Persecuted South Africans should be welcomed with open arms

A protester waves a flag during a demonstration by South African farmers and farm workers to protest against farmer murders in the country.

So Immigration Minister Peter Dutton wants to resettle persecuted South African farmers in Australia. This is a good policy that resonates well with Australians.

For those who’ve come across the seas, we’ve boundless plains to share. We have a long history of resettling people in this country and it works out well in most cases.

Sadly, in some cases, we end up sharing our country with those who don’t deserve it. The fact Australia has had to deal with terrorists who came here as refugees is appalling.

Dutton’s move to bring in more South Africans is a genius rethink of our approach to resettling those in need. It helps save lives so it’s a winner from a moral standpoint.

It brings us those who share our language and values.

The changes South Africa went through in the early 1990s marked a turning point in world history. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time that people should no longer be segregated based on ancestry.

Despite its noble intent, that turning point has often failed to deliver on its promise. In some ways it was like a premature birth.

The control of the nation transferred from those with centuries of experience of stable governance, albeit ending under the appalling and unacceptable system of apartheid, and handed to those who struggled with internal tribal frictions for centuries. For two decades the nation has suffered from land confiscation, rapes, violence, drug trafficking, record unemployment and rampant corruption. The South African experience is a reminder. While we have no history of segregation comparable to theirs, we do have a history of European settlement over land that was otherwise inhabited. We do have divisive interest groups who exploit our past and end up making things worse in the process.

When Australians look at calls for recognition, treaties or transfer of sovereignty, we cannot help but see shades of today’s South Africa in that. These are symbolic moves designed to create the illusion of empowerment that actually achieve no practical benefit for any demographic.

Let’s not shy away from the real­ity that, like South Africa, we were a colonised country.

Yet that doesn’t make us a country to be ashamed of, it makes us a country of which we should all be proud.

For a handful of settlers to take their laws, values, language, technology, medicine and civic institutions out of Europe and transplant them to largely underdeveloped lands across the other side of the planet in an age of no internet, no smartphones and no air travel is a miracle; a miracle that not only continues to benefit those whose ancestors set it in motion but those who joined the team later.

South Africa and Australia both have good reason to celebrate their European heritage, while acknowledging that mistakes have been made and there will always be some who will see things differently. We can disagree with them without disrespecting them. We can understand their concerns with empathy but ultimately we must encourage a path of reconciliation, not revenge. Few would doubt that what South Africa faces today is revenge.

None of this has anything to do with appearances. No one cares what hardware you’re made of. It has everything to do with attitudes. We care what software is driving you.

The persecuted South Africans are driven by the same software that drives Australians and New Zealanders. We laugh at the same jokes. We love cricket and rugby and are given to using irony. We love the beach. We share a yarn over a backyard barbecue. We generally don’t take things to heart. We look after our mates.

What better way of looking after our mates than to offer them a home when they’re going through a rough patch?

On November 11 last year, I had the pleasure of moving the following policy motion at a West Australian Liberal Party State Council meeting: “That the Liberal Party of Australia (WA division) calls on the federal government to introduce offering right of passage to persecuted European minorities of South Africa and Zimbabwe enabling them to resettle in Australia.” There was some debate and disagreement, as is to be expected in a democracy, but the motion passed comprehensively when put to a vote.

Minister Dutton is doing the right thing as an Australian.

We should all look forward to sharing our land with those who will ultimately make great Australians.

Sherry Sufi is chairman of the West Australian Liberal Party’s policy committee. Views expressed here are his own.