What Are The Arguments Against Asylum Seekers

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There has been ongoing discussion regarding the endemic Pacific Island issue, as over the years, the Government has tried to stem the flow of asylum seekers. First implemented from 2001-2007, the Pacific solution had bipartisan support from both the Liberal-National government and Labour opposition at the time. The policy was abandoned by the Australian Labour Party government of Kevin Rudd following its election in 2007, due to the public’s outrage towards the cruelty of the solution. As of August 2012, the detention centres were re-opened by the Gillard Government due to the re-introduction of the Pacific solution, aiming to process asylum seekers and refugees arriving by boat. However, this iniquitous decision has dire consequences on asylum…show more content…
Amidst constant reminders in the media suggesting that Australia will be “flooded”, and that in arriving illegally by boat, asylum seekers are supposedly “jumping the queue” as there are people in other camps that have been waiting for longer, one fact needs to be made clear. That is, when desperate, there is NO queue. As human beings, we all want to seek safety for our own families and loved ones. In any case, there is nowhere they can go to apply for asylum, as they must come here by boat. Any responsible global citizen would be disheartened to see the effect of the media’s deliberately xenophobic and panic-inducing campaign on Australians who would likely never have denied these people their rights without subtle coercion. As it is, Denmark accepts 60% of all asylum applications in the first instance, Sweden 44% and Canada 57%, while Australia recognises a mere 17%. These statistics are not the kinds of accomplishments we can be proud of having represent us. A recent ABS Census claims that at the current rate, it will take over 300 years to accept enough refugees to even equal the current number of Australians of foreign birth. It may be easy to scapegoat people smugglers for the failures of our amnesty system, but doing so only contributes to these people’s hardships and circumvents the true issues. There is absolutely no reason we…show more content…
Not only do asylum seekers contribute widely to our community, over the years since World War 2, migrants have generously supplied to our economy. After the Second World War, Jewish refugees made significant contribution to the development of Australia as a whole. In the 1970s came the Vietnamese refugees, which are now considered the backbone of the business community, even though they were initially treated with hostility. In the same way, these asylum seekers will invaluably contribute to our society. By definition, refugees are survivors and they bring their valuable courage, ingenuity and creativity to Australia. Most are also driven by a desire to give something back to their new
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