Australia's Asylum Seeker Policy

We hear a lot from various Australian Coalition Government Ministers, MPs and supporters about how the purpose of the tough asylum seeker policy is to 'stop people from drowning'. The latest was Malcolm Turnbull (Communications Minister) on the ABC panel show 'Q & A' tonight (10/2/2014). They also talk about the integrity of our immigration program (some validity there) and the 'security of our borders'.

Rubbish. The Coalition has always tried to whip up moral panic over the issues. Our now Immigration Minister in Opposition issued press releases informing us about the supposed threat posed by asylum seekers - supposedly carriers of dread diseases, possible terrorists and would-be criminals who needed to be kept under police surveillance.

The purpose of the Coalition’s Asylum Seeker policy is to get racist bogans, and others who aren’t
racist but who have a blind spot about immigration and multiculturalism, to vote for policies they would not normally support. After all, few of them are free market ideologues who believe in:

1. Privatisation (so increased cost and reduced service levels from services now provided by the Federal Government -  privatise profits and socialise the losses);
2. Dismantling Medicare;
3. Putting downwards pressure wages and conditions for workers;
4. Transferring wealth up the socioeconomic scale;
5. Transferring more of the taxation burden to the GST and to PAYE employees;
6. Trashing the environment where ‘necessary’ to increase corporate profits;
7. Withdrawing from action on climate change;
8. Winding back public health care and public education to third rate safety nets for the very poor (numbers of whom will increase the longer the Coalition stays in office.);
9. Nobbling and eventually dismantling the ABC and SBS (the Coalition doesn’t like them and they compete too effectively with Rupert Murdoch and their other media mates);
10. In foreign relations and trade, unconditional support for the policies and positions of the USA. So many Liberal voters will get a shock when the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) starts to bite. Maybe a reduced Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for a start.
11. Nobbling the National Broadband Network (NBN) so that it doesn’t detract from the profitability of Rupert Murdoch’s investment in Pay TV and Online media.