The Rioters do themselves a disservice and have probably jeopardised their opportunity for asylum. History has proven that all that the rioting does is raise public anger and there will be calls to not accept such rioters in Australia. Some will face criminal proceedings and have no chance of settlement in Australia.
This riot is however not the first. Such riots and protests also occurred during the term of the previous government.
At Woomera during the Howard Government it is reported the detainees set fire to the buildings and broke sections of the perimeter fence. I have read that the 300 Woomera security guards fired tear gas to try and quell the riot. A small number of protestors were charged and a number of asylum seekers were relocated to Adelaide.
So playing the political point scoring card serves no purpose. History tells us such Riots/protests can and have happened regardless of the Government of the day. Governments need to be proactive in their approach to asylum seekers and process them sooner. That may lessen the dissent. Further those that destroy public property as they did during the riots under Howards coalition and now at Christmas Island need to be dealt with harshly in terms of their applications as well as being dealt with for crimes of wilful damage and any other crime.
I like most people deplore the acts of the rioters but it is wrong to pretend such only occurred in the term of the current government. The truth must always prevail.
