joyce proving he is worth the money, page-77

loric: a good observation/opinion of yours I think: "Personally, I think there should be no borders. People should be allowed to freely move to whichever part of the world they wish."


I have previously expressed my view of Labor's policy Read Here

As for the Liberals,You would be correct if you said that the conservative side of politics and a harsh view towards refugees go hand in hand. Take this with the argument of the conservatives being in favor of free trade and a free flow of capital throughout the world and you must, by necessity, come up with an inconsistency. If capital and trade are free to flow then why shouldn't the same apply to human beings? If we have a global village as far as economics go then why is it that some argue for the exclusion of people from it. Thus it is an oddity that the Liberals are so anti refugee. Can I also make one more broad observation of the Liberals on this. The name of their party, that is the term LIBERAL does not really fit with their attitude toward refugees. It is apparent that their liberalism has limits, it being limited to us nationals.

There can be no question that John Howard politicized the refugee (boat people) issue with the coming of the Tampa (if you want to disagree with this well all I can say is go ahead, streamline it - I won't be listening!). He discredited the character of refugees per se and thus there "suitability" to live in this country with his "Children overboard" antics and at the same time drew a line in the sand which was well short of Australian soil. In doing so he closed the circle, encompassing the "fear" of anything foreign in the mind of Australians with the idea that the Liberals and only the Liberals would tend to the protection of our border. The scene was set from then on. The combination of an appeal to xenophobia and the natural inclination of a political party to gain power came together. Howard was set. Labor, under Beazley, did not take take the stand that it should have, the humanitarian one, the one in accord with the refugee convention, but was instead scared to death (justly so) that it would cost them success in the election currently being held. Clearly the Liberals have held the ground ever since with Labor dancing to their tune We now have a government with a policy which would send people to a country where they may well be subjected to gross mistreatment. Check For Yourself. Who is to blame?