To no one's surprise, the clearest example of this problem is provided Australia's most inept and arrogant immigration minister, Scott Morrison, and his unsupportable Operation Sovereign Borders program.
The indisputable facts are that two people have died, 12 more have been seriously injured (with one man air-lifted to Brisbane), and 64 more have sustained injuries requiring treatment while inside our detention centres within the last week. Where Morrison's secrecy is muddying the waters, is in hiding the true ciircumstances of those deaths and injuries. The media is not allowed in, making the Abbott government's stance on press freedom completely laughable.
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This was taken further on his ascension to the government benches, where he repeatedly relies on lies (which he has been forced to correct), half-truths, hiding the truth, refusing to answer questions, and taking refuge behind the military and an unsupportable claim for the need for secrecy.
Especially disgusting was his performance on Insiders last Sunday where he essentially blamed the suicide of an Indian student who was being detained for over-staying their visa on the victim themselves. To quote the critical parts of the interview:
BARRIE CASSIDY: Three days ago an Indian student took his own life at a detention centre in Melbourne. He was in that centre because he overstayed his visa. Could that have been avoided?
SCOTT MORRISON: Could he have avoided overstaying his visa?
BARRIE CASSIDY: Is there a better way to deal with a student who overstays his visa?
The question posed wasn't quite clear. The response speaks volumes of Morrison's feelings about 'Illegals'. You get the sense that despite suggesting that his real motivation for Operation Sovereign Borders is avoiding deaths at sea, deaths in detention appear to be a minor inconvenience. Adverse outcomes are the fault of the people involved because they came to us seeking asylum. Morrison treats them with less than the dignity any person deserves.
It would not be unreasonable to conclude that these death and injuries, to paraphrase Morrison's words, send the people smugglers a message that their business model is broken and they discourage refugees from boarding these boats.
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What is sadly clear is that Morrison is again choosing to blame the victim. To quote "Captain Feathersword' Morrison:
“This is a tragedy, but this was a very dangerous situation where people decided to protest in a very violent way and to take themselves outside the centre and to place themselves at great risk.”
While Morrison asserts that the victim's death (as a result of blunt head trauma) occurred because he chose to take himself out of our care, statements from refugee advocates and people inside the facility contradicted Morrison’s statements. They have stated that PNG police and locals entered the compound and proceeded to attack refugees. This was reportedly done in a systematic way with machetes and bats. Refugee advocates have reportedly a number of recorded voice messages from desperate people inside the centre, all corroborating this version of events
The claim that PNG police and locals entered the detention centre to attack refugees is also corroborated by a relative who spoke to one of those inside.
If we need a Royal Commission, it is one that needs to look deeply into the activities of Operation Sovereign Borders and the crimes that are being perpetrated against vulnerable people in the name of all Australians. The actions of Morrison reflect badly on our entire nation.
I know Australians didn't vote for deaths at sea to be exchanged for deaths in detention. And I know that most Australians are not the nasty, small minded bigots that Morrison's style of politics appeals to. The only reason that Operation Sovereign Borders has any support among the general public is because the full truth isn't being revealed.
As the blog suggested in an earlier post.... Stupid is as Stupid does.