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Australian history looms over boatpeople issue focus 09/29/2011

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Australian history looms over boat people issue

focus

09/29/2011
SYDNEY — A national obsession with border security, the legacy of outdated racist policies, and fears over job security have made asylum-seekers one of Australia’s thorniest political problems, experts say.

Boatpeople arrivals have for years prompted heated debate in Australia, with some deriding them as “queue-jumpers” taking the place of other needy refugees, and others seeing them as desperate people in need of protection.

The issue can be an electoral game-changer and politicians have battled to balance intense voter sentiment, national obligations toward refugees, and establishing a deterrent to unauthorized and sometimes fatal sea journeys.

“There’s something in the national imagination that’s sparked by the arrival of boats on our northern borders,” said high-profile immigration researcher David Corlett, who also works as a consultant to refugee groups..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110929com3.html

1 comment

Jesusa Bernardo said...

"white australia." kapal naman ng mga Australians na ito. Eastern/Asian ang lupang inangkin ninyo, ah. dapat kayo ang paalisin diyan. lol.

"But Corlett said the nation of 22 million was concerned about asylum-seekers “taking goods and services that they weren’t entitled to,” a fear heightened in 2010 when nearly 7,000 mostly Afghans, Sri Lankans and Iranians poured in.

"Australian governments since federation have strictly controlled migration, implementing in 1901 the “White Australia” policy which favoured immigrants from western Europe and shunned those from Asia and elsewhere."

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