Just not right
By Kyran O’Dwyer
There has been much written about such things as perception, bias, dishonesty, all manner of things relating to the media, our political parties and the world of ‘massaging the truth’. In ‘plain speak’ English, that’s called lying. This week has been no different to any other week in modern Australia. We are, after all, sensitive little flowers who could not possibly handle the truth. We need one of our political illuminati or one of their media handmaidens to explain it to us.
Apparently, things such as the environment, the economy, health, education, the law, all manner of things, are beyond us. Until such time as our leaders and their cheer squad tell us what we think, we have no idea of what is going on, let alone what to think of it. And even then we will only be presented with their version of our reality.
There are two fundamental flaws in those assumptions. The first being that we, as members of the public, cannot distinguish fact from fiction. The second is that any reasonable mind would accept one single solitary word from either cohort without checking it out.
According to them, nothing is a matter of ‘Black and White’ anymore. Everything is ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and we are reliant on the political illuminati and their media handmaidens to let us know exactly what is what.
According to them, it’s all very sophisticated and nuanced. As mere members of the public, we are no longer considered capable of working out fact from fiction. We can be easily manipulated by the media, the spin doctors and the outright bullshit artists.
Which is fair enough. We keep voting for the bastards, so it must be our fault. And we don’t have the ability or capacity to distinguish between the multiple shades of grey currently on offer without their help.
Nothing is ‘Black and White’ anymore.
Except our ‘refugees’.
If you are a white South African farmer, you should be extended every priority, every advantage, every courtesy, to expedite your transfer to Australia, because we need your farming skills and you need our protection. You are a persecuted minority, albeit with a large landholding, and our farmers are going broke.
There will be no suggestion of ‘temporary’ (yet indefinite) accommodation on Nauru or Manus whilst we contemplate your future in the context of a pathetic ideological spiel that you are, in fact, either a jihadist wanting to eat our firstborn and terrorise our populace, or a wealthy person who could afford to pay thousands of dollars to languish on a leaky boat.
No. Our ‘SA Best’ Farmers will undoubtedly arrive by plane, like most of our genuinely illegal immigrants, negating the application of ‘queue jumping’ or ‘boat people’ stigmas.
Whilst you may well be destined to reside in groups in hospitable environments, such as the seat of Dickson (which is represented by a politician desperate for ‘your kind of people’), you will never be referred to as ‘South African Gangs’. They are, after all, prevalent only in the southern states, and they are black. Who knows. If you settle here, we might let the blacks work on your farms for $2 a day, just like home.
Well, so the narrative goes. Us stupid people can’t distinguish between Black and White. So we will remain reliant on our politicians and their media to explain to us the subtleties of Fifty Shades of Grey.
Does anyone else remember a time when things were so much simpler? When things were a matter of ‘Black and White’? When it was a reasonable expectation that most of us understood the difference between ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’?
This didn’t stop people doing the wrong thing, but at least there was a clear understanding that what they were doing was wrong.
Do we need to wait for our politicians and their media to explain that to us as well?
Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s fantastic that Peter Dutton (Michael Pezzullo’s appendage) knows the difference between black and white. It is a most basic notion, and he is, after all, a most basic individual. His credentials already include ‘WORST EVER’ minister, so how could he get even ‘worser’?
His ‘WORST EVER’ minister credentials go back to health. Which is appropriate. He is currently second in command, answerable only to Michael Pezzullo, to administer to the health of those in our care, both on and off shore.
A few years back, 2016, when it was the Department for Immigration and Border Protection, a heavily redacted document comprising 75 pages was released which included a run down on the obligations of his department towards those in our care. If you can struggle through it all, you may well be horrified. We are, after all, supposed to be ‘civilised’. It effectively handballed the ‘medical’ function, both physical and mental, to IHMS, but, nonetheless, Dutton was ‘responsible’ for its administration.
Much of the redaction related to silly little numbers, like the incidents of self-harm, the assaults, the appalling conditions, the inaction of the staff employed by Pezzullo/Dutton. Annoying things that are called facts. They have been redacted, the same way facts have been removed from the lexicon of the Pezzullo/Dutton existence.
So, who are IHMS?
“International Health & Medical Services (IHMS) is contracted by the Commonwealth of Australia, represented by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, to provide primary and mental health care to people in immigration detention in Australia, and to asylum seekers and refugees residing in Manus Island, Papua New Guinea and Nauru. IHMS also manages the health care of people in community detention through its network of community providers.
IHMS delivers health care in a professional manner that is:
- medically appropriate
- without any form of discrimination
- with appropriate dignity, humanity, cultural and gender sensitivity; and
- with respect for privacy and confidentiality.”
Well, there you go.
“Medically appropriate, non-discriminatory, dignified, humane, culturally and gender sensitive, respectful …”
See? Black and White. Crystal clear. Absolutely no Grey in there.
But you then have to remind yourself of Dutton’s Distinction, ‘WORST EVER’. He doesn’t like listening, particularly not to experts.
“Australia’s Chief Medical Officer For Asylum Seekers Was “Routinely Ignored” By Government Officials, Doctor Claims” screamed the headlines.
“Martin’s decision to speak out has come amid a growing crisis in Australia’s detention healthcare. The chief medical officer of the Australian Border Force (ABF), Dr. John Brayley, resigned in September 2017. Brayley resigned just two years into a five-year appointment, and the reason for his departure remains a mystery.
While Martin is unaware of why Brayley resigned, he reveals new insights into the chief medical officer’s decision making.
Frequently we would put our recommendations in, it would be approved and supported by John Brayley at the time and it would then be countermanded by someone who was not medical,” Martin said.
“[Brayley’s] recommendations were being routinely ignored by other people in the ABF.”
Australia runs two offshore detention centres — one on the Pacific island of Nauru and one on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea — where more than 2,000 asylum seekers and refugees are being held as part of the country’s controversial immigration detention policy for asylum seekers who arrive by boat to Australia.”
Given the ‘WORST EVER’ Health Minister was now in charge of a medical regime, and his de-facto dispensers of medical care no longer had a Chief Medical Officer, for any mere mortal that would be a significant problem.
If that’s what you thought, you weren’t paying attention. He doesn’t like listening, particularly not to experts. Anyway, his boss, Michael Pezzullo, had the matter in hand. Sort of. He attended the Senate Estimates to tell us all about it.
“There has not been since Dr John Brayley left the role in September. Secretary Michael Pezzullo said the process to find a replacement was “close to conclusion” in estimates on Monday. Deputy secretary Steven Groves said interviews had been conducted on February 20 and referees were being checked.
Brayley’s responsibilities have been fulfilled by first assistant secretary for health services and policy, Elizabeth Hampton, who is not a medical practitioner. The committee heard she takes advice from doctors, nurses, dieticians, exercise physiologists, occupational therapists and the like, both employed by the department and external service providers.”
What could possibly go wrong? Well, if those in our care cannot get access to the medical facilities we say are there, they can always go to court. We routinely spend money in a Court system designed to make the most basic of health care a time delaying exercise. We will not have queue jumpers in Australia. It seems appropriate our Foreign Affairs Minister famously started the whole notion of queue jumpers when she advocated the dying should not be allowed to jump queues simply because they were dying. Vale Bernie Banton. Maybe the effects of toxic mould (as found on the tropical paradise known as Nauru) are similar to mesothelioma. Julie Bishop was in PNG recently to remind them how our relationship with PNG is a ‘Glorious Foundation’ for our deep, deep, bonds.
“Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is using a trip to Papua New Guinea and Tonga to remind Pacific nations that Australia’s neighbours are its biggest beneficiaries.
“We are the partner of choice, along with New Zealand, for the islands of the Pacific and that’s demonstrated here in PNG where we work across a whole range of areas,” she said on a trip to PNG’s remote New Ireland province.”
Partner of choice with New Zealand? That can’t be right. We won’t let NZ take our refugee’s, which are becoming a bit of a problem for PNG. She nearly declared war on NZ on that issue. What else?
“Australia has preferred to focus on “governance” in preference to calling out the PNG Government on its more egregious failings, such as last year’s national elections, marred by a deficient electoral roll, voting irregularities and at times blatant manipulation.”
43% of our ‘budget’ with PNG is spent on ‘governance’. We will not be told what to do by their courts, but we’ll lecture them on dodgy elections. Good governance?
The attitude of our ‘WORST EVER’ and his boss, Pezzullo, to ‘the law’ and ‘due process’ is every bit as considered as his attitude to health. Ill considered, that is. Having lost a class action by default (it didn’t even see the inside of a court room) and having lost more than 20 cases in the AAT and having lost High Court decisions and having disregarded judgements and orders made in all manner of courts and facing further class actions, and, and, and … Well, at least he wasn’t put in charge of any agencies responsible for the upholding of the law of the land.
Oops. He now controls the AFP, ASIO and a myriad of other departments. None of which can find these nasty people smugglers before they commit their heinous acts. And it would appear they can only locate the ill-fated cargo with the assistance of the Australian Navy, after the fact.
Mind you, all of these agencies are probably very busy investigating our federal politicians. Not for the purposes of a conviction, but in the pursuit of establishing their innocence. No wonder it takes them so long to conclude an ‘investigation’.
Pezzullo, Dutton, Bishop and the word ‘law’ don’t belong in the same article. There are literally hundreds of investigations being conducted, internally and externally, on all manner of corruption within the behemoth known as Home Affairs. Roman Quaedvlieg and Fabio Pezzullo were only two of them. And Julie Bishop is still denying the existence of ‘donations’ by foreign governments to her beloved ‘party’, let alone their proprietary. Law? Pffft.
Going back to the health issue, there was a recent story about a 10-year-old lad on Nauru, who had been recommended for transfer to Australia in July 2017, as he was suicidal and engaging in self-harming behaviour. This was rejected by Dutton’s department FIVE MONTHS LATER, in December. It was eventually sorted out in Court.
“The home affairs department – which controls Australia’s offshore processing regime – fought the injunction, arguing that there was sufficient healthcare on the island to treat the boy and asking the court to delay the court hearing a week.
Justice Nye Perram disagreed and ordered that the boy be immediately returned to Australia for treatment: “A delay … cannot be justified, there is a significant risk the boy would not be alive by that hearing, and I am not prepared to run that risk.””
It could be worse. Doctor Dutton took 18 months to find someplace that was NOT Australia to help Fatemeh.
“Fatemeh, 55, has been living in Nauru’s regional processing centre at “high and imminent risk of … heart attack or sudden death”, according to doctors. Border Force had approved her medical transfer overseas, but said she could not take her son with her.
Fatemeh refused to leave her son alone and unsupervised on the island. He has suffered from acute mental health issues on Nauru, where unaccompanied minor refugees have faced significant violence.
“Death and separation from my son is the same for me,” Fatemeh told Guardian Australia. “I would not go anywhere without him. All we have is each other.”
Fatemeh and her son, who is now 17, were flown by a chartered jet to Taipei on Friday at Australian government expense. They were the only passengers aside from Australian government-contracted case management and security staff. She will be admitted to Taiwan Adventist Hospital for heart surgery, according to documents seen by the Guardian, while her son will receive psychological care. It is unclear how long they will stay in Taiwan.”
That’s only two of the stories about the litany of complaints regarding the absence of adequate medical facilities on either island and the preference of Doctor Dutton to mindlessly shuffle and shuttle inmates rather than treat their afflictions.
It could be worse. There is a database being kept about deaths in immigration custody in both on-shore and off-shore ‘regimes’. In addition to the three deaths on Nauru, as Walid Zazai notes, there have been six on Manus.“On 29 September 2017, Rajeev became the sixth Manus Island-refugee to die in the last four years. His death follows those of Reza Barati, Hamid Kehazaei, Kamil Hussain, Faysal Ishak Ahmed & Hamed Shamshiripour.”
Of course we are working on a solution. Not our BFF, our partner of choice, NZ, who famously joined us in battle to establish the ANZAC legend, the battler wanting to defend ‘the fair go’. It would appear PNG aren’t really in the mix either. The need for urgency due to the PNG court decision was recently ‘ramped up’ in an article featuring our glorious Julie.
“Key points:
- PNG officials fear a large number of Manus refugees will not be included in the US deal
- Attempts to resettle the men in PNG has largely failed, PNG’s Immigration Minister says
- Cambodia’s the only country which could take refugees from Australia’s offshore processing centres
PNG has formed a special team to negotiate with Australia’s Home Affairs Department to ensure all refugees from Manus Island are resettled in a third country, soon.”
Semisonic had a song, ‘Closing Time’, which seems a fair summary of this mess.
“You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here”
We are fast approaching the one year anniversary of the PNG Navy armed assault on the compound where the refugees were being interred. The Navy are still annoyed with the refugees, as are the local landowners, and the local businesses who have not been granted the promised contracts of supply of goods and services to our detainees, or the local community, who are still impoverished, despite the billions being casually thrown around our ‘stakeholders’ (multinational corporations).
As the song says;
“I hope you have found a friend
Closing time
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end”
Not to be fazed, glorious Julie went on;
“Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop — who is visiting Port Moresby — indicated new resettlement countries were not being considered.
Ms Bishop said Cambodia was the only country which could take refugees from Australia’s offshore processing centres.”
The Cambodia deal became even more farcical this week when the Australian government voted with the UN Council to condemn Cambodia’s human rights abuses, yet insist it was ‘nothing substantial’. Cambodia can keep the $50mill+ and the refugee deal is ‘still on the table’.
“In Geneva on Thursday morning Australian time, the 45 members of the 47-member human rights council said Cambodia had made significant democratic progress since the signing of the Paris peace agreement in 1991 ending the country’s civil war. But it had regressed in recent years, growing increasingly violent and authoritarian.
“As we near the elections scheduled for 29 July this year, our previous optimism has been replaced by deep concern about the recent serious decline of civil and political rights in Cambodia. These backward steps include signs of escalating repression of the political opposition, civil society and media,” the countries said.
“For the Cambodian government to retain its legitimacy, any elections must be free, fair and credible.”
Some have been resettled in the US, even though the majority of those on Nauru and Manus are on the ‘Trump no go list’ and most won’t survive the ‘extreme vetting’ promised by Trump.
That’s not to say Australia will be the land of milk and honey for these poor souls. There are more than 30,000 refugees currently on bridging visas in Australia, which impacts their ability to work in the community. We compel them to rely on welfare benefits, punish them if they try to get off the benefits, and ridicule, belittle and demean them for being bludgers on benefits. Pezzullo and Dutton are in charge of our visa system (not just the 457 and associated scams) which they don’t seem to regard very highly. There was a recent story about a Sri Lankan family and their heavy-handed removal at 5.00 am in Queensland, their transport to Victoria and then WA for the purposes of refoulement. And the subsequent abandoning of one more expensive farce, that is our Border Force.
“Despite having a valid court action under way, Border Force officials raided the family’s house at 5am the day after Priya’s visa expired.
“This was a dastardly and reprehensible action,” Ben Hillier, spokesman for the Tamil Refugee Council said. He said the family’s protection application should be reassessed.
“Dharuniga and Kopiga were born in Australia. This is their home – they have never been to Sri Lanka and do not hold Sri Lankan citizenship.”
Clearly, appealing or protesting to either one of these obscenities would be a waste of time, energy and emotion. Likewise, appealing to our fearless leader, Captain Tremble, would be a wasted exercise. He is totally focussed on the Number 30. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
You cannot appeal to the intelligence of someone who is intellectually barren.
You cannot appeal to the emotions of someone who is devoid of emotion.
You cannot appeal to the conscience of someone who delights in acting unconscionably.
You cannot appeal to the humanity of someone who is, at the very core of their being, inhumane.
You cannot appeal to the reason of someone who is capable only of the unreasonable.
You cannot appeal to the decency of people who are fundamentally and at the most base level, indecent.
“We should not judge his achievements through the lens of these most recent events.”
Michael Pezzullo
“The home affairs secretary farewells Roman Quaedvlieg, fired for his work in the office affairs department. To be fair, almost no one working in a department once charged with welcoming migrants could be happy when judged on recent events.”
That was from the Saturday Paper. Whether it be recent or past events, we now have the Dutton Distinction, the ‘WORST EVER’ entrenched in our history.
“Some of the crazy lefties at the ABC and on The Guardian, Huffington Post, express concern and draw mean cartoons about me … They don’t realise how completely dead they are to me.”
Peter Dutton
First Dog on the Moon summed that one up well.
It was over a year ago that I finished a piece with the following:
“The purpose of this post isn’t to decry the policy or demean the perpetrators. These actions are simply inexplicable in any civilised society.
The purpose of the post is to simply state the obvious.
We need to bring them here, now.”
And yet here we are. Dutton talking about an issue that is Black and White. Dutton talking of a ‘civilised country’ (Taken off ‘the blacks’.) after famously ignoring The Apology.
There will be the usual Palm Sunday Walk for Justice meetings around Australia tomorrow.
Walid Zazai is one of those currently detained on Manus. Having committed no crime, he is not charged with any crime, not tried for any crime, not convicted for any crime. Yet he has been incarcerated for over five years. His draft address to be read at rallies tomorrow finishes with this.
“Finally, I thank you.
Thank you to our growing advocates & friends. Thank you to the people who act – who write to their MP’s & talk to their friends about the injustice in this place.
Thank you to the religious who take the love for your neighbour seriously.
Thank you to the people who know the equality of humanity & act to make it happen. You have empowered us & given us a small voice.
Please keep speaking for us, yelling for us, screaming for us. Please continue putting peaceful but loud democratic pressure on the people who hold our freedom in their hard hands.
Please tell them our wish & our prayer is simply either, “please Bring us to Australia, let us go to NZ or grant us our freedom somewhere safe”.
Thank you. With love & blessings, from Manus”
It really is a case of Black and White. There is no grey.
This is Just Not Right.
This is Wrong.
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Michael Taylor
Return to home pageYes, Kyran, “This is wrong” and has been for a long long time. There seems no end in sight to the inhumanity of Dutton, Pezzullo and their likes.
By way of some relief, another action of Border Farce nearly slipped under the radar this week, but was picked up in this article in ABC News:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-23/vintage-maserati-cars-denied-entry-over-asbestos-testing/9579142
The stupidity displayed here is only outranked by Border Farce’s attempts to randomly spot check citizens in Melbourne shortly after they were issued with their new gold braided black uniforms. But let’s move on and pick up some of the points you have made:
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 16th Jan 2016:
“The Department of Immigration is spending more than $1.3 million on medals for its staff, outspending the Department of Defence and prompting new concerns about the militarisation of the portfolio.”
Border Farce has announced it is striking a new medal to be known as the “The Great Australian Maserati Bust Medal”. The medal will be awarded to all those valiant Border Farce Officers and Department of Home Affairs Managers who courageously prevented dangerous classic Maserati cars from violating Australia’s National Security and causing the deaths of very many ordinary Australian women and children. Obergruppenführer Dutton has commended his alert jackbooted officers who prevented this serious violation of our National Security and declared that “Any Classic car arriving by boat will never be allowed into Australia”. The Obergruppenführer has ordered all classic Maseratis to be impounded and shipped to Australia’s detention facilities in Manus Island or Nauru where they are to remain until the last refugee in those facilities is deported to a “Third Country” or dies. Obersecretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo, has expedited the removal of these dangerous cars from Australia’s shores and has vowed that no classic car will ever be allowed to attempt to violate our Borders again. Both Prime Minister Turdball and ex-Prime Minister rAbbott have praised Obergruppenführer Dutton for his prompt and unyielding action in preventing this existential threat to all Australians. ex-PM rAbbott added that Australia should not be importing foreign cars – we should be driving Australian built cars or white cars from South Africa.
Perhaps some of you might turn up at the Palm Sunday rallies tomorrow.
I have been pondering what it would have been like in Italy during the Mussolini years, why wasn’t it averted, now I know why it wasn’t averted, because we have the same phenomenon occurring right here, right now and Dutton is just the thin edge of the wedge…
Kyran O’Dwyer, Thanks very much for your ‘plain English’ speak article, I must say how refreshing it was to read as opposed to some contributions on this site. Dutton is a blight on Australia’s political landscape, a real pig of a man as some Qld copper’s from the old school tended to be. Whilst I am against Islamic immigration for reasons on national security, as anywhere Muslim’s are, there seems to be an element of religious fanaticism dwelling within that community. These people “the religious fanatics” don’t want to be petty thieves, they want to murder infidels, which is the majority of the Australian population.
I admit to being frightened by religious fanaticism and we already have enough religious fanatics, in religious Christian cults imported from the deep south of the USA such as “the assembly of God” cult. This cult over the decades have expanded as people have become more desperate with dealing our social problems. The cult has formalized their name from Calvary Tempe to Australian Christian Churches and problems that they choose to frighten gullible people will increase thanks to corruption in high places. To site one example, developers being allowed by councils (local government) and State governments to sell housing blocks that are ridiculously small as if we lived in England, instead of Australia. This move alone will create social problems and frustration as neighbours can hear a couples arguments.
That said the biggest problem we face currently is population expansion, immigration must be wound back as Australia cannot support the expected population of 2050, we are the driest inhabited continent on Earth, in my small city of 200,000 we have had water restrictions for at least 5 years until the recent rains came. We got down to Level 3 with only 15% of our main dam available to us. My thoughts on the matter are that building codes need to be changed and both solar power of at least 3 kW and a water tank of at least 5,000 litres be mandated in every new home, yes it would add to the expense in the short term, but long term these things would pay for themselves.
Helen, certainly not, I don’t believe in officious invisible men, who don’t prevent millions of babies being born only to die because their mothers had not been educated on the subject of birth control, or their religion would not allow such measures to be successful.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-23/vintage-maserati-cars-denied-entry-over-asbestos-testing/9579142 Did Dutton forget whose side he was on? No ordinary Council worker would be importing this, it would be one of his tory mates, an exploiter of his fellow Aussie workers.
Thank you, Kyran, for writing these compassionate articles.
I was also pleased to see David Marr give heaps to the little sourpuss, Henderson, on the Insiders this morning..
The self-proclaimed “money-managers” as the LNP likes to fashion itself, along with hysterical screeching about Labor, which (apparently) cannot manage a cheque book, let alone the economy…. and leaving aside the injustice, the inhumane treatment of people merely seeking a safe home… is the massive cost incurred by weaselling out of responsible and compassionate behaviour.
The languishing refugees on Manus and Nauru, could’ve been settled many years ago, and contributing as people rescued and given another chance at a life so frequently do.
How much money would’ve been saved if Australia’s immigration practices were straightforward, helpful and timely, instead of racist, vicious and cowardly?
Australia will be held to account, just as other nations have been held to account for their crimes (although not nearly enough) nonetheless, it will happen – just maybe nor soon enough to indict the guilty:
From Labor’s subtle border control commenced by the Hawke/Keating government, to Howard’s “we shall decide who comes to Australia” (a claim endorsed by Beazley), through to the unashamedly fascist Border Control, headed by Dutton and supported by the current federal government.
This unceasing nightmare is financially unsustainable. Surely the greed obsessed realise this basic truth?
(Not to mention that warm, fuzzy feeling which accompanies Doing The Right Thing – which, no doubt has Ayn Rand rolling in her grave – sometimes I wish the Abrahamic religions were true and there is a hell).
Thank you Kyran, for a detailed, comprehensive and thoroughly readable outing of the Reprehensibles AKA LNP.
The mindless stupidity of this fool has no bounds.
“Child sex offenders are being put on notice by the Turnbull Government, as it commits nearly $70 million to the fight against paedophiles.
A national centre dedicated to fighting child exploitation will be created in Brisbane, and dozens more federal police will focus on the scourge.
The Commonwealth estimates the new hub will save about 200 abuse victims each year.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-25/government-to-establish-centre-for-fighting-child-exploitation/9584568
This was his great announcement on the day that thousands of people went marching around Australia to protest his detention regime, which includes more than 150 children, in our off-shore ‘system’. The article neatly confuses paedophilia with exploitation and abuse of children, promising to ‘save’ 200 children per annum.
Here’s a hint, dipstick. Shut the camps and you get a credit for saving more than 150 children on Nauru from sexual abuse, as well as physical, mental and emotional abuse.
At the moment, the institutionalised abuse of children, which we were told would stop after the recent RC, is entrenched within Dutton’s’ Department. In August, 2016, we had the unedifying ‘story’ accompanying the release of the Nauru Files. At that time, Dutton dismissed the claims.
“Dutton’s comments about asylum seekers making false claims of abuse on Nauru create of a new class of “unreliable” victim.
Those seeking asylum who have been sexually assaulted can be dismissed on the basis that there is again some ulterior motive for their claim. It means a group of people highly vulnerable to sexual assault are unlikely to be believed. Or, at the very least, it casts doubt over their disclosures.”
http://theconversation.com/the-nauru-files-why-dont-we-believe-victims-of-sexual-abuse-63946
When it became apparent the claims would not go away, the RC wanted to have a look but were told to hold off as the Department, administered by Dutton and Pezzullo, were already on it.
“”The royal commission is conscious a Child Protection Panel was established by the secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection in May 2015,” the statement said.
“The panel’s terms of reference indicate ‘a final report will be provided to the secretary by mid-2016 covering both better practice and a comprehensive sample of reviews’.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-15/nauru-child-abuse-claims-could-be-explored-in-royal-commission/7735722
In March, 2017, it became apparent Dutton and Pezzullo were already guilty of delaying and concealing the report they had held for nearly a year.
“Immigration Minister Peter Dutton was involved in delaying the public release of a Making Children Safer report, about the safety of child detainees, the child sex abuse royal commission hears.
The report reviewed 242 alleged incidents of abuse and found that only half of those matters received an adequate response.
The independent panel behind the report handed it to the Mr Dutton in May last year, but it was not made public until December.”
“Commissioner Peter McLellan then pressed the point.
“Why couldn’t you have just released the report and then shown later what you were doing in response to it — that’s a fairly common way of doing things?”
Mr Pezzullo replied: “On this occasion I chose to, partly … in conferral with the Minister and partly in terms of my own decision making and conferring with the Border Force Commissioner, that we would prefer to go down this path.””
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-06/immigration-minister-helped-delay-release-of-child-safety-report/8327654
By December, we had the RC report which did report on immigration detention of children, but primarily because of the limited access to the off-shore facilities and the government’s argument that the RC did not have jurisdiction. Even with all that, the RC did make recommendations about Dutton’s Detention regime.
“It called for state and territory legislative changes to ensure mandatory compliance with child safe standards included justice and detention services for children, including immigration detention facilities.
The royal commission also said the Department of Immigration should:
• Establish a mechanism to regularly audit the implementation of the child safety standards
• Designate appropriately qualified child safety officers for each place in which children are detained
• Implement an independent visitors program in immigration detention
• Require all institutions in its jurisdiction that engage in child-related work to meet the child safety standards
• Contractually require its service providers to comply with the child safety standards identified by the royal commission, as applied to immigration detention”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/18/calls-to-adopt-child-abuse-inquirys-recommendations-on-immigration-detention
Since then, we have had the RC into the detention of juveniles in the NT. We have signed and ratified OPCAT but not yet introduced any mechanisms to implement it.
Now this idiot wants to talk about stopping child abuse by creating a new office near his electorate.
Make no mistake. Combining Pezzullo’s megalomania (coupled with his delusions of adequacy) and Dutton’s stupidity is dangerous.
It is one of those days where you have to reflect on reality. Our government freely lies to us and our media run a protection racket for their lies and stupidity.
The Australian people are not just outraged that our cricketers cheat, but that they have destroyed our precious international reputation in the world of sports.
Apparently our international reputation on human rights being trashed is of passing interest. As is our international reputation on trade agreements, on education standards, on all manner of things. For years now, our international reputation on most issues and subjects has been in decline.
There are few reports about the marches around Australia yesterday. My estimate of the Melbourne crowd was in the 5-10,000 range as it went for more than two city blocks. All this on the day that the most prolific child abuser in the country announces he will crack down on child abuse.
Pezzullo and Dutton are dangerous.
But jeeez, them cricketers have caused us shame.
Thank you for your interest and comments, and thank you AIMN for the opportunity.
My apologies for the rant. Take care
Kyran,
We had a rough first week on the UN Human Rights Council as the rapporteur on torture delivered a scathing report.
“The primary cause for the massive abuse suffered by migrants in all regions of the world, including torture, rape, enslavement, trafficking and murder, is neither migration itself, nor organised crime, or the corruption of individual officials, but the growing tendency of states to base their official migration policies and practices on deterrence, criminalisation and discrimination, rather than protection, human rights and non-discrimination,” Melzer said.
“States have initiated an escalating cycle of repression and deterrence designed to discourage new arrivals, and involving measures such as the criminalisation and detention of irregular migrants, the separation of family members, inadequate reception conditions and medical care, and the denial or excessive prolongation of status determination or habeas corpus proceedings, including expedited returns in the absence of such proceedings.
“Many states have even started to physically prevent irregular migrant arrivals, whether through border closures, fences, walls and other physical obstacles, through the externalisation of their borders and procedures, or through extra-territorial ‘pushback’ and ‘pullback’ operations, often in cooperation with other states or even non-state actors.”
Migration policies that expose migrants to foreseeable risks of torture or ill-treatment “are conclusively unlawful and give rise to state responsibility for the ensuing harm”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/02/scathing-un-migration-report-not-ideal-start-to-australias-human-rights-council-tenure
Kyran
Australia is shamed by its sportsmen but not its treatment of refugees.
To protect my state of mind I am steering clear of any ‘news’ about overly entitled sportsmen and the ‘outrage’ their greed and corruption should come as a surprise in a world where winning is everything.
As well as giving our own immigration program a shellacking(which it deserves), this article appears to be a thinly veiled swipe at the white farmers in SA. Sure, they may have acquired the land through non-ideal circumstances, but that happened in colonial times when the world was very different. They can’t be blamed for it now and they certainly don’t deserve to be persecuted and murdered for it. It’s up to the SA government to work out an amicable solution, as opposed to what took place in Zimbabwe.
This is unlikely, given comments by their senior politicians. It’s going to get uglier.
Dutton calling them white farmers hardly makes him racist, that’s what they are.
@Jack
Does that mean we should describe people according to skin colour or other terms to distinguish them from white males? Black refugees, brown immigrants, yellow students? Or female lawyers, black male accountants, brown construction workers, female train drivers?
Bring back apartheid? Hmmm?
Ummm….limiting your offer of help to “white” farmers is the racist part. In South Africa in 2016/17, an average of 52.1 people were murdered every day. They tell us that maybe one white farmer is being murdered a week. Why is it only the white people who need help?
Kaye Lee
Because “white” people are more important than “black” people.
Domestic violence – happens every day in all communities, but when it happens in First Nation communities, the army is brought in. The underlying racism is that “blacks” are more of a problem, yet less important than whites.
Whites tend to receive more counselling and support – admittedly nowhere near enough, because DV is more of an issue for women… I won’t get started down that rabbit hole.
@Jack
So farming on land stolen by invasion has nothing to do with the attacks, its just because they are white?
Well why is Dutton only focussing on farmers who are white – not all farmers, nor all whites in South Africa?
KL – Without knowing the stats, I’m tipping most of the daily murders are from random violence. How do we know who to help before it happens?
The farmers are getting persecuted because of their skin colour, that’s the racist bit and the whole point. I’d be happy to accept black farmers too if they were copping it.
Diannart – I never said they were male. Apartheid is just a more organised form of racism and it is coming back to SA. there are just different people in charge now
Jack
Apologies for mentioning the word “male” – unconscious bias kicking in.
As for the reason the farmers are being persecuted – it was only white people who invaded South Africa and stole land.
Sure, other races of people moved in AFTER whites had made themselves at home.
Re South Africa:
Further.
Note also, that Dutton walked out on Rudd’s apology. More here.
Excellent link Matters Not.
That Dutton wants to plea for “special” consideration for white South African farmers, yet not for other victims of persecution, war, violence, invasion will continue to resonate – we have not made much progress on equality while Dutton and his ilk support apartheid by stealth.
White people are nice people.
I think we all agree he never should have gotten involved in the first place.
I find it a little ironic though, that over the course of the last day or so, some dumber Australians have just caused a bigger outrage in SA
Aussie cricketers may be dumber than Dutton – who knows? Ball tampering is an ongoing pastime for cricketers every where.
However, Dutton can do far more damage – being such a micro-manager of all he controls:
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/03/26/peter-dutton-au-pair-visa/
Dianna, I can’t for the life of me work out how giving the girl a visa was in the “public interest.”
I guess we’ll have to wait until Dutton explains it to us.
We’ve got a better chance of Paul’s cat telling us.
Matters Not, those stats are very telling and another unpleasant surprise re Abbott.
@Michael
One of my two cats is black and white, in roughly equal amounts – would confuse Dutton for days on what to think about that.
Paul has a cat?
It is also pertinent that in South Africa, 95% of the wealth is in the hands of 10% of the population and that farm workers are paid less than $15 for a 9 hour day.
Could I add that a lot of black people around the world are also killed for the colour of their skin. Should we be offering asylum to african-american young males too?
I realise this cartoon is from last Friday, however, it does much to clarify WTF Dutton is about (and there’s even cat).
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/23/a-mean-cartoon-of-peter-dutton-who-i-am-dead-to
Diannaart, a very apt cartoon and hilarious as well.
Yes, Paul has a cat. But the cat is an “asshole.” (Paul’s own word).
To me, all cats are equal. Black, white, ginger, tortoise shell, tabby … doesn’t matter. They’re all beautiful.
Correction. I don’t like the Cats (Geelong). Arseholes.
Good point, Kaye. If they stay in the US there’s a strong chance of being shot and killed by a police officer.
Four police men in Byron Bay, kicked and bashed up a young Aboriginal boy who had used ice; there must a better way to handle situations like this…I assume the police men were white
Does anyone here have Dutton’s direct phone number? Or perhaps another means of direct contact with Dutton apart from ESP? Yet a young overseas visitor seemed to know whom to contact so as not to be immediately deported (as recommended by the relevant authorities who were following normal procedures). While Dutton denies he employs an au pair, perhaps that’s not the end of the story. Here’s a clue – au pairs (working as such) are not a tax deductable expense but workers in one’s child care businesses are if they are on THAT payroll? Are there dots to be connected? Who knows. Secrecy has a downside.
At a deeper and more significant level, how did we arrive at the point that an individual (in this case Dutton) can make such decisions free from any hint of a judicial process. Clear that the doctrine of the Separation of Powers no longer applies. That Dutton is now the decision maker just highlights the obscenity.
Obviously we’re not as civilised as Dutto would have the whitey SA farmers believe. All the ills going on in the world / and here at home – it’s just not cricket. Oh balls!
KL re the claim:
While I am not disputing the figures in this instance as such, I wonder as to the methodology re that calculation of wealth. Assuming it goes beyond property, banking deposits, shares and the like – what are the other elements in such a calculation? How does foreign ownership affect or effect those calculations? (Just a few thoughts.)
diannaart, what he hasn’t told you is that my cat and myself go for walks together. Is THAT a cat-hater?
MN,
This paper answers some of your questions
http://www.redi3x3.org/sites/default/files/Orthofer%202016%20REDI3x3%20Working%20Paper%2015%20-%20Wealth%20inequality.pdf
One percent of the population receives 16-17 percent of all incomes; together, the top decile receives 56-58 percent.
ten percent of the population own almost all wealth (95 percent) and receive almost all investment incomes (99 percent)
Just on the discriminatory approach to ‘who will come here and how they will come’, we have a long history of ‘dicking the figures’. Remember our increased intake of Syrian refugee’s?
“Announcing Australia’s 12,000 additional humanitarian places last September, Abbott said: “Our focus will be on those most in need – the women, children and families of persecuted minorities who have sought refuge from the conflict in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.””
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/sep/02/australia-resettles-only-a-sixth-of-promised-syrian-refugee-intake
After a year, we had only taken 2,000. The ‘persecuted minorities’ we wanted to give preference to were the Christians. Since then repeated fact checks have said we increased our ‘humanitarian intake’ because of the pledge to do so, not the actual numbers arriving.
Ms Lee, with regard to our first week in the UN, from the Guardian ‘live feed’ yesterday, you will be pleased to note that Australia has clearly taken our ‘obligations’ seriously. In response to the rapporteur’s report;
“Australia has told Myanmar that international observers must be allowed into the isolated Rakhine state to monitor the situation of Rohingya still living there, and to supervise the return of any of those who have fled and wish to come back.
In its strongest statement yet against the quasi-military regime, Australia condemned Myanmar’s violence at the United Nations Human Rights Council, saying anyone guilty of human rights abuses “must be held to account”.
“Australia reiterates its deep concern about events in Rakhine state, including reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations and abuses by Myanmar security forces and local vigilantes,” the charge d’affaires of Australia’s mission to the UN, Lachlan Strahan, said in Geneva. “We also note with concern ongoing clashes between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups in north-eastern Myanmar and barriers to humanitarian access.””
Mr Strahan did not mention that Australia continues to assist with the training of the Myanmar military. At least we are on record as “saying anyone guilty of human rights abuses “must be held to account”.”
You have to read that a few times to understand how obscene and blatant our hypocrisy is.
With regard to Dutton’s outburst about the au pair, this matter has been two years in the making and, from what I have read, nobody sought details of the girls potential employer.
They were trying to identify exactly how many times this fool intervened and under what circumstances.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/26/peter-dutton-defends-decision-to-intervene-and-grant-visa-to-detained-au-pair
There is a pattern here. Dutton doesn’t do open and transparent and it’s not just his track record on settling court cases prior to a hearing to conceal the truth. His track record on FOI requests makes Michaelia Cash look like an absolute novice.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/paulfarrell/peter-duttons-department-is-routinely-delaying-information
Thank you again for your comments and interest. It is interesting to note that ‘Get the ‘dick’ out of Dickson’ seems to be ramping up.
https://actionsprout.io/AFB804
Is there an election coming?
Take care
Paul Walter
I do not expect you to be a cat-hater, and the going for walks thing means your cat has you well trained.
As for terms of endearment, my long-haired tortoiseshell is frequently referred to as, “Princess Fluffy Bum” – cats are rawther anal…
There’s no suggestion that Paul is a cat-hater, and I apologise to Paul if I gave that impression.
Taking cats for a walk must be an amazing thing.
If we were to take one particular cat of ours for a walk she would need to be harnessed, tied to a skateboard, glued to my leg, and hand-cuffed. All at the same time.
We took her out the front once. Within two minutes we had to pull her down from the neighbour’s fly-wire screen.
There are cats which will choose to walk with you – or nearby you (a lead was not required), although if you reach a busy road they tend to wait at a corner (unless something scary happens like a German Shepherd – I did have to rescue my cat from being cornered by a German Shepherd which resulted in a trust-bond between my cat and I that lasted all his life – it was very humbling because I did not think I deserved such trust).
Then there are cats which are complete idiots and an embarrassment to other cats – much in the same manner as Michaela Cash is an embarrassment to women, men and the future for the human race.
Michael “Fluffy Bum” Taylor, with apologies to Diana, can go and get…
https://goo.gl/images/WjgZFR
Is that you, LOVO? 🙂