Lawrence Dimech
The inconvenient truth
Australia, like Malta, continues to struggle with the increasing problem of illegal immigration. In the first six months of 2009, there has been a significant increase in the amount of illegal immigration; the numbers are larger than those of the entire 2008. About 1,600 illegal immigrants have arrived this year often on unseaworthy boats. The illegals have been intercepted by the Australian naval patrols and taken to Christmas Island, a territory of Australia located about 2,600 kilometres southwest of Western Australia.
The immigration laws under the previous John Howard's Liberal government had been deemed inhumane by the United Nations as they included harsh policies of confinement of asylum seekers.
When the Rudd Labour government came to power in 2007, they took a different approach to the boat people* and they sought to find a balance with a tough approach to border protection while removing some of the Liberal Party's Pacific Solution policy. The Pacific Solution was the name given to the Australian government's policy (2001-2007) of transporting asylum seekers to detention camps on small island nations in the Pacific Ocean rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland.
In the May 2009 budget, the new Rudd Labour government voted an extra $650 million in funding for border protection, a warning no doubt to the would-be refugees and people smugglers.
However, the Pacific Solution was quickly abandoned.
The Rudd Labour government is consistently being criticised for going soft on illegal migration and for taking a hands-off approach to an emotional situation that has the power to sway votes by the thousands.
No doubt, the issue of refugees threatens to politically erupt again same as it did prior to the 2002 election when Mr Howard swayed the election in his favour on the back of the m/v Tampa children overboard affair. The government, no doubt, fervently denies that their humane and relaxed laws are an invitation to illegal immigrants. They insist that most of the recent illegal immigrants are believed to be entering the country from distraught countries in the Middle East, seeking a better life. Asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Pakistan will often pay large sums of money to people-traffickers in Malaysia, the usual first stop for the Afghanis.
Australia is putting pressure on Malaysia to stop the trafficking. Australian officials are blaming their illegal immigration problem on Malaysia, explaining that if the Malaysian government enforced stricter penalties on people-smugglers, Australia's problems could be much lesser.
According to the United Nations' main refugee agency, there were 42 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide at the end of last year; just over 15 million were classified as refugees. It has been noted that the recent civil war in Sri Lanka resulted in some 250,000, most of them Tamils placed in refugee camps in the north of Sri Lanka.
Australia has started a huge advertising campaign of deterrence in Sri Lanka, emphasising that if you are thinking of coming to Australia illegally, do not bother, you will not get in.
The Rudd Labour government is well ahead in the popularity poll but they do not want a public backlash from the upswing of illegal immigrants.
They are not happy with being labelled as soft on border protection. The Australian government insists that the increase in boat people reflects global trends in displaced persons traffic. It is indeed a humane issue but it is as well politically dynamite.
*Boat people is a term that usually refers to illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate en masse in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made, rendering them unseaworthy and unsafe.
The term came into common use during the late 1970s with the mass departure of Vietnamese refugees from Communist-controlled Vietnam, following the Vietnam War.
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reno calleja
Nov 2nd 2009, 06:40
I hope it is not too late in the day fir this comment
a very good article by Lawrence Dimech
Few writers on the problem of illegal immigration however, emphasize enough that the problem lies primarily in the post colonial period. The resources of those countries from where the immigrants escape from war and misery were pillaged and exploited by England, France, Belgium,, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and afterward by the United States.
When they left they created division to suit their own end, and left corrupt puppet governments in power.
Australia should use the U.N. and other International Fora to press these ex colonial powers to invest and create jobs in their former colonies. It is their moral obligation. They should ensure that the aid they give is not misused and stolen by corrupt governments.
Unless this happens nothing will keep people, who are dying of hunger or by civil war to escape and risk their lives to sea.
For these people it is better to die drowned than butchered by war lords or devastated by hunger, sickness and wars
Joseph Ellul - Sydney
Oct 29th 2009, 05:55
Do not get agro at L. Dimech. He was not comparing the rock with down under.
Fact is that Australia needs a lot of workers to populate the rural areas because the Aussies are leaving the bush. We need hardened people like the Tamils who can stick to the land and work it hard. We need these poor immigrants because they will buy what they need from scratch and thus our economy will improve. Some will become social dependents but eventually after a few generations the flowers will bloom. Look at the Vietnamese as the latest 3 rd generation immigrants. They are stupendous. All the government has to do is get off its high retoric and start bringing immigrants who fit the rules in health and character.
I would not worry too much about if a Tamil fired a gun in defence of his family. Anyway, Australia was colonised by the British by "convicts" and nearly killed off the local Aborigines. I think it is about time we brought in some decent people who are victims of anihilators. Let us turn the tables and make up for the past, not just by saying we are sorry.
lgalea
Oct 28th 2009, 22:55
Victor Busuttil
Is not a refugee problem, but an illegal immigrants problem.
louise vella
Oct 28th 2009, 18:06
According to BBC country profiles Australia has a population of 21 million and an area of
7 700 000 square kilometres.
Malta has a population of 408 000 and an area of 316 square kilometres.
So the population density of Australia is 2.7 inhabitants per square kilometre.
Malta's is 1291 inhabitants per square kilometre.
That is Malta's population density is almost 500 times that of Australia.
How right we are in saying that MALTA IS FULL UP and cannot take any more illegal immigrants!
wenzu vella
Oct 28th 2009, 13:51
Sciberras, Azzopardi, Camilleri,
It is true that Malta is small and cannot cope with the problem of looking after the illegal immigrants.
Lawrence Dimech forgot to mention that we take 13,500 refugees and over 150,000 legal migrants a year, plus what is believed to be an other 50,000 visa jumpers, so the 1,600 that came by boat and over 4,000 that come by air and apply for refugee status are small in comparison to the whole equation.
Victor Busuttil
Oct 28th 2009, 12:24
Reading Dimech's article I dont think he was comparing Malta with Australia. Why get so defensive. The refugee problem is global and its good to find out what other countries are doing about it. So dont get hot under the collar.
MSciberras
Oct 28th 2009, 12:09
Oh and by the way.........I think we know what the definition of boat people is by now!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lawrence Dimech
Oct 28th 2009, 12:03
I am writing about the Australian situation (as I alway do) and not comparing it with Malta. Asylum seekers do not come to Australia ONLY by boats. The vast majority of asylum seekers arrive by air. In fact 13.500 asylum seekers came to Australia this year.
Lawrence Dimech, Sydney, Australia
MSciberras
Oct 28th 2009, 11:34
And nowhere a comment by L Dimech on the fact that Malta gets more boat people in a year than the entire continent of Australia. That the European Commission is seeking to impose mandatory assylum processing time limits that is targeted amongst other things at forcing Malta to abandon the 18 month detention limit. And nowhere a refernece to the campaign, including blatant lies, against Malta in the Italian press such Il Giornale ( a Berlusconi owned newspaper) that is being directed by the Italian government, our so called friend, in order to bolster its clain on our SAR. Get real. There is no comparison between Malta and Australia and our problems are far greater. The public is sick and tired of the kind of vaccuous, tepid, academic menatility of gov and commentators that seems to want to force the illegal immigrant issue to the back of people's minds. All it takes is a change in gov in Italy or a change of mind in Tripoli for even greater inflows of assylum seekers to Malta than was seen this year to start landing in Malta again. And some 8000 remain stuck here. Thanks for the academic treatise on Australia
John Azzopardi
Oct 28th 2009, 10:31
Very naive indeed. Malta with 122 sq miles vs Australia or at times we hear US mentioned as well. Let's get real. the influx Malta is getting is no where comparable to these large countries. Malta with its small size and lack ot natural resources cannot even handle 100 immigrants a year let alone thousands as has happened in the past 8 years. There is no comparison at all.
Raymond Camilleri
Oct 28th 2009, 10:17
What is Lawrence Dimech on about!? Typically parochial maltrese reaosning! 1600 a problem for Australia? Tell it to the marines!