To think Australia have really gone and done it now?? Shocked and disgusted.

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

Australia have removed themselves from the UN Refugee Convention.

here...this happened only today

They've basically decided that ANY refugee coming to Australia on a boat will now be "processed" on one of their offshore facilities....like Manus Island where there have been numerous suicide attempts and conditions are DREADFUl with people slepeing in places with no doors or in metal storage containers...this is in HIGH heat.

I am shocked. And disappointed... we are talking about refugees here. People already traumatised and lost. The places they're being sent to now are already under investigation for their disgusting conditions.

"It is an embarrassment to the people of Australia and if they would stop being so defensive, they might begin to see."

OP you are in serious danger of fitting the Whingeing Pom stereotype to a "T".

FFS CelticPixie, you know a few people who've been to Australia, and that makes you an expert on the whole country, does it?

I've lived here my entire life. I've lived in several states, and a mix of capital cities and regional, and I have NEVER encountered any form of racism among the people I have met. Not once in my entire life. And if I did, then they would be well and truly given a bollocksing from me. I just don't see it. Every single country in the world has good and bad elements. Unfortunately, the old adage about a few bad apples that's means that the few issues that are reported are rarely positive. This goes for all countries. We hear news reports about riots in the UK and people protesting at a funeral and we shake our heads, but don't necessarily assume that everyone in your country fits that stereotype.

The "boat people" or refugee issue is one that is far more complex and involved than the average person, particularly if they only see the occasional news media report about it, can truly grasp. I consider myself a fairly educated, open minded person, but can't get my head around a solution that would suit all parties. I'm sure if you think you have all the answers, then the Australian government would love to get a call from you.

Australia has a massive immigration problem from Indonesia. It has been forced to take this step to protect its borders.

What happens is that Muslims travel from the Middle East (see recent news article here) and North Africa to Indonesia which allows them to travel freely and then get on a boat to Australia. The entire point of travelling to Indonesia is to claim asylum in Autralia.

This is not asylum seking in the 'normal' sense. It is economic migration pure and simple and Australia is having to take this step to stop uncontrolled immigration of increasingly poor, uneducated and unskilled migrants who will overwhelm the economy and small population of Australia.

It is the same issue as the UK is facing with migrants from outside the EU. They travel through the EU to the UK. They do not stop in the first country they enter. These people are travelling long distances with a specific destination in mind. They are not like people fleeing across a border from a war zone.

not good yet so many here support Australia's immigration policies

it is strange that in australia the bigger cities are so multicultral yet the country often seems so behind with the rest if the western world on these issues

of course not every australian is racist but i was shocked at the openess of many there it felt like stepping back in time to the 80's. maybe it is more hidden here with the rise of support for ukip i have questioned how open minded we really are here in the uk

Mrssprout interesting that you mention Love Thy Neighbour, what offensive racist 1970s tripe that was. So racist in fact that it's not even repeated on television these days.

NeoMaxiZoomDweebie Thu 16-May-13 17:58:23
I know LongDistance...they seem to be a country of rednecks.

Completely rascist talk. Would you be so vile and hostile to Australians face to face? Or are you only nasty when you can hide behind a computer screen?

One more thing.

Just because someone comes from an 'unpleasant' country with a low standard of living, poor human rights and little or no democratic representation does not make them an asylum seeker.

About 75% of the world's population lives in a country an less developed or developing country with a poor human rights record and no established democracy.

Is every Western developed nation bound to accept every person without question from every 'unpleasant' place in the world?

I'm sorry OP - I didn't realise that I wasn't allowed to attack you, but you can attack a whole country. My apologies.

I also found that a little ironic, LayMizz. The Op would probably be horrified if someone called her a racist, yet by dismissing an entire country, and projecting character traits to an entire country is ... um.... a bit racist.

Good grief. This thread changed somewhat overnight (UK). It started out relatively reasonable but decended to quite a few lows.

So Neo, since you're currently there in Australia and you love the place but think some attitudes reek... please tell all and sundry exactly what you are going to do about it. Are you going to whinge and bleat on Mumsnet, a tiny itsy bitsy insignificant little corner of the www, or are you going to take proactive action?

Are you putting your shock, anger and disgust to good use? Is it fuelling your desire to oppose the government that so obviously has disappointed you?

Will you take that wrath and turn it into something productive?

When will your letter writing campaign and street protests commence?

Have you joined the campaigns by the International Detention Coalition, End Child Detention, Save the Children, Amnesty, Red Cross?

How are you educating your half-Aussie children to be different?

Will we see you sitting on top of Parliament House with a big banner saying "youse fellas are really unfair innit"?

Or are you just spoiling for a fight on an internet forum trading barbs with people who will disagree and who have no ability to influence change?

I agree with Morloth. We should be taking more refugees. But encouraging people smugglers to put more vulnerable people on boats where every woman is (on average) raped four times before reaching Australia and they are all robbed of what little they have left is not the way to go about it. Tbh, I can't think of a good way to do this. If the OP is able to do so, we'd all love to hear it.

Why would anyone travel across a huge ocean to get to Australia to claim asylum? Surely if they were genuine asylum seekers they would claim in their nearest country. And if they are not claiming in their nearest country perhaps that says a lot about the human rights abuses of their nearest country? Presumably people want to claim asylum in Australia because it has a fairly healthy, moral ideology?

I think one of the problems is that a lot of Western countries that are very tolerant do get abused by people who turn up and claim asylum having traveled through numerous countries to get there. Many of these people are not genuine asylum seekers but economic migrants. The fact that the UK itself grants very few people who claim asylum genuine asylum seekers status is proof of that. There is only so much Western countries can do, only so much room to accommodate those arriving and only so much money to spend on those arriving.

Australians democratically elected their government to look after it's own people and that is it's first priority.

LazyMizz I apologised for that comment and it's become a bore now...people keep bringing it up to dispell all of my comments...whatever...I do think the Australian government is comprised of a number of redneck types. I do not think all Aussies are rednecks.

Spahettio....your arguments are lacking in sense.

And thinking about it....the term Redneck is not offensive if it does not apply to you....if you are no racist then you have no worries do you?

It's a very specific term....not a nice one but it is a good description for a certain type of person isn't it?..a type of person who has no care for others who are not of the same race. And I don't believe racists deserve the respect of me worrying about their feelings.....no...I don't give shit abuot them really...I care about humanity and don't want them or anyone hurt...but as far as the feelings of racists go? Nah....don't give a shite really..

If I mentioned redneck and it seemed like I was tarring the whole country with the name I apologise...I was not. But there are some factions of the Australian government who ARE Rednecks and you know what that means.

here you will see that even Aussie politicians are not shy of the word Redneck

Why don't you go and ask your Australian husband about the appropriateness of using the term "rednecks" on citizens of Australia?

and here too

It's a term which evokes strong reactions...but is it racist? No. It's a way of describing a racist.

You want to use an article about Craig Thompson as evidence for your case? Seriously???

Midnite I don't need to ask DH thank you. I know his feelings already. He grew up in a small and very racist town...he saw the effects of racism first hand.

Midnite I linked to two....I used the articles as a way of showing that the term Redneck is not so disgusting that I can't say it if I want to. Not as a way of showing support for any politician.

ANd I repeat I AM NOT SAYING THAT ALL AUSTRALIANS ARE RACIST.

they seem to be a country of rednecks.

Is exactly what you posted.

I think I need to bow out of this thread. You know what they say about arguing with idiots.

to be fair though OP, your arguments are a little all over the place.

and also, TBH, I think the OP is just seriously winding up for kicks. I'm with you, Midnite