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Tuesday May 22, 2012

What we're talking about

New asylum deal appalling?

Posted by: Derryn Hinch | 9 May, 2011 - 1:13 PM
Asylum seekers

Derryn Hinch conducted an interesting Interview with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. Listen and have your say below the story.

I’ve been sitting back trying to imagine the conversation about  illegal boat people between Prime Minister Gillard and her Immigration Minister Chris Bowen.

Maybe there was some other genius in the room. But at some stage somebody said: ‘Hey, I’ve got this great idea. We can get rid of 800 illegals to Malaysia.’

Eight hundred is not much, compared to the thousands who have arrived since the Labor Government dropped Howard’s Pacific Solution and closed the detention centre on Nauru. But it’s a start.

And the obvious question would then be asked: ‘What’s in it for the Malaysians? 

The answer: ‘Well, they take 800 of ours and we take 4000 of theirs’.  One of ours for five of theirs. The Aussie negotiator must have been Irish.

Around this time, surely somebody would be saying ‘How the hell are we going to convince the Australian people that this is a good deal?’ Did somebody put their hand up and say, ‘this’ll never fly.’?

Or did the ‘Real Julia’ who has mocked and derided Howard’s Pacific Solution for years decide the voters can either ‘ like it or Kuala lump it’.

Then, in a serious Government, somebody you hope would have said: ‘How much will it cost?’ And the answer: ‘Only $300 million’. Not much for a Government which treats millions like small change.

So let’s be fair, if simple, here. Australia sends 800 boat people to Malaysia. We take 4000 genuine refugees from their camps and the project costs $300 million –including $76 million to fly the refugees from KL to Australia. That’s $19,000 each for a one-way ticket. That’s more than First Class.

But there are more holes in this new cobbled together Pacific Solution that they tell us is not the Pacific Solution Mark II. Before and since the dead-heated Federal election Labor has been refusing to even consider re-opening the  mothballed multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded processing centre on Nauru  because Nauru has not signed the UN Convention on Refugees.

Guess what? Neither has Malaysia.

The spin and hypocrisy gets worse. When Opposition politicians and commentators like me have referred to illegal boat people being ‘queue-jumpers’ Labor and the Greens have insisted it’s an unfair, emotive, inflammatory, description.

These are not queue-jumpers because there are no queues.

Guess what? Immigration Minister Chris Bowen in defending this one-for-four people trade said at the weekend: ‘This is about deterrent. These people will go to the back of the queue in Malaysia’.

And Prime Minister Gillard said: ‘ … if someone seeks to come to Australia they are at risk of going to Malaysia and going to the back of the queue.

That queue in Malaysia is a long one. They have 90,000 refugees there.

Here’s an idea for the PM. Empty all the detention centres [Christmas Island, Darwin, Villawood] and stop building the new one in Tasmania. That’s about 6000 people. Send them all to Malaysia and under your new generous formula they’ll send us just under 30,000.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. I’d hate to be taking this shameless policy – plus the Carbon Tax -- to the next election.

PLAY AUDIO: Derryn's editorial and interview with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott who is highly critical of PM Julia Gillard

RELATED CONTENT:

3AW Drive with Hinch

Hinch Hinch is a former police rounds reporter, former foreign correspondent, former newspaper editor, former host of national current affairs shows, former novelist, former radio host in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, former MIDDAY host and former jailbird.

Blog comments Your Say

  • I think i will become a refugee they get everything

    debra Monday 9 April, 2012 - 2:16 PM

  • What happened to the Pacific solution or Pacific Strategy why is this not in place today?
    Australia needs to toughen up. why does this dumb weak Government giveaway $2 billion to Indonesia in aid and another $2 billion lost in offshore detention?
    Why is this our problem we need to make it their problem!
    We could easly fix this problem by telling Indonesia that the boats must stop or our aid will stop!
    Done it's now their problem and watch the boats stop!
    We could then give them $3billion in aid and we could save $ 1Billion.
    Less we forget!!!!!

    Darrin Wednesday 14 March, 2012 - 10:31 PM

  • A question I would like answered by our PM is this.

    What would happen if a so called asylum seeker who wants to come to Australia decides to go to Malaysia and knock on the door of where ever these people in waiting are kept and claims asylum in Australia.

    Would they be turned away by the Malaysian Government or will Australia be forced to take responsibility for them?

    If its the latter then we have just more than halved the distance required to get here, opening the flood gates and making it even easier than ever for them.

    Bring back Howardâ??s solution, problem solved!

    But that will never happen as long as Bob Brown is running this country.

    Hamish Tuesday 10 May, 2011 - 4:07 PM

  • So let me see......800 out...4000 in...did Julia do the NATPLAN test? if so, she failed.

    T.P. Tuesday 10 May, 2011 - 3:36 PM

  • Did I miss something? Do we have two April fools days this year. This has got to be the most nonsensical thing I have ever heard. We'll give you 800 of ours and you give us 4000 of yours. ( We can't house the 800 we're getting rid off, what hope do we have of finding homes for 4000 more, we can't even house our own welfare cases.) Sounds like policy made after the liquor cabinet has been emptied.

    Ralph of Pascoe Vale Tuesday 10 May, 2011 - 10:08 AM

  • This must be a miss-print.

    Greg of Niddrie Tuesday 10 May, 2011 - 8:57 AM

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