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Workers Power Global, Melbourne
The Australian government moved earlier this week to remove a further thousand islands from the Australian migration zone. Their reason? - the arrival of a boat from Indonesia with "suspected" asylum seekers. And how many people have arrived to cause this bizarre legislative move? - a mere 14. Fourteen men, possibly from Turkey, who are now on a Navy ship awaiting their fate.
Amanda Vanstone, the recently appointed Immigration Minister said the passengers would never be able to apply for asylum in Australia.
Even the Labor Opposition, who have generally tailed the government in its racist policies on refugees, have called the excising an over-reaction.
But Vanstone is unmoved. Since the Tampa affair when the government refused to allow a shipload of refugees to land, and instead left them in the middle of the ocean until finally moving them to an off-shore detention center, where most of them remain, only one other boat has tried to land.
But the government thinks its already ridiculous regulations need further tightening. Minister Vanstone said "The arrival of this boat clearly shows the regulations are required,".
At the same time as the Navy, police and immigration officials were descending on the isolated Tiwi Islands, the islands themselves were closed off to journalists. In an unprecedented move the airport was placed in an exclusion zone, making it difficult for the media to get access to local people or information.
But the shire president of Christmas Island, where 50 Vietnamese refugees are already being held in detention, has managed to make a small dent in the government's plans. Asked if the government could use the island's sports hall to house the new arrivals, the president said no, that there was already a detention center and they could go there.
The government of course did not want the refugees the opportunity to mix and perhaps exchange useful information. They are still looking for somewhere to take the 14 men.
And all of this is happening at a time when the UN committee for refugees has just put a recommendation to Australia that at least one detainee in Baxter detention center be allowed free to live with her six children who have previously been released by a High Court decision.
When even the very conservative UN is slamming the Australian treatment of refugees, you'd think that the government would be trying extra hard to look like it's cleaning up its act. Instead they are relying on stirring up racism and anti-refugee sentiment in anattempt to win them another election.
And such a win is a very real possibility when the Labor Party fails to mount any meaningful opposition. Though the Labor Party did point out that excising parts of Australia to stop people claiming refugee status was a little excessive, they have continued to make it clear that the government's refugee policy would not change much if they were elected. The detention system might become a little more humane, but it would still be there.
Currently hundreds of people in Australia have Temporary Protection Visas that either have expired or will expire soon. These people live in constant fear of what the government will decide to do with them next. Meanwhile the government manages to sneakily deport a steady trickle of people back to Afghanistan and Iran, despite clear evidence that these people generally "disappear" not long after arriving or go to live in areas which in the case of Afghanistan are still basically war zones.
Though refugee activist groups and the anti-deportations alliance have been able to stop many deportations through protest and court injunctions, this is a holding position only.
While there is close to a media blackout on refugee issues, the papers are instead filled with reports about possible terrorist attacks on Australia and links between Australian citizens and organizations that have been deemed terrorist. Senator Ellison, the Minister for Justice and Customs has even been quoted in Parliament attributing what appear to be entirely fictional accounts of suicide bombings, to Hamas as evidence for why they should be deemed a terrorist organization in Australia.
There is a concerted attempt to scapegoat anyone of Middle Eastern or muslim background as a potential supporter of terrorism. All of this points to another nasty, race-driven election campaign in the new year. A campaign where all socialists and particular groups like Socialist Alliance, who will be standing candidates, need to campaign energetically for refugee rights, for the closing down of detention centers and an independent income so that asylum seekers can integrate into the community.
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