Immigration Bars Christmas Island Citizens From Public Beaches

The Department of Immigration will lock Australian citizens out from beaches on Christmas Island as part of the Australian Government's $320 million mega-detention centre under construction on the remote Australian outpost.

Australia Day 2006 will be the last day Aussies on Christmas Island will possibly have left to wave the flag and enjoy a barbecue on some of the best beaches available to them.

In a meeting with Christmas Island community representatives, DIMIA announced that gates locking out the community from beaches, public recreation areas and vital tourist sites would be installed across roads.

"Community representatives at the meeting were particularly concerned that DIMIA had failed to raise the issue with the community and appeared to be totally uninterested in any adverse impact the gates would have on the community or tourist access to the area. The Department representatives were unmoved by community concern even though they acknowledged that no particular attempt had been made to make the community aware of their plans." (From Page 8, "The Islander", issue #346, December 2005)

Christmas Island Shire President Gordon Thomson arrived back on the Island from leave this week amid the storm over the arrival of the 43 West Papuan refugees who were sent there last week and said, "Christmas Islanders do not want to be forced into any restrictive gulag lifestyle."

Perth-based Refugee Advocate Mrs Kaye Bernard who has visited Christmas Island is calling on the Prime Minister and the Immigration Minister to visit the Island and "get some first-hand knowledge of the unAustralian impact offshore detention is having on Australian citizens who are incredibly now being locked out of beaches."

The Christmas Island Community intends to take the "fight against DIMIA for the beaches" up with the Members of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories who will be visiting next week and holding a public hearing on Christmas Island soon.

Members to come on the visit are: Senator Lightfoot (Chairperson), Senator Crossin, Senator Stott Despoja, Senator Carr, Senator Joyce, House of Representatives members Causley, Secker and Snowdon.

Realist-

US/Cuba is an innacurate analogy. Cuba/haiti would be more accurate. Cubans are automatically awarded refugee status if they manage to set foot on US soil, and there are GOP calls to relax the law further. This is because accepting Cubans as refugees is a slap in the face to Castro. The Cuban situation and the Papuan situation here have broad political ramifications. Accepting these Papuans as genuine refugees would send a direct, resounding message that Australia is no longer prepared to accept Indonesian brutality in West Papua (which would ideally lead to an end to a conflict and an end to the asylum seekers). As long as we tolerate this kind of thing from Indonesia we've got a moral responsibility to accept their refugees.

And no-one is suggesting we let them in without screening them first.

KRS1

1.The remarks were scurrilous, so I used the word scurrilous.
2.You could be right, but that makes no difference to the situation.
3.Guess away
4.Congratulations on the sarcasm. You rival even me. I disagree on ‘same people’. I also disagree that I’m stupid.

Try posting your own opinions of contributed articles and don’t lurk waiting to vent your spleen on people with different opinions. We are allowed 2 posts only on the same subject in 24 hours.

WRE,

Your don’t, really, but I accept your need to. I wish you had told me what assumptions I made. I’ve re-read my post, and I don’t see any – just my opinion and comments. Perhaps you could put me straight on this when you answer the following question:

I am familiar with the make up of the W.Papuan people, but I can’t see what that has to do with ‘queue jumping/jumpers’? I didn’t mention that, but if we must use the term, it applies to anyone trying to enter Australia with correct documentation, in defiance of Australia’s official refugee policy.

I note your opinions on what you think should be done in West Papua. There’s no point in responding to your comment on my politics or objectivity. You have already made up your mind about that.

Unfortunately on checking email this morning, I was not appointed Minister for Immigration or even parliamentary secretary for that matter. As I'm not a politician and never stood for a seat(love that phrase) that's one reason.

The other is that in this portfolio, I'd be biased towards certain countries and that is not considered appropriate anymore.

I believe that Australia has a place in its heart for its cousin, New Zealand, and a special, deep feeling towards its ex-protectorate (Australian-administered UN trusteeship) Papua New Guinea. I don't believe in evenhandedness in intake for all countries of the world as we have much more in common with papuans on both sides than with so many other peoples at present.

For example, across the military line in the dirt there, is PNG. They have a short history of constitutional monarchy and (an admittedly dysfunctional) multi-party parliamentary democracy rather than a longterm, hidebound, unelected, religious council that simply shouts slogans.

PNG's in the Commonwealth and though we dont "protect" them anymore of course, we look after them. We spend $240m every single year maybe more, accounting for 20% of national budget. If they were attacked, we'd defend like a shot - we owe them. We might be uncouth and ask them to check shoes on arrival but we still really thank them from our hearts.

People there have a unique place in our history and we in theirs. So that intangible border that divides "Asia" or Indonesia, from "Melanesia" or PNG, is there of course but it doesn't diminish our emotions towards papuans on either side. I can't speak for specific people and their silence over west papua in 1963-69.

So current Realist or Liberal Internationalist foreign policy theories aside, in terms of those refugees I'd unfortunately discriminate against many, many other countries first and get them over here quick smart. I'd prefer Papuans and Kiwis, and Cook Islanders for that matter, to hold a special place up the top of our "waiting list". Yes, along with londoners, the crazy scots and that mob of noisy oirish who brought us real beer.

Leigh you made the following assumptions in your post:

(a) That the 43 West Papuans aren't legitimate refugees;
(b) That the West Papuans are self serving and have "scuttled out of their country leaving the others to suffer."
(c)That the electorate doesn't differentiate bewteen the Papuans and other boat people.
(d)That the Indonesian authorities have a sovereign right over West Papua and therefore should impede the movements of West Papuans.

All of the above assumptions are wrong.

The West Papuans have escaped from a country illegally annexed by a foreign state. These people have come to Australia in the hope that the publicity they generate may force the Australian government to review the West Papuan plight. They believe the electorate may remember the small matter of WWII in which they were instrumental in the defence of Australian shores.

Furthermore Leigh, if Australia was invaded tomorrow and you swam your way to NZ would you claim to be an Aussie or a member of the invading nationality? Is that a simple enough analogy for you to figure out the significance of West Papuan/ Indonesian cultural differentiation? It was people like you during the Hanson years that made the right look like an uneducated red neck rabble.

These asylum seekers are barbaric Papuan separatists, the same kind of people who murdered two American schoolteachers in cold-blood in 2002. These barbaric thugs made this journey as method of dirty propaganda against Indonesia.

The truth is Indonesians treat Papuans very well. One Papuan is a cabinet minister (Freddy Numberi), all Papuan governors and district chiefs are native Papuans, there are famous Papuan artists in Jakarta (Edo Kondologit), not to mention Indonesia subsidise that backward province for Rp 1 trillion each year.

Let me made it clear for some Australians who stupidly think they can play around with Indonesia's territorial integrity in Papua province. We Indonesians will fight you to the death, 60% of Papua's inhabitants are transmigrants. They will make any Australian invaders choke with blood if you dare come.

It won't be like East Timor, which was let go by President Habibie since we can no longer afford the billions of rupiah of subsidies each year for that worthless piece of real estate.