Iraq War Inquiry?

Things in the news today that annoy me #2

Eminent Australians, including former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and former defence secretary Paul Barratt, are calling for an inquiry into Australia’s decisions to join the 2003 invasion of Iraq, following similar inquiries in the UK and Netherlands.

Hurrah! 

"I do not believe that any one person in Australia should have the power to take this country to war, especially when due process has not been followed,” Mr Fraser said. Amen to that, I say. As Malcolm said, going to war is a serious business. There's no need to elaborate on that point.

The information that determined a John Howard Liberal Party to follow the US-led invasion – those phantom weapons of mass destruction – was proven to be fabricated, and was even considered dubious at the time. And yet we still went to war on that basis. 

We were peddled a pack of lies in order to support a war that likely had more to do with oil or other American interests than protecting the western world from Iraq. 

Just another example of how it’s time we made our politicians more accountable for the decisions they make. Otherwise, we have no business touting our democratic superiority. Otherwise, we are just equally as much victims of our government’s propaganda as are the people of the countries we supposedly aspire to liberate. 

STOP THE BOATS

Things in the news today that annoy me #1

Stop the boats...???

Oh yes, the off-shore processing monster has been very busy recently. It appears we finally have agreement from both major parties to push through parliament the processing off-shore of those evil, queue-jumping asylum seekers.

The agreed legislation has passed the Lower House of Federal Parliament and is likely to pass the Senate by tomorrow, to be enacted within the next month. 

As mentioned in a previous blog, approximately 2000 boat people sought asylum in Australia in 2009 compared to 50,000 people each year that come legally on visitor visas and then over-stay those visas. 

HELLO??? I feel like swearing, but will refrain. 

I’m sure all those fleeing appalling and/or life-threatening conditions or living in refugee camps are glued to their big-screen plasma TVs waiting to hear what is going on in Australian politics before deciding if it is worthwhile taking a life-risking trip to Australia so they can be imprisoned for up to five years or more, even though likely are not criminals, nor have broken the law by seeking asylum.

That's right - seeking asylum is NOT ILLEGAL. These people have a legal right to seek asylum if they are genuine refugees. Get it through your heads! When did the term ‘asylum-seeker’ become a dirty word? Are we a country of red-necks?

Now it’s reported that the Immigration Department plans to create videos featuring Naura and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island to discourage asylum seekers from coming to Australia by boat. 

Yes, you heard me. It's laughable. 

I wonder, will these mucky asylum-seekers be watching these videos on You Tube from their computers using their high-speed internet connection from the side of the road? Perhaps they’re watching on iView from their wireless iPads? GET REAL AUSTRALIA. 

It doesn’t matter what we do. People are not going to stop seeking asylum, or better lives for themselves, as long as the dreadful circumstances they are fleeing from no longer exist. For F**K sake (I compromised on the swearing). 

At the end of June, Opposition leader Tony Abbott Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott offered crossbench MPs to increase Australia's refugee intake from about 14,000 to 20,000 within three years in order to get their support for a coalition amendment on asylum seeker legislation.

However he has now retracted that stance, saying such a move would be a magnet for asylum seekers. Hard to keep up with all the lies and back-flipping in politics these days, isn’t it? 

If we’re all so concerned with our immigration intake, perhaps we should focus our attentions on over-stays? Just a thought…

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UPDATE 28 AUGUST 2012

from the GetUp team 

The SBS TV show, Go Back to Where You Came From returns to our screens tonight, Tuesday 28th August, at 8.30PM.
 
This morning, the horrid news of 17 Afghans reportedly beheaded by the Taliban is an acrid reminder of the circumstances that drive so many desperate asylum seekers to our shores. We've produced a new infographic showing the conflicts and crisis that drive asylum seeker movement. Click here to view it.