The Howard government’s policies were aimed not at refugees per se but to counter people smuggling and secondary movement asylum seekers. Secondary movement asylum seekers are asylum seekers who move from a first country of de facto asylum, moving long distances around the world through countries with little interest in persecuting them, in order to settle in affluent Western countries.

Almost all secondary movement asylum seekers arrived in Australia without identity papers or travel documents, destroying them to make the determination of their identities and verification of their stories of persecution and return to their countries of residence a very time consuming, difficult and costly task.

Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya is one of the largest refugee camps in the world with more than 80,000 refugees from nine different countries and dozens of different ethnic groups. The refugees there are forced to deal with hostile locals, an almost total lack of economic opportunities, frequent gender based violence, high rates of crime and food shortages. Life is particularly harsh for single vulnerable women who have nobody to protect them. Australian’s refugee resettlerment program has a visa category for “Women at Risk” whereby women in such refugee camps can be resettled in Australia, virtually their only chance of escaping their horrific situations.

For a time until people smuggling was effectively halted Australia’s refugee resettlement program had to be suspended as all resettlement places were being taken by secondary movement asylum seekers. The obvious question is why refugees in camps such as Kakuma did not themselves become secondary movement asylum seekers and travel around the world to seek refuge in affluent western countries. The unfortunate reality is that most of the world’s refugees live in abject poverty, obviously not having the $5,000 to $10,000 per person required to pay people smugglers.

As Minister for Immigration, Phillip Ruddock visited refugee camps in Africa and Asia and to his great credit worked diligently to halt people smuggling and the influx of secondary movement asylum seekers, so that resettlement was returned to being on the basis of need rather than financial ability to pay people smugglers.

This article is a disturbing reminder of the Australian government's blunders on asylum seekers.

It is interesting to note just how "efficient" our government has been in their selection programme.

In Australia, several of the selected refugees or migrants are plotting to blow us up yet the SBS programme portrayed the pitiful rejects - where some, provided with fake passports by a callous Australian government, were dumped in alien countries, forced to evade the authorities.

Edmund Rice is the founder of the Christian Brothers, represented in this saga by Phil Glendenning. I as an atheist, have had much to do with the Christian Brothers and I reject the cynicism of posters on this thread. I do not regard them as "bleeding hearts."

I regard the programme on SBS and this article as genuine and I can see no reason to doubt either. The motives of the Edmund Rice Centre and its representative are, in my opinion, purely altruistic and sincere.

While I am as concerned as anyone else about accepting illegal asylum seekers (or increasing our population for that matter) I maintain that we are well rid of Mr Howard and his ruthless cabal of incompetent buffoons whose hasty stuff-ups and disgraceful, long-term incarcerations of asylum seekers, continue to portray this country as a nation who ignores basic human rights.

Dear Spikey....

yes my last post was laced with a degree of colorful exaggeration and cynicism...but as to the basic reasoning? It's without spot or blemish..I've lived it all :)

Much of what goes on in the name of 'Public Policy' is nothing more than the advancement of personal/political interest. In fact..I'd say MOST.

Just check this out. "Councillors".. local.. they talk about
-Footpaths
-Local infrastructure
-Betterment of quality of life

ETC.... etc...

BUT.... here is the reality.

Yesterday I asked a councillor who wanted the Mayoral candidates to state their positions on things, this was refused by vote by those allied with the Mayoral candidates. A kind of.. "well Les, you were mayor for a few years.. now its my turn mate" "Err sure thing Tony.. and don't worry about those building applications by your mate Sam (ethnic association/religious mate (of Tony) by the way) we'll (wink wink) help them along"
Yes..that is a hyperthetical conversation, but it reflects the strongly suspected reality

Dear Polycarp

The graft and bribery to which you refer has been occurring in this country since I was a girl and believe me mate, that's dinosaur era!

I agree, the ethnics have always been adept at it. The Aussies nevertheless have always practised it too - they're just a little more covert and underhand at getting their mitts on the "black!"

Cheers

Phew! There haven't been many articles lately about refugees and this article has come in just the nick of time. The first handful of posts show a head of steam has been building for some time just begging for an outlet, so thank heavens for OLO. Who knows how these people stay sane without a regular venting of the spleen.

I don’t see a need to re-examine all the actions and policies of the previous government; this was done at the time and anyone who is going to have an opinion already has one. It’s where we go from here that matters. I still believe we in Oz are both isolated and insulated from the realities of existence in poorer, less secure countries.

Some level-headed commentary on this program can be found in today's Australian Letters to the Editor at http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/theaustralian/comments/our_recent_history_is_still_with_us_not_just_on_tv/

Mr.Right, Col Rouge, Polycarp, Banjo and franklin you can do better than that. I have been dealing with refugees since 1972. I have twice been posted to Pakistan and Afghanistan. I helped refugees escape from South Africa.
Not every one has the courage or the means to escape oppressive regimes, even when injury and death may be the consequence. Put yourselves in a situation where all you hold dear is threatened. Would you expect New Zealand, Canada, the US, UK, Taiwan or India to take you and your families in? Lives are being discussed. These are people like you and I. Not lesser beings, not less deserving. I also worked on the RRT for 6 years. Decision making on that Tribunal is tough and to do the job properly and within the law you cannot be a bleeding heart.
There is a debate to be had on this subject but not in the terms that you have outlined.
Bruce Haigh