Border strength must override other considerations

Securing our borders must be the paramount consideration and doctors should not be asked to determine who enters

Australians have now seen the clear difference between the Coalition and Labor on the management of border security. The Howard government essentially put a stop to illegal immigration and strengthened the integrity of our borders; neighbours such as Indonesia came to respect the strength of our policies and the need to stop people smuggling.

When Kevin Rudd was elected as prime minister in 2007 there was an assumption that he would maintain border security when in fact he relaxed the policies, resulting in a flood of people-smuggling boats. The Abbott government restored security in 2013, when Scott Morrison was the relevant minister, via Operation Sovereign Borders. The electorate would be mugs to believe that a Shorten Labor government would maintain the rage against people smugglers, when its heart is not in the vital policy of strong border control.

Peter Curtis, Werribee South, Vic

If the medical care and facilities are so poor in Nauru then the solution is not to bring patients to Australia, but to look to enhancing the facilities in there. This would be in the interests of the patients and the country as a whole and probably be cheaper and have a long lasting positive effect upon the local population.

So would cooperation with local medical professionals. And if there is a shortage of particular specialists or sub-specialists, then again the benefit would be greater if we sent people there rather than bring patients here.

Doctors are taught to care for those who seek their help. This is true in Australia, in Papua New Guinea (Manus), and in other countries. Doctors should not be involved in the political decision-making, their job is to care for the sick.

David Tiller, Lindfield, NSW

It is nonsense to debate whether politicians are better placed than doctors to determine whether someone needs medical care, just as it is nonsense to claim that allowing medical evacuation of offshore detainees dismantles our border security.

Let’s be honest here. Australia’s offshore detention program is largely propaganda, with detainees exploited for political advantage.

Meanwhile, the Australian public are easily distracted from the fact that there simply is no plan, beyond indefinite detention.

Sue Lester, Grange, SA

The proposal to assign doctors a central role in border security policy is a dangerous idea. We should not effectively subcontract such decisions to a profession that has become increasingly politicised.

Having apparently wearied of nagging us about nicotine, alcohol, and obesity, doctors have lately presumed to set themselves up as arbiters in areas well outside their traditional brief – same-sex marriage and constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians to name but two. The Australian Medical Association probably has a view on the republican issue as well, but in the interests of my health at least, I’d be grateful if they’d refrain from sharing it.

Terry Birchley, Bundaberg, Qld

There is deafening silence from the medical fraternity on the Phelps bill. This suggests there must be across-the-board endorsement from that profession.

Few of those with insider knowledge have the courage to expose or debate their peers, be they in the legal or medical professions, academia or elsewhere.

Sarah Childs, Lithgow, NSW

This week parliament will be preoccupied with the issue of bringing asylum seekers to Australia for treatment of non-life threatening ailments.

Shouldn’t it be giving priority to the catastrophe caused by monsoon rains affecting farmers and towns in north Queensland instead?

If such an event had occurred in Indonesia, billion dollar aid cheques and other forms of assistance would be on their way right now. Unfortunately, Kerryn Phelps, elected with a 29 per cent primary vote, seems to be calling the shots.

Brian Whybrow, Wanniassa, ACT

Last month, Kerryn Phelps had a promising political career ahead. Now it seems her image is taking a battering, courtesy of puffed-up and ill-advised demands on border policy.

Will she be yet another promising starter, ultimately succumbing to the heady stratosphere of Canberra, its vapid promises and ugly positioning?

Rosemary O’Brien, Georges Hall, NSW