“… owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”
That’s what the 1951 Refugee Convention (as broadened by the 1967 protocol) says about the term “refugee”. That’s the test of whether asylum seekers need our protection, the test of whether people are genuine refugees or are instead the “economic migrants” some believe are unfairly filling the refugee quota. The only test.
This is delicate stuff. New PM Kevin Rudd said he wouldn’t “lurch to the Right” on boat people before his knifing in 2010, now he’s apparently telling caucus colleagues he won’t “lurch to the Left” on the issue either. Desperate economic migrants — who deserve compassion, if not protection — may be crowding out people in even more desperate, life-threatening situations. Reviewing the assessment procedures around asylum seekers is a worthy exercise.
But is it so much to ask that we review it in a calm, considered way? Opposition Leader Tony Abbott insisted today the “vast majority” of boat people aren’t “fair dinkum” and they’ve got to “come in the front door not the back door”. He has no proof, and the rhetoric is inflammatory.
In a political climate that vilified Labor’s Ed Husic, the new parliamentary secretary to the PM, for swearing on the Koran, both sides of politics need to tone down the language and wait for the facts. We live in hope.
What bible do atheists “swear on”?
If Husic had sworn on a bib1e it would’ve been meaningless.
But what’s hypocrisy to Abbott…
It’s not about rhetoric. It’s about policy. Carr’s comments that boat arrivals are mostly economic migrants is a harbinger of a policy change. Labor is going to get tougher on assessments and seek where possible to repatriate boat people to their countries of origin. The objective is to make potential asylum seekers realise that they will waste their money if they come. This is now clear policy by both major parties. The objective of course is to stop the boats.
It’s also what most Australians want.
Most of the inflammatory rhetoric comes from the Greens, who continually tell the rest of us how evil we are.
The fact is that the so-called economic migrants come on jumbo jets.
This derangement over such a tiny number of people during the biggest refugee crisis in 20 years has to stop and the media have to lead the way if the lazy racist pollies won’;t.
The fact is in the figures – for the past 12 years 96% of Iranians have been found to be refugees.
To label anyone an economic migrant is deranged, it means nothing at all.
Are we to suffer the blind madness of the 5th refugee bashing election in a row?
And as it is not our right to change the definition of who is a refugee under the convention they are blowing smoke.
David Hand, will you just shut up. We have zero right to stop any vessel going anywhere it bloody well wants to. It’s not our ocean and stopping the boats _ mass murder and complicity in genocide.
Why are Australian’s such cowards.