Prime Minister Julia Gillard appears ready to fulfil Kevin Rudd's prophecy of a lurch to the right on asylum seekers. It remains to be seen what her final policy will include but at this point she appears to be laying the groundwork for a tougher framework to deal with boat arrivals.
Noted Human Rights campaigner Julian Burnside QC this week called out the Prime Minister to "tell the truth" on asylum seekers. He said this week in Adelaide:
"I challenge her to tell the truth," Julian Burnside QC told journalists in Adelaide on Sunday.
"I challenge her to depart from what Tony Abbott has been doing - Tony Abbott has been lying to the public, creating an utterly false impression about the number of people who come by boat seeking asylum and the reasons that they come seeking asylum.
"I challenge Julia Gillard to point out to the public that at the current rate of arrivals it would take about 20 years to fill the MCG with boat people."
I agree with Julian Burnside QC. I hope that some truth can come through in this debate. But unfortunately I think that fear will win through. Fear of a repeat of a Tampa election.
Source: Gillard urged to be honest on asylum seekers
No comments:
Post a Comment