refugees to come to Australia and seek asylum. We too are bound by international laws on this…..
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People smuggling???!!!
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Let’s get squashed into this country like sardines…..
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& for the record no I won’t be voting greens . This article turned me off completely.
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Seriously? Squashed in like sardines?
Have you seen our country?
Lots and lots of space.
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No housing.. Where do you expect to shove these people, when we can’t even house people already living here?
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Where in the desert??
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There are plenty of small towns that could do with the population boost. Of course, employment is a problem but that is another issue…
People can and do make the choice to move out of the capital cities and enjoy the lifestyle.
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They don’t go to the small towns. The housing is predominantly in the city regions
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Rural areas are already struggling with a lack of doctor’s etc. Lack of infrastructure is the issue.
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It is a little a case of the chicken and the egg. Governments don’t invest in infrastructure while the population is low; the population remains low partly because infrastructure is poor.
I actually worked abroad on setting up a program for refugee doctors. These doctors were, in some cases, consultants and specialists who were driving taxis or stacking shelves in supermarkets in their adopted countries because, amongst other reasons, they had lost critical papers when the fled their home countries, because they had lost their clinical skills due to being out of clinical practice etc.
The program gave them an accelerated clinical skills program to ensure that their skills were up to date, language and cultural programs and then offered them supervised jobs (an inter equivalent year) where they could work for a year to regain their general registration. They were mostly offered jobs in areas where there were doctor shortages which, in the short term put pressure on the medical system (interns require supervision from senior doctors so there needs to be enough senior doctors to supervise) but they would then often stay on in these rural areas to continue their work. There is no reason I can see why that couldn’t work here.
Infrastructure in some ways is being improved by the current government with the NBN – critical for access to telehealth which represents enormous, cost effective health provision benefits.
One of the major things that annoys me is the proliferation of FIFO in the mining towns. These companies should be contributing to infrastructure upgrades (much more than they are) and the development of housing so that they can then wind back the need for FIFO. FIFO is causing enormous damage to these communities and most of the economic benefits are not flowing on to the local community – they are being spent in the cities when the workers fly home.
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I find comments that attack Mamamia for running op-ed pieces puzzling…it’s not a news site?
It’s so disappointing when politicians – and members of the public – use stories like the one that ran last night to attack asylum seekers. I think the ‘break the people smugglers ring’ is a really lazy argument that fails to address the real issue. As long as there is war, famine & torture, desperate people will do anything to get to safety. Anyone who says they wouldn’t do exactly the same thing is, in my opinion, kidding themselves.
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Persoanlly I am ashamed of Australia’s poor record on refugees. I think this is an issue for everyone not just the Greens. Thanks MM for contouring to bring this issue to our attention.
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I respect the Greens & Ms Hansen Young for their stance on Assylum Seekers, but this is it.
I wont be voting Green.
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How can we take more people when infrastructure here can’t keep pace with our existing population?
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Oh and I won’t vote Greens either!
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Rick you deleted a good post from Stephanie. Won’t be voting greens ever!
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Do define good as ‘rude’? Then, yes.
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She had some valid points. Poor on your behalf Rick.
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We prefer people make valid points with a dash of manners.
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You won’t be voting Greens because Rick deleted a good post from Stephanie? As good a reason as any, I suppose…
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wont be voting greens…
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Wow. I won’t be voting Greens either but how does that even make your point? At least talk about the issue.
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I can’t, Mr Morton keeps deleting if you don’t agree.
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Oh my, this argument is so wearisome! Say your piece by all means, just say it in a civil manner like others have clearly done here and you won’t have a problem. It’s really that simple
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I did and you deleted.. Poor form
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Yawn…the same Anonymous who has already left three comments to that effect? If so, change the record…
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I watched this last night and thought the same thing … this shows a failure of the Government agencies NOT of the asylum seekers who genuinely come here and need our help!!
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What a crock of an article. Poor poor
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I don’t understand your argument here??
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Agree with the sentiment of the post – but when did Mamamia become a place of unfettered political party advertising?
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It’s an op-ed. We have and do run them from all political parties. Tony Abbott has written for us, Bill Shorten has written for us, Sarah Hanson-Young has … and so the list goes on. Debate is good. Engage with the content, that’s what our readers do best
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Mr Moreton, Why are people getting the opinions deleted if they don’t agree.
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Morton. Not if they disagree, if they’re rude. Our comment guidelines are pretty clear on that! We already have comments here that disagree. Debate is good
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Mr Morton, thank you for deleting additions that are ‘rude’. I, for one, am sick to death about hearing Australian’s wax on about how much THEY will suffer from allowing asylum seekers to be granted citizenship (and for that matter how much THEY will suffer under carbon tax and how THEY would be affected if, God forbid (no pun intended), gay and lesbian people are allowed to be married). I mean, think about it people! Australia is still the lucky country and we should be more grateful and gracious about it.
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You’re new here aren’t you?
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Fair enuff
I have a lot of issues with what I see as a lack of internal cohesiveness within the Greens… but I have voted for them for a decade, and will continue to do so, as I see their policies as the most in line with my own values. Not all, but most.
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This sets out the Greens philosophy of an issue that is currently in the media. This is an issue that plenty of Australians care about. It is also an issue where the major parties differ very little in their fundamental view toward Australia’s obligations in this regard. I’d say this is pretty pertinent.
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Well said, Anon.
Thankfully, there are sites like this which actually allow the Greens to explain their position, unlike other areas of commercial print and tv media…..not mentioning any *ahem* names……
Unfortunately, it seems from previous comments, the commercial media continues to close people’s minds by playing on fear and loathing
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And that the Greens are economic terrorists hell bent on destroying Australia’s already terrible economy. And that they are the loony left (or any other alliterative masterpiece that a small mind finds witty). And that they are in cahoots with the CIA. And so on and so forth. All those gems one sees/hears when one engages with a good proportion of the mainstream media in this country.
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