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August 14, 2006
I managed to catch the news that, Steve Fielding, the Family First Senator, has decided to oppose the Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill in the Senate this week in the name of fairness. I understand that two Liberal Senators--- Marise Payne and Russell Trood-- have concerns whilst Barnaby Joyce has said he will abstain if, as expected, the Government rejected his proposal to override ministerial decisions on sending asylum-seekers to Nauru. That means the Howard Government's asylum seeker bill faces defeat in the Senate.
I was suprised by Senator Fielding's clear opposition, as I thought that Family First supports a strong system of border protection--it supported draconian measures and laws because they are in the national interest and national security interest. This is often linked to international terrorism being the rise by the defenders of the national security state.
Fielding argues thus:
There are rules about the treatment of asylum seekers which are accepted by all countries. Yet suddenly Australia says "not us".How can Australia expect India and Pakistan to accept Afghan boat people yet boot people who reach our country off to a foreign land? It's a case of one rule for Australia and another for everyone else. And that's not on.If every country followed Australia's lead---made up their own rules and booted people off to foreign lands--- there would be absolute chaos.Australia has no control over what happens on Nauru so it would effectively be washing its hands of any boat people and adopting an attitude of "out of sight, out of mind". It's not fair and it's not right.
I misread Fielding. I thought that fairness in relation to asylum seekers was a minor consideration for them. Fielding goes on to talk in terms of the Howard Government's policy being designed to appease Indonesia and that Family First strongly opposes this; rather than spelling out what mean by fairness as 'doing the right thing.'
One of the most troubling aspect of the legislation--as Judy Moylan pointed out-- is that it places people seeking refuge on our shores out of reach Australian domestic law and places them in a country (Nauru) that is not a signatory to international conventions protecting aslyum seekers. So asylum seekers are placed beyond public scrutiny and such checks and balances that operate in Australia.
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