When I was growing up I remember watching a patriotic advertisement on television with a song featuring the words, “It’s a typical Aussie morning, on a typical Aussie day and I love this place I was born in, in a typical Aussie way. But I’d sure hate to lose our sunshine but I feel it’s slipping away, and we’re going to have to wake up sometime, that everything is not okay.”
When I see the performance of our federal government I’m reminded that everything is not okay with our government’s policies when we see countless thousands risking their lives to come to Australia because Labor tilted the laws in favour of people smugglers. They now appear to deliberately sink their boats to guarantee asylum, but the people smugglers don’t care, they have been paid in full. Another boat and another policy failure of Julia Gillard and her ALP/Green/independent coalition. We see these policy failures virtually every day.
Lyne MP Rob Oakeshott reckoned he had the panacea for the influx of illegal boat arrivals and then a number of MPs sobbed for a variety of reasons. They forget that Australia is special and what we currently enjoy in Australia we need to preserve for our kids and their kids. Australia cannot possibly take on all of the world’s displaced persons, especially if you want to preserve our current way of life. I know this sounds both sad and harsh but it is the way it has to be.
Another boatload of economic or political refugees and in many cases it is probably for the former reason we see people seeking asylum in Australia – and I’m not saying I blame them. Australia is a very soft touch; we have a social security system which is the envy of the poor throughout the world. They can’t believe that we pay people to remain unemployed or to have babies but they come and see. Sorry, that was simplistic of me.
If people were seeking asylum from war and violence then why are they decanting from Indonesian boats that have left Indonesian ports? There is no war in Indonesia, they are safe there. We feel sorry for them but if they had left Afghanistan or Pakistan to arrive in Indonesia then surely they would have already found friendly, peaceful brothers and sisters there and of a similar religion. Unfortunately though, Indonesia doesn’t offer the free lunch like Australia and hence the influx.
Australia is a great place and has been a haven for many people from throughout the world, especially after World War II. But I think we need to be cautious and consider preserving our current way of life because it’s pretty special and I want our special way of life maintained for our kids. If that were a motion, I have no doubt I would have a seconder and plenty of people to speak in favour of it.