For a brief moment last week, we were spared the usual bluster about asylum seekers from politicians and commentators. But with the gloves now off we learn that the recent deaths at sea were the fault of Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Fraser, social justice advocates, the moralising left, the right, the Greens, the carbon tax, and apparently me.
Trying to shame people with blame in the aftermath of a tragedy can be a self serving exercise and much of what is written serves only to reinforce tired political agendas. But all of us must accept some responsibility for the debacle that is Australia’s approach to asylum seekers and we must work together to find solutions.
In Saturday’s Age, Nick Dyrenfurth took aim at refugee supporters, who he claims have failed in their moralising about refugees. But Dyrenfurth is just another in a long line of commentators to preach his own brand of morality and to denounce others with the claim that he knows something the rest of us have failed to notice. One thing I learnt quickly when I entered the refugee debate many years ago was that everyone is an expert.
But it should be mandatory for anyone writing on the subject to spend solid time in detention centres before calling on others to sugar coat their views and to research the multitude of campaigns and contributions to a debate lasting more than a decade. Dyrenfurth ignores the hard and sometimes invisible work of Australians who have given up time, money and personal lives, to try to shift public perceptions – often successfully - and assist refugees over many years.
But more problematic is the refusal of our politicians to acknowledge or take steps to address a refugee’s dilemma before he or she steps onto a boat. Too poll driven to even explain the human desperation that leads to boat journeys, our major parties swing with the most favourable political breeze.
When Kevin Rudd came to power in 2007, many Australians hoped he would position boat arrivals within the global context that John Howard had refused to provide. But Rudd failed to live up to expectations, preferring to appeal to voters on all sides of the debate with his focus on the ‘vile’ people smugglers.
The Coalition has been similarly motivated and with each tragedy comes the message that Coalition policies aim to save lives. But only the naïve could believe that cries to ‘stop the boats’ are anything more than a pitch to particular Australians; those who don’t necessarily lack compassion, but are more concerned with improving their own lives.
Last week was Refugee Week in Australia; a time to focus on the needs of millions of refugees worldwide. But Shadow Immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison had little to say about desperate people and chose instead to converse on Sydney radio about refugees arriving with jewellery and “wads of cash”. It was a grating reminder of Philip Ruddock’s past attempts to defame refugees with claims that they threw their children in the water, asked for two-in-one shampoo, double-dipped with charities, or purchased mobile phones.
The Opposition is adamant that its approach to asylum seekers has at least been consistent, but this is simply not true. When the Pacific Solution was dismantled in 2008 we heard barely a murmur of dissent from a demoralised opposition. In 2009, the then-shadow immigration spokesperson Sharman Stone told the ABC: “we don't need the Pacific Solution now, that's Nauru Island and Manus Island, because we have the Christmas Island centre completed. A very well structured and appropriate facility…”
After years of stuff ups and severe damage caused to refugees under John Howard’s leadership (resulting in millions of dollars in compensation), Australians were seeking a more humane approach. And for a time, the Coalition was happy to play along.
But as the boats kept coming and the tabloid pastime again kicked in – focusing on anything but the tragic stories of the people on the boats -Tony Abbott arrived to resurrect past policies.
Abbott’s populist approach has forced the Government to embrace the Pacific Solution it once found so repulsive, but his stance is now so bizarre that he is denying support for his own Nauru policy. And his opposition to a Malaysia arrangement stands in stark contrast to John Howard’s attempts to send refugees from Nauru to Malaysia, and of course to his own Indonesia push back plan.
Never has the Coalition’s obstruction mentality been so clear as in Scott Morrison’s appearance on the ABC’s 7.30 on Monday night. During the interview with Leigh Sales, Morrison indicated that even if the government agreed to all of the Coalition’s policies and dropped its own Malaysia arrangement, the Opposition would still not offer its support. Only if he and Tony Abbott were allowed to govern could these measures be implemented successfully, he claimed. It’s all about getting elected.
I would not personally oppose sending asylum seekers to Malaysia under a genuine regional arrangement, as long as adequate protection and conditions, a fair process, legal and human rights, and the potential for resettlement within a reasonable timeframe were guaranteed. But dumping refugees on tiny islands while we wait for their mental health to break down, before bringing them to Australia, makes no sense. Malaysia has a central role to play in a long term regional solution; Nauru does not.
It is obvious that the lure of boat journeys would diminish significantly, although not completely, if safer options and more resettlement places were provided for refugees in the region – just how desperate would you have to be to risk death on the ocean rather than remain where you are? But would a focus outside of our borders win votes for either of the major parties? In the short term, probably not.
If John Howard had invested in long term regional strategies during his four terms in office, instead of seeking short term political gain, we might today be facing a different landscape. The tragedy of a refugee’s life does not begin when we pull his or her body from the ocean and unless we can provide better alternatives to boat travel we will always end up back here trying to find someone to blame.
Susan Metcalfe is author of The Pacific Solution (ASP 2010) and has written widely on refugees and asylum seekers.