Those awful Boat People are coming still - A long term psychosis

Why are we afraid of boat people really? Long sea journeys, routine law enforcement & prohibitive expense mean that we will never have the same problem with illegal immigration as Italy, Germany, Spain or England. Yet the hot, urgent fear of "boat people" motivates Australia to detain people for long periods, impose off-shore processing and cause significant mental trauma. The response is out of proportion to any real danger.

Risks to public health and infiltration by terrorists can be controlled by routine screening. Really we can exclude most people coming here as potential terrorists. How many middle class family groups seeking refuge are likely to be intent on doing harm?

However, out of a strange cultural quirk Australians react to migration with apprehension and, in the case of boat people, fear. White Australia policies dating back before Federation have been a feature of public policy in our country. As a result that successive governments spend inordinate amounts of money on imprisoning people who are fleeing persecution or economic hardship in harsh conditions for long periods of time in remote locations far from sources of support of advice.

How can we turn around public opinion which grows out of a deep cultural peculiarity? We need leadership from all our political parties. Will Julia Gillard be able to meet this challenge or is she going to be like Howard, like Abbott?

James Pope

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Location:Sydney