Editorial:

Migration policy — selfish and inhumane

There are an estimated 22 million refugees in the world. They are 
attempting to escape the poverty, unemployment, oppression and war in their 
countries. Millions more would join them in their search for a better life 
elsewhere if they had the opportunity and the means.

These refugees are not responsible for the conditions in their homelands 
that they are attempting to escape. The poverty in the world is a 
consequence of the economic policies that have been imposed on their 
governments by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Poverty 
goes hand in hand with capitalism that produces rich and poor at the same 
time.

While some wars have arisen from internal conflicts, they are being fueled 
by the supply of weapons by outside powers — principally, the arms 
manufacturers of the developed industrial countries. The intervention and 
interference by outside powers also aggravate them.

It is on this background that Australia's migration and refugee policies 
have to be judged.

The Federal Government has announced that the migration intake in the 
coming years will be increased by about 10 per cent — from about 90,00 per 
year to 100,000 to 110,000. However, the refugee intake will remain at the 
same level of about 12,000. This figure has not been increased since the 
Howard Government came to office in 1996. So, Australia is to take in 
12,000 out of the 22,000,000 seeking a new home! That works out at 0.00054 
per cent of the world's total!

The Government intends to increase the migrant intake of those with money 
and skills. Skilled migration is to be increased by 15 per cent and will 
make up about half (60,000) of the total migration in the coming years.

There is a crazy competition taking place between developed countries for 
the available pool of highly trained persons. Skilled workers leave 
Australia being attracted by the big money offered in some countries. To 
compensate for this brain drain the Australian Government is attempting to 
return the favour by snatching trained personnel from other countries 
rather than do the necessary training and pay attractive salaries to retain 
their services.

One category mentioned is that of nurses. Nurses are to be attracted from 
other countries. This enables Australian Governments to continue to pay 
nurses a pittance and to extend hours of work and increase workloads that 
lead to nurses leaving hospitals. The training of nurses continues to be 
neglected but the Government will have no qualms about taking nurses from 
third world countries which desperately need to retain them to service 
their own inadequate medical services.

The Government also intends to make it compulsory for certain migrants to 
stay in country towns and regional centres. Again, this problem has been 
created by the failure of governments to maintain services and employment 
opportunities in these areas. The attempt to overcome this problem by 
forcing migrants on pain of having their migration status cancelled does 
nothing to change the policies that have brought about the present 
situation in the first place.

Despite the massive demonstrations against the Federal Government's 
mandatory detention of refugees in Australia's own concentration camps and 
those it has established in Nauru and PNG, the policy of mandatory 
detention is to continue.

The treatment of the 131 Afghani refugees from the Tampa in New Zealand is 
in sharp contrast with Australia's selfish and inhumane migration policy. 
All but one is now living in the community according to the New Zealand 
correspondent of The Australian (7/5/02). The NZ Government has 
given them "great support", housing and a chance to go to school.

The Captain of the Tampa Arne Rinnan, who was visiting New Zealand recently 
and met some of the refugees said: "We only rescued them and tried to land 
them safely ashore."

Compare this humanitarian attitude with the damnable attitude of the 
Australia Government which ordered Australia's Navy to play the role of 
policeman to exclude those whose "crime" was to seek a better life away 
from war and poverty.