Michael McGuire: Australia’s treatment of refugees has been brutal, disgusting and cruel for some time now
Australia’s treatment of refugees has been brutal, disgusting and cruel for some time now. And both sides of politics have been guilty, Michael McGuire writes.
Opinion
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At some point, Australia will have to decide what kind of country that we want to be. Can we be a place that allows compassion? Or are we going to continue heading down the path of barbarity?
I’m not a big fan of quoting the Bible but since the Federal Government is headed by a bloke who wears his Christianity on his sleeve, it seems fair enough just this once.
Even if you’re a nonbeliever, stick with me for a moment. There is some good stuff in there. Not even God stuff. Just stuff on how we should treat one another. In Matthew chapter 25, between verses 31 and 46, Jesus hands out this guidance to his followers. “I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me.’’
But the real point is when Jesus tells them: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’’
The message is fairly straightforward. How we treat the most vulnerable in our society reflects on what kind of people we all are.
Australia’s treatment of refugees has been brutal, disgusting and cruel for some time now. And both sides of politics have been guilty.
But just when you would hope we couldn’t sink any lower, we somehow manage to fetch the shovel from the shed and keep digging. To no one’s surprise, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is in the middle of the latest attempts to make life as difficult as possible for refugees. Dutton, being a bloke whose wife had to come out and declare her husband was not a “monster’’ before the last election.
The latest decision applies to 515 refugees who arrived in Australia about 2013 and 2014.
They came by boat from countries such as Afghanistan and Iran and were imprisoned on Manus Island and Nauru.
There are 58 of the refugees now in South Australia. They were sent here because they had serious health problems that could not be treated on Manus or Nauru. Many had severe mental health problems.
All were transferred to SA before the government’s Medevac legislation. They were placed on community detention orders. They had a house, the government paid a little pocket money and utility bills.
They weren’t allowed to work. Children could go to school but no further or higher education was allowed. It was a life in limbo.
But the Federal Government has now decided to make a bad decision worse. Much worse.
Those community detention orders have now been revoked and have been replaced by what are called final bridging visas.
Now, this visa means a person can work, but that’s the only upside. They last only six months. They will receive no more income or housing support.
So people who have not been allowed to work for the past seven years are being tipped into the workforce in the middle of the worst recession in a century and somehow expected to find a place to live. Yep, that sounds reasonable.
And why is Dutton, remember, not a “monster’’, doing this?
“A final departure bridging visa allows individuals to temporarily reside in the Australian community while they finalise their arrangements to leave Australia.’’
They are being kicked out.
These are some of the most vulnerable, sickest, poorest people in Australia.
You don’t have to like the way they came to this country. But you have to ask how this reflects on us as a country, as a society, when we treat the weak and defenceless like this.
The State Government is aware of the problem and will offer concessions on public transport and power payments.
But the load will fall on charities such as Circle of Friends, St Vincent de Paul and Red Cross. It would be too much to expect the Federal Government to show a little heart. A little compassion.
As Jesus once reportedly said: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.