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September 2, 2001

AUSTRALIA'S INTERNATIONAL HUMILIATION OVER BOAT PEOPLE

By Keith Suter
Special to ASSIST News Service

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- Australia has sustained a major international humiliation - but many Australians do not care. A year ago Australia successfully hosted the largest peacetime event in world history: the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Now it seems unable to cope with 460 Afghani boat people seeking asylum.

On Sunday August 26, the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa responded to an Australian Coastal Surveillance alert that a boat was sinking 140 kilometers north of Australia's west coast. It seems that the Afghanis had journeyed to Indonesia and then engaged a people smuggler to sail them to Australia. That ship had run into trouble. The Norwegian ship then rescued the 460 people at sea. The MV Tampa sought permission to land them on the Australian territory of Christmas Island.

But the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, refused it permission to land. He said that they had to go to Indonesia (because they were rescued in Indonesian waters) or the Tampa could take them to Norway. In the meantime, the ship would not be allowed to land on Christmas Island. The ship was licensed to carry only 50 passengers and so it was trying to accommodate too many people.

The Prime Minister dug his heels in - and most Australians (if opinion surveys and talk back radio are to be believed) supported him. The more international criticism Australia attracted for its obstinacy and its failure to abide by international law, so the more determined the Australian government became not to give in.

The deadlock seemed to be broken on Saturday September 1.  New Zealand offered to take 150 of the asylum seekers and the tiny South Pacific island of Nauru (population of at most 12,000) offered to take in the rest. Just how the people are going to be transported to these locations remains currently unclear.

However, some Australian human rights groups have asked the Australian Federal Court to rule that the determination of refugee status should be done on Christmas Island and so overturn the Government's decision. The Court has yet to make a judgment.

WHY THE AUSTRALIAN MORAL PANIC?

Something in the Australian body politic snapped early in the crisis. The hatred shown to these asylum seekers (such as on talk back radio) was stunning.

There was widespread support for the Prime Minister's stand. For example, the  Rev Fred Nile, of the New South Wales Parliament and President of the  Christian Democratic Party endorsed Mr. Howard's stand and went on: "Our Christian party is also concerned about maintaining racial, religious and social harmony in Australia, so our families, especially young women, can live in a safe, peaceful society. We must ensure that no refugees enter Australia who do not agree to support our Christian based laws, culture and conventions."

The opposition Labor Party was also broadly in sympathy - at least at the beginning of the week - with the Prime Minister's stand. With an election due before the end of the year, no party can afford to alienate public opinion.  Foreigners may have been offended by the Government's actions - but they don't vote in Australian elections.

To commentators such as myself, this episode was a warning of Australia's  continued paranoia. One of the first acts of the British settlers when they arrived in Sydney just over two centuries ago was to put artillery in the mouth of the harbor in case the French were tempted to attack the new colony. That paranoia has remained, with politicians whipping up fears of threats "from the north" (Russians, Germans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Soviets, and Indonesians).

Additionally, racism is a continuous thread in Australian politics. The British settlers set about exterminating the indigenous peoples on this continent - the world's longest continuous civilization. Racism was also a major motivator for the British colonies coming together a century ago this year to form the Commonwealth of Australia. They were scared of "Asian hordes." One of the first policies of the new federation of Australia was the creation of the White Australia Policy, which remained in force until about four decades ago.

Australia is, in fact, living in one of the quietest corners of the globe. It is too far away from most of the world's trouble spots. But that perception is not widely shared among many Australians.

Similarly, the country now has one of the most multicultural societies in the world. For example, although it kept out Jewish refugees before World War II, it is now the world's second most important location (after Israel) for the settlement of Jewish refugees. Similarly many other refugees have been welcomed into Australia.

But this may be an uneasy truce. While Australia is fortunate not to have the race riots of some other developed countries, there is an increasing undertone of fear that multiculturalism may not be working out.

Some ethnic communities (as in other developed countries) have a disproportionately high rate of unemployment and crime. Islamic communities seem to be the main current example. Australian economic policy of the past three decades (irrespective of the party in power) has transformed the country but at some social cost. Traditional manufacturing has declined and there is a reduction in employment in rural areas. There are not enough jobs for young people.

Government statisticians point out that according to their calculations, the country's overall economy is growing well. But most Australians do not talk to statisticians. They talk to relatives and neighbors - and most have a tale of woe.

Therefore, there is a sense of unease, if not seething anger, in the political culture. There is despair with mainstream politicians: "Who ever you vote for, a politician always wins." Politicians on the fringes of the mainstream (notably Pauline Hanson and a host of "independent" candidates) are increasing in popularity. The electorate is highly volatile.

Thus, the MV Tampa accidentally sailed into a gale of Australian anger.

CHRISTIAN OPINION

The moral panic caught Christian leaders (and everyone else) by surprise. As the week wore on, so the leaders tried to get a sense of balance back into the debate. By international standards, 460 people are not a large number (Pakistan has about two million Afghani refugees).

Ironically, most other Afghani asylum seekers have been allowed to stay in Australia because of the grim situation in their country. Incidentally, this barbaric regime is detaining two Australians as part of a crackdown on foreign relief organizations. There are limited official contacts between the Australian and Afghan Governments.

Thus, many church leaders tried to encourage a sense of perspective on this problem - which was not a major disaster by international standards. For example, the President of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Francis Carroll, called on the Government to rethink its policy and to abide by its obligations under the UN refugee treaty. A similar call came from Rev Professor James Haire, President of the Uniting Church in Australia. Rev Dr Gordon Moyes, Superintendent of Sydney's Wesley Mission, called for more international co-operation on people smuggling.

Brisbane's Catholic Archbishop John Bathersby complained about the treatment of the Afghanis as pawns and called for them to be allowed to land and have their refugee status determined. He went on: "...when Australians discuss the question of refugees, they should be reminded that 200 years ago, our Anglo-Celtic ancestors came to Australia without an invitation from the original inhabitants. Remembering this, today's Australians and their government should never be mean spirited when they are faced with a similar situation."
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Keith Suter is the former National President of the UN Association of Australia.  He is now Consultant for Social Policy at the Wesley Central Mission, Sydney, Australia.  He can be contact by e-mail at Keith.Suter@wesleymission.org.au. 

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