The issue of boat people

Controversial detention centre to reopen

Since the change of government in Australia, a perceived more liberal attitude to “boat people” has resulted in an influx of people smuggling with illegal immigrants trying to avoid the normal process of applying for a visa to gain access to the country.The flood of boat people was ending up on Christmas Island, but the increasing numbers resulted in overcrowding and concern by the locals. In an effort to resolve this accommodation problem the government decided to reopen detention facilities on the mainland, used by the previous government. So the Curtin detention centre in remote Western Australia will be dusted off for this purpose.

NewsOnABC April 18, 2010
The Curtin detention centre in remote Western Australia will be dusted off and revived to house asylum seekers.

It’s a political minefield as the vocal minority want the doors flung open to allow all in, whilst the often silent majority share concerns about terrorists, criminals and other undesirables entering the country.

A little recent history will illustrate this…

In 2001, at a time of middle east tension, increased Islamist militancy, the millennium terrorist plots, the USS Cole bombing, the Taliban control of Afghanistan and the aftermath of the series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001, the Australia government resorted to military force to keep out an influx of illegal immigrants. Mostly from Afghanistan, along with some Pakistanis and Sri Lankans. This was brought to a head when an unseaworthy boat run by people smugglers began to sink off Indonesia.

They sent out an alarm and a giant 44,000-ton Norwegian freighter, named the Tampa, came to the rescue. The Tampa then set sail for the closest port, in Indonesia, however, the Afghans began threatened the Tampa’s tiny 27-man crew if the ship did not reverse course and take them to Australia. Fearful, the captain complied with their demands.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard objected to this thug like behaviour and forbade it from entering the country’s territory. The captain obeyed, stopping just nine kilometers outside Australian waters.

But two days later, citing health problems among the Afghans, he moved the Tampa into Australian waters, heading toward land. In response, Howard sent crack Australian troops to board the ship and prevent it from reaching the coast.

The government’s action was criticised by foreign leaders and international agencies, meanwhile polls in Australia showed that 78 percent of Australians backed Howard’s “resolve,” reflecting public concerns of a sizeable growth in illegal immigration, mostly of Afghans, Iraqis and Iranians. Elevan days before the Tampa’s arrival saw more than 1,500 illegals landing in Australia on small boats, and reports were circulating of another 5,000 would-be immigrants readying to set sail from Indonesia. Many Australians felt under siege.

In addition, recent police reports of Lebanese men gang-raping non-Muslim Australian women, specifically to humiliate them, aroused public anger.

In the long run, Howard’s policy worked, as it proved a deterrent when Australia began detaining illegal immigrants, leaving would be people smugglers and refugees with the perception that they would end up in a big prison like Guantánamo Bay.

Interestingly, there was an upward trend in the number of immigrants to Australia over the period of the Howard Government (1996–2007) and the final immigration intake of the Howard era was the largest in Australia’s history.

Australia is a relatively high-immigration country like Canada and the United States, while other economically developed countries like Japan have historically had negligible immigration.

Obviously Australia wants to coordinate immigration in an orderly manner, adjusting the intake according to the economic circumstances of the day. Taking into consideration the propensity of new arrivals to cluster in the capital cities and exacerbate the nation’s housing affordability problem, rather than spread through out across the country. Also considering the adverse long-term effects on the economy as the population ages and the labour market becomes less competitive. Its important therefore that Australia determine the calibre of their immigrants to satisfy the countries need for skilled workers and people who can assimilate.

Meanwhile the organisation Sustainable Population Australia, believe that as the driest inhabited continent, Australia cannot continue to sustain its current rate of population growth without becoming overpopulated. The UK-based Optimum Population Trust supports the view that Australia is overpopulated, and believes that to maintain the current standard of living in Australia, the optimum population is 10 million (rather than the present 20.86 million), or 21 million with a reduced standard of living.

There’s such a diversified range of political and economic opinions, its just a case of determining which one works the best.

It’s impossible to please all the people all the time, but unlike TV programming, which aims to please most of the people most of the time, the future of a nation needs a more serious and long term approach. What we do today our children will inherit.