THE AGE A liberal Liberal sells his soul BY ROBIN USHER Saturday 22 April 2000 EVERYTHING has its price. The Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock, understands this all too well. He told the ABC's 7.30 Report this week that the Government had spent $100 million caring for 4000 Kosovar refugees who were in Australia for up to 12 months. Governments around the world have been chanting the importance of the bottom line for decades. But Ruddock's decision to extend it to cover even compassion revives the legend of Faust, whose grandiose ambition led him to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Faust's story has been an enduring myth in the Western tradition for the past 500 years. The English dramatist Christopher Marlowe was the first to dramatise the story in The Tragicall History of Dr Faustus at the end of the 16th century. His character pays the ultimate price, of course. "The devil will come, and Faustus must be damned," he laments. Marlowe well understood that you don't get something for nothing. In ordering the Kosovar refugees home, Ruddock was only adapting this way of thinking. The budget for compassion had run dry. It did not matter that many wanted to stay in Australia until more work was done to restore services in their war-ravaged homeland. So the Kosovars arrived in the devastated capital, Pristina, only to find there was no one from Australia to meet them. Australia, after all, has no diplomatic representation there, and arranging for someone to look out for the refugees would cost even more money. Too bad no one thought to make any arrangement for them to exchange Australian dollars. Ruddock is still seen by some as part of the conscience of the Liberal Party, the small group of moderates who identify themselves with a small "l". In 1988, he crossed the floor to vote with the Labor Government opposing John Howard's call for Australia to alter the ethnic mix of its migration program. But much has changed now he is a senior minister. Amnesty International is trying for a second time to get him to stop wearing its badge when speaking for the Government on immigration. Last year it wrote to him citing Amnesty's "fundamental opposition" to the Government's treatment of refugees. It did not want him identified with Amnesty when he announced or defended Government policies. Ruddock's evolution has similarities to the most famous version of the Faustian bargain by the German playwright Goethe. His character is driven not only by ambition, but also by a restlessly inquiring spirit. After his deal with Mephistopheles, the devil's agent, he becomes a force for modernisation - with disastrous results for all concerned. This is especially true for his girlfriend, Gretchen, who is abandoned by Faust in much the same way the Australian Government has washed its hands of the Kosovar refugees. One of the latest adaptations of Faust's story is the Hungarian film Mephisto, which won the Oscar for best foreign film in 1982. The leading character is a German actor famous for his portrayal of Mephistopheles, with hopes to establish a workers theatre in Berlin in the '30s. But when the Nazis take power, he finds his hunger for fame overwhelms his political and moral principles. In return for starring roles, he betrays his colleagues and even members of his family to the fascist authorities. The moral is the same: everything has its price, even fame. Ruddock might consider watching a video of the film to appreciate the enduring relevance of the Faust story. Robin Usher is a staff writer. E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- _________________________________ Truth is a pathless land. --- Krishnamurti ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
