I'm posting in this thread because I am bothered by some recent developments in my country.
Now, I know that I like to harp on about the quality of my government and the stupid things they do and say on a seemingly daily basis. But I am going to put that aside for a moment because of an issue that completely disgusts me: our treatment of asylum seekers.
Australia has twin policies of mandatory detention and offshore processing for anyone who attempts to arrive illegally. Upon interception in Australian waters, any and every asylum seeker is taken to a "detention facility" on Manus Island, which is a part of Papua New Guinea. They remain in this compound until their applications for asylum can be processed. If they succeed, they are resettled on Manus Island. If they are rejected, they will be deported. The idea is to interrupt people-smuggling operations by denying anyone the ability to settle in Australia; if they are legitimate refugees, they will (supposedly) accept being resettled anywhere.
In the past few days, the Australian Human Rights Commission has handed down a review of the conditions under which people are detained, with a particular focus on children in detention. You read that right - children in detention. We are the only country in the world which detains children.
The ARHC review team was made up of a group of medical and clinical professionals, who investigated the detention conditions. They have found evidence of physical and sexual assaults in detention facilities, of substandard medical care, and of increasing mental health problems. There have been incidents of self-harm, and most shockingly of all, children under the age of ten who are on suicide watch. It recommends a Royal Commission - an open, impartial forum to investigate matters of public interest - into the status of children in detention.
My government's response has been to ignore this report. As it is more critical of them and less critical of the previous government (their opponents) than they would like, they have immediately branded it as a partisan attack on their "good government". Conservative supporters claim that our border security cannot be compromised, and that the AHRC did not address the increased numbers of detainees under the previous government. They further claim that asylum seekers have been telling "sob stories" to win over bleeding-heart liberals, and that if children are suffering, then they are doing so because their parents are pressuring them into it to emotionally blackmail the Australian population. The government has already ruled out a Royal Commission (despite having conducted two in the recent past aimed at destroying the reputation of their rivals) as it is a matter of national security - they have steadfastly refused to discuss any details of their operations, justifying it as vital to keeping details secret to prevent showing their hand to people smugglers.
But at the end of the day, the status quo is this: whatever the circumstances that led to them being there, there are people suffering as a result of a policy that amounts to institutionalised abuse. Our borders are secure, but the price that has been paid is the dignity of hundreds of people in detention. As a direct result of our policies, innocent children are suffering.
I am thoroughly ashamed to call myself Australian at the moment. This is the single most disgusting policy that we have ever had, and once upon a time, we had the White Australia Policy. It is a subversion and a corruption of our values, and a disturbing turn of events perpetrated by a self-declared "good government" for the purpose of staying in government.
Furthermore, I believe that the people responsible for this policy are criminals. Tony Abbott, our Prime Minister; Scott Morisson, former Immigration Minster; and Peter Dutton, the current Immigration Minister (although he's a weak man and probably just parrotting the party line). They need to be held responsible for their actions. They must be held responsible for their actions. The shame of their policies are ours to bear, but their actions amount to abuse. Our archives must be opened and details of this policy released, unredacted, to the public. Children in detention must be freed with immediate effect. And Abbott, Dutton and Morisson should be hauled before the International Criminal Court and made to answer for their crimes.
