Australia's Embarrassment

[Red Rider]

Is anyone else embarrassed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's numerous attempts to trade off asylum seekers to other Pacific Island nations? I personally think it's a disgrace, people seeking refuge from poverty, war and oppression are being traded off like pawns in some sick political game.

It seems that the 'Pacific Solution' is still very much alive, and Rudd's assertion that it's not is completely hypocritical. I by no means defend John Howard's policy, but at least he admitted what he was doing. It's time for Australian politicians to wake up to themselves, Australia's immigration and asylum seeker policies are (still) an embarrassment to the country in the eyes of the world.

[Barbarian Nobility]

I think its hilarious; for all the heart-felt grand standing about how inhumane the Howard policy of detention was, i cannot help but think that Krudd's (no)policy of relegating assylum seekers into crappier 3rd world detention camps or even throwing the refugees back to the lions they tried to escape from is FAR worse. I worked at Baxter with GSL before joining the correctional service I can tell you first hand the detention centres really weren't that bad, the refugees had no regime management and better amemnities then i had at home. Compare this with the rancid conditions of those indonesian or malaysian centres and Baxter looks like the Taj Mahal.

This is an epic fail for Krudd. Innitiate heart-warming 'distraction' apology in three, two, one....now!

[Exarch]

indeed
but despite it all, at least we allowed those refugees to stay, so u cant keep picking away at ruddkipps
as opposed to howard's overt racism and sheer arrogance, i'd take rudd's respecful diplomacy anyday.

[Barbarian Nobility]

indeed
but despite it all, at least we allowed those refugees to stay, so u cant keep picking away at ruddkipps
as opposed to howard's overt racism and sheer arrogance, i'd take rudd's respecful diplomacy anyday.

You say overt racism and sheer arrogance, but in reality it was a political godsend at a time when Howards war with the Unions had its popularity plummeting. It was a political ploy that Howard totally won, and a challenge that Krudd has equally fantastically failed. This has been the first real acid test of the new administration and an epic fail for ALP, one that a shattered and disunified Coalition will not be able to exploit to its full effect. It just goes to show all the feel-good politics has been gloss - all to easily washed away to reveal a corroded veneer of indecisiveness

[Exarch]

You say overt racism and sheer arrogance, but in reality it was a political godsend at a time when Howards war with the Unions had its popularity plummeting. It was a political ploy that Howard totally won, and a challenge that Krudd has equally fantastically failed. This has been the first real acid test of the new administration and an epic fail for ALP, one that a shattered and disunified Coalition will not be able to exploit to its full effect. It just goes to show all the feel-good politics has been gloss - all to easily washed away to reveal a corroded veneer of indecisiveness

sure rudd balked, he knew that if he allowed the migrants in no questions asked etc etc, then most australians would get pissed off at him; there's a sense in oz that our country is a citadel defending 'the best palce to live on earth' some sort of virginal paradise.
despite it all, rudd's com out of it pretty clean, he's still popular, hs approval ratings are still over 70% or so last i checked, he's still the preferred PM

[Barbarian Nobility]

LOL he's still preferred PM because theres no alternative choice! But i take your point...still its been a massive Gaff week for him what with both the assylum seeker issue AND the racism against Indians thing being hyped by the media over there. Its funny to see him sweat for once he's had it way to easy.

[Exarch]

LOL he's still preferred PM because theres no alternative choice! But i take your point...still its been a massive Gaff week for him what with both the assylum seeker issue AND the racism against Indians thing being hyped by the media over there. Its funny to see him sweat for once he's had it way to easy.

true
the indian thing is overhyped IMO, especially amongst the indian media which is highly sensationalistic (an eye for profits more than anything else)
that doesnt mean indian students dont get a raw deal but so do some other students here in sydney/melbourne; did chinese students have a mass protest over high rent etc? no, they put up and shut up and went somewhere else. same with viet students, same with singapore students.

sure there's still some annoying pockets of racism amongst some australians but nowhere near as bad as the indian media would let on
ok take this:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Rudd rage splashes across Indian media
PHILLIP COOREY CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND JONATHAN PEARLMAN

November 14, 2009
Grilling ... how the Indian news channel Times Now portrayed the Prime Minister's comments about attacks in Australia. Photo: Andrew Meares

NEW DELHI: Kevin Rudd has rejected the assertion of a rising tide of racism in Australia after a day of fielding complaints from India's leaders and media about attacks on Indian students.
During their talks yesterday the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, complained directly to Mr Rudd about the attacks as well as shonky education providers in Australia, as did India's President, Pratibha Patil.
''I conveyed my concern to the Prime Minister about the safety, security and wellbeing of our students in Australia,'' Mr Singh said. ''The Prime Minister assured me that Australia is fully committed to ensuring their security and will take all steps necessary in this regard.'' The two leaders agreed to set up an annual dialogue of education ministers to keep a watch on the situation.
The bilateral talks capped off Mr Rudd's first visit to India as Prime Minister. The Government was so sensitive about the disquiet that it prepared an announcement for his visit to New Delhi about ''Home for Dinner'', an initiative that involves Rotary members inviting foreign students over for a dinner or a barbecue. Press releases in the names of Mr Rudd and Julia Gillard were prepared and handed out but withdrawn without explanation, compounding an awkward situation.
After meeting Mr Singh, Mr Rudd fronted a hostile Indian media. He said he was ''deeply disturbed and disgusted'' at the violence and as Prime Minister he accepted responsibility for Australia's criminal justice system in partnership with the states.
He stressed he could not guarantee there would be no more attacks but the federal and state governments were doing all they could to crack down on the crimes. Another priority was regulating private educators to weed out shonky operators that ripped off foreign students, he said.
Mr Rudd first addressed the matter in a foreign policy speech on Thursday, expressing his disgust at the attacks. Local media reaction was swift. One news channel ran across its news ticker: ''Finally Aus PM Rudd admits to race attacks in Australia''.
But Mr Rudd said he was not ascribing racism as a motive. ''I don't accept your premise that there is a growing racism in Australian society,'' he told reporters.
He told the Melbourne radio station 3AW there was ''a great culture of tolerance and acceptance across our broad society'' and ruled out an apology for the incidents. ''Frankly I don't think these debates about an apology take you anywhere one way or the other.''
There are more than 100,000 Indian students in Australia, and education is one of the nation's most lucrative export sectors, worth $15 billion a year.
But the subject overshadowed Mr Rudd's main message of the trip: advocating a stronger relationship with India than the ''stop-start'' progress of the past. He and Mr Singh agreed the relationship had not been nurtured as it should have and upgraded it to a strategic partnership. Mr Rudd also announced six new positions for the high commission in Delhi, three new staff for the Mumbai consulate and four more for the post in Chennai.
He arrived in Singapore last night for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit.

source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/rudd-rag...1113-ieqe.html

now the indian media, especially the times, is highly sensationalistic, ing and whining with false sense of self importance
what utter bollocks

[ivan_the_terrible]

It's a little bit hard for me to understand why Australia should accept boatloads of poor and unskilled people, while genuinely useful - legal - immigrants have a much harder time to get into the country.

[Exarch]

It's a little bit hard for me to understand why Australia should accept boatloads of poor and unskilled people, while genuinely useful - legal - immigrants have a much harder time to get into the country.

australian society tends to swing from one extreme "let 'em come, we're a land of bountiful plenty, we can afford to be charitable" to the other" off, we're full";

i still remember about 2 yrs back when we first started seeing sudanese ppl in sydney, thne the government got at the sudanese government and decided to express its displeasure via kicking them out-but in the short time when the sudanese were here, the infotainment shows like today tongiht etc were having a field day boosting the fear and hate.

[Simon Cashmere]

Is anyone else embarrassed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's numerous attempts to trade off asylum seekers to other Pacific Island nations? I personally think it's a disgrace, people seeking refuge from poverty, war and oppression are being traded off like pawns in some sick political game.

It seems that the 'Pacific Solution' is still very much alive, and Rudd's assertion that it's not is completely hypocritical. I by no means defend John Howard's policy, but at least he admitted what he was doing. It's time for Australian politicians to wake up to themselves, Australia's immigration and asylum seeker policies are (still) an embarrassment to the country in the eyes of the world.

Yeah let's let more unskilled immigrants in to destroy our country until its as bad as just about every place in the EU. If you haven't seen this vid, here it is again for you:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

How bout you stick to ruining Sweden in your own way, and we'll deal with things in our neck of the woods.

We'll decide who comes here, and on what basis. And if the rest of the world, including Eurowussyland doesnt like it, too bad. The only people that get a say are the voters in Australia. Not the rest of the world.

[Dr. Croccer]

Yeah let's let more unskilled immigrants in to destroy our country until its as bad as just about every place in the EU. If you haven't seen this vid, here it is again for you:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

How bout you stick to ruining Sweden in your own way, and we'll deal with things in our neck of the woods.

We'll decide who comes here, and on what basis. And if the rest of the world, including Eurowussyland doesnt like it, too bad. The only people that get a say are the voters in Australia. Not the rest of the world.

Please Simon, stop embarrassing yourself. Posting Gates of Vienna videos which were debunked ages ago is silly. Especially to present Europe as some sort of chaotic is amusing. I'd rather live in Malmo than in LA or the favellas of Sao Paolo.

I find the notion of Australians opposing immigrants because they're unskilled or violent amusing, considering the history of Australia.

Dr. Samuel Johnson nailed it ages ago.

''I'm willing to love all creatures, but an American or any other colonial. Sir, they are a race of convicts and ought to be thankful for anything we allow them short of hanging''.

[Exarch]

Please Simon, stop embarrassing yourself. Posting Gates of Vienna videos which were debunked ages ago is silly. Especially to present Europe as some sort of chaotic is amusing. I'd rather live in Malmo than in LA or the favellas of Sao Paolo.

I find the notion of Australians opposing immigrants because they're unskilled or violent amusing, considering the history of Australia.

Dr. Samuel Johnson nailed it ages ago.

''I'm willing to love all creatures, but an American or any other colonial. Sir, they are a race of convicts and ought to be thankful for anything we allow them short of hanging''.

lol, good one
i guess we finally agree on something dr croccer

[hocca]

It's a little bit hard for me to understand why Australia should accept boatloads of poor and unskilled people

Because their country is being messed up by various groups of people. You can't really say "your a lawyer, you get to live. You're a farmer, sorry mate, back to hell."

I'd say Aus probably needs more farmers than lawyers anyway.

As for the good Doctor, what a bigot he is.

Yep, some of us are descended from convicts, sent to the other side of the world for stealing food, mostly.

The only people that get a say are the voters in Australia

I wish that were true.

[Exarch]

Because their country is being messed up by various groups of people. You can't really say "your a lawyer, you get to live. You're a farmer, sorry mate, back to hell."

I'd say Aus probably needs more farmers than lawyers anyway.

As for the good Doctor, what a bigot he is.

Yep, some of us are descended from convicts, sent to the other side of the world for stealing food, mostly.


I wish that were true.

farmers are pretty rich in oz
they have one of the msot powerful lobbies in aus.
no, it's more miners and farmworkers than anything
if anything we need more doctors and nurses

but i agree it's pretty to only accept ppl in terms of what $$$ they can bring to the country

[ivan_the_terrible]

Because their country is being messed up by various groups of people. You can't really say "your a lawyer, you get to live. You're a farmer, sorry mate, back to hell."

I'd say Aus probably needs more farmers than lawyers anyway.

As for the good Doctor, what a bigot he is.

Yep, some of us are descended from convicts, sent to the other side of the world for stealing food, mostly.

Fair enough. But that's what the immigration process is for, isn't it? A process that refuges tend to bypass, mostly.

I just think it's unfair on people who want to immigrate to Australia through legitimate channels, and have to go through the process, while others simply hop onto a boat and essentially blackmail the country into letting them stay.


(+rep for spectacular signature!)

[Dr. Croccer]

As for the good Doctor, what a bigot he is.

Sorry, I don't want to come across as rude or bigoted.

But I am, so, sorry.

[Prince of Yunderup]

I thinks it's extremely embarrassing. I also think it's sad that Rudd has to resort to populist politics (as did Howard). The question is does it make Australia look as though we are accepting no refugees? If you look at Perth there are a wide variety of ethnic groups including immigrants of refugee status, but I would agree in my area the migrants accepted for skills or money far outweigh refugees. (though I'm grateful my wife is a Scottish migrant).

[Exarch]

I thinks it's extremely embarrassing. I also think it's sad that Rudd has to resort to populist politics (as did Howard). The question is does it make Australia look as though we are accepting no refugees? If you look at Perth there are a wide variety of ethnic groups including immigrants of refugee status, but I would agree in my area the migrants accepted for skills or money far outweigh refugees. (though I'm grateful my wife is a Scottish migrant).

unfortunately, australian society is pretty xenophobic
heck look at how much the newspapers tore at him just cuz rudd could speak mandarin

[Eien]

unfortunately, australian society is pretty xenophobic
heck look at how much the newspapers tore at him just cuz rudd could speak mandarin

and being pretty good at it

[Exarch]

and being pretty good at it

indeeed
they called him 'our mandarin speaking PM' and 'our manchurian candidate'
which goes some way to explainign what sort of ridiculous xenophobia australian politics has