MANUS ISLAND
Australia abandons its duty
HOW can we bring our Government to its senses? Australia is trying to abandon its responsibilities to those who fled to us seeking safety from horrific conditions, and dump those responsibilities on to our poor, struggling neighbour, Papua New Guinea. All this after spending upward of $7 billion on “solving” a “problem” that did not exist. Had we treated these people properly, they would by now be contributing to Australia, like the hundreds of thousands of refugees we have accepted in saner times, from the end of World War II through the collapse of South Vietnam and onward. It is time to bring those on Manus and Nauru here. refused to let them go. Now it states their future is now in the hands of the PNG Government. Perhaps the Papuans can renegotiate with the New Zealanders and move them there, so they can have some kind of future. Isn’t it time the major parties in Australia got together and agreed to drop this “if you come to Australia by boat, you will never be able to settle here “rubbish? They are equally to blame for the current circumstances. Shame on them.
Speaking out
FIVE hundred years ago, Martin Luther said, “Here I Stand” calling on people to recognise forgiveness is God’s gift, not for sale by the church. Fifty years ago, his namesake Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. We have a Government presiding over injustice in Manus and Nauru, and a complicit Opposition. What is our response? To stand and condemn such actions, or say nothing and invite unjust actions by governments and special interest groups to spread into the rest of our society? As a Christian, I applaud the actions of Nick McKim from the Greens, a party notorious for its anti-Christian philosophy, in standing and declaring the injustice. Jesus would approve.
Loss of hope
IF my children were so desperate they sacrificed everything they knew, loved and owned to make a perilous journey in a leaking boat to plead for sanctuary and a A new way to have your say themercury.com.au readers have a new way to have their say. It’s free to use, just register and have your say. For more details and to register, visit the website. new start, I would want them heard. I would hope a rich and diverse country which made claims of being civilised and decent would keep them safe while their claims were heard. What we as a country have done to refugees we have imprisoned and now abandoned on Manus Island is beyond appalling. Both Labor and Liberal federal governments have epitomised hypocrisy and xenophobic bigotry. If these refugees were from Western Europe or the US, they would not have been imprisoned or abandoned. Their suffering and loss of hope is of Australia’s doing and it is completely wrong. Thank goodness Nick McKim and Andrew Wilkie speak publicly of this humanitarian disaster.
We can do something
THE abuses suffered by the thousands of Muslim Rohingya place them as victims of crimes against humanity. The crimes against children are particularly appalling. While nowhere near the scale of the Myanmar tragedy, the situation of the 600 refugees on Manus Island beggars belief. Like the Rohingya, these people have been denied natural justice and the right to a safe place for five years. With the closure of the Australian-funded detention centre, immigration authorities are relocating them to the displeasure of local people who were never consulted. While the Australian Government and Opposition may have little influence over the Myanmar horror, they could enforce a mutual agreement allowing refugees on Manus Island and Nauru to settle in Australia.
Paris target missed
WHAT a surprise: the just-released UN Emissions Gap Report 2017 confirms that Australia’s emissions are set to far exceed our Paris Agreement target for 2030.
Call new elections
THE cleanest solution to the chaotic mess of the Turnbull Government is to prorogue Parliament and call new elections. That would enable all politicians to get their citizenship information correct, complying with the Constitution.
Panoply of perks
DO the dual-citizen pollies who resign get to enjoy the full panoply of pollies’ pension perks for life?
The Goons said it
THE Commonwealth Government has done a lot to protect itself from being given information of value. Cutting CSIRO, ABC, public service, Department of Statistics and more. The Goons had the phrase for it: I don’t wish to know that. There are some of us who think ignorance is not bliss.
Just abide by the law
THE politicians don’t need to change the law. All they have to do is abide by it. No big problem.