The false justification for regional processing

Julia Gillard’s devotion to the establishment of a regional refugee processing centre in East Timor appears unwavering.  Last week she reiterated her commitment to the proposal in discussions with East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.  The proposal stands as the centrepiece of the Government’s border protection policy – a policy focused on stemming the influx of boats carrying asylum seekers to Australia by scuttling the trade in people-smuggling.  But how effective would this policy be in ending boat arrivals?

The Government hopes this policy will deter asylum seekers.  Their reasoning is that by removing the possibility of asylum seekers arriving by boat being permitted entry to Australia, asylum seekers will be deterred from getting on a boat in the first place.  This line of thinking is representative of the increasingly insular and one-sided view that has come to dominate this debate.  In any instance of migration, there are both push and pull factors at play.  At present, we talk mostly in terms of what makes Australia an attractive endpoint for asylum seekers.  However, this has nothing to do with what drives people to flee their homelands by boat in the first place.  Denying people entry to Australia does not bring peace and stability in Afghanistan, nor can it assuage the fear of persecution for Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The reality of the Government’s border protection policy is that it is not primarily centred upon stopping boats.  It is about ensuring that those boats attempting to reach our shores land anywhere else but here.  By overtly politicising the issue of asylum seekers both major parties have fallen into a game of political one-upmanship from which they are unable or unwilling to extricate themselves.  To welcome the arrival of asylum seekers by boat is no longer a sign of our humanity and compassion.  It has instead become the hallmark of ineffectual government, a political liability and an invitation for attack.  No government can afford to look weak on the issue and even a handful of boat arrivals is a political liability.  This is the reality of the Labor Government’s attempt to establish a regional offshore processing centre in East Timor.  To couch the proposal in humanitarian concerns for the safety of asylum seekers who make the journey to Australia by sea is a misrepresentation of the situation.  At its core it is a policy borne of xenophobia and fear.

Julia Gillard has called for a frank and open debate on asylum seekers.  She could lead by example by being honest about the motivations for the Government’s stance establishing a regional offshore processing centre.