The following Editorial was published in "The Guardian", newspaper
of the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday,
May 15th, 2002. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills.
Sydney. 2010 Australia. Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795.
CPA Central Committee: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"The Guardian": <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Webpage: http://www.cpa.org.au>
Subscription rates on request.
******************************
Editorial: Migration policy -- selfish and inhumane
There are an estimated 22 million refugees in the world. They are attempting
to escape the poverty, unemployment, oppression and war in their countries.
Millions more would join them in their search for a better life elsewhere if
they had the opportunity and the means.
These refugees are not responsible for the conditions in their homelands
that they are attempting to escape. The poverty in the world is a
consequence of the economic policies that have been imposed on their
governments by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Poverty
goes hand in hand with capitalism that produces rich and poor at the same
time.
While some wars have arisen from internal conflicts, they are being fueled
by the supply of weapons by outside powers -- principally, the arms
manufacturers of the developed industrial countries. The intervention and
interference by outside powers also aggravate them.
It is on this background that Australia's migration and refugee policies
have to be judged.
The Federal Government has announced that the migration intake in the coming
years will be increased by about 10 per cent -- from about 90,00 per year to
100,000 to 110,000. However, the refugee intake will remain at the same
level of about 12,000. This figure has not been increased since the Howard
Government came to office in 1996. So, Australia is to take in 12,000 out of
the 22,000,000 seeking a new home! That works out at 0.00054 per cent of the
world's total!
The Government intends to increase the migrant intake of those with money
and skills. Skilled migration is to be increased by 15 per cent and will
make up about half (60,000) of the total migration in the coming years.
There is a crazy competition taking place between developed countries for
the available pool of highly trained persons. Skilled workers leave
Australia being attracted by the big money offered in some countries. To
compensate for this brain drain the Australian Government is attempting to
return the favour by snatching trained personnel from other countries rather
than do the necessary training and pay attractive salaries to retain their
services.
One category mentioned is that of nurses. Nurses are to be attracted from
other countries. This enables Australian Governments to continue to pay
nurses a pittance and to extend hours of work and increase workloads that
lead to nurses leaving hospitals. The training of nurses continues to be
neglected but the Government will have no qualms about taking nurses from
third world countries which desperately need to retain them to service their
own inadequate medical services.
The Government also intends to make it compulsory for certain migrants to
stay in country towns and regional centres. Again, this problem has been
created by the failure of governments to maintain services and employment
opportunities in these areas. The attempt to overcome this problem by
forcing migrants on pain of having their migration status cancelled does
nothing to change the policies that have brought about the present situation
in the first place.
Despite the massive demonstrations against the Federal Government's
mandatory detention of refugees in Australia's own concentration camps and
those it has established in Nauru and PNG, the policy of mandatory detention
is to continue.
The treatment of the 131 Afghani refugees from the Tampa in New Zealand is
in sharp contrast with Australia's selfish and inhumane migration policy.
All but one is now living in the community according to the New Zealand
correspondent of The Australian (7/5/02). The NZ Government has given them
"great support", housing and a chance to go to school.
The Captain of the Tampa Arne Rinnan, who was visiting New Zealand recently
and met some of the refugees said: "We only rescued them and tried to land
them safely ashore."
Compare this humanitarian attitude with the damnable attitude of the
Australia Government which ordered Australia's Navy to play the role of
policeman to exclude those whose "crime" was to seek a better life away from
war and poverty.
*********************************************************
--
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/
Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop
Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink
Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
