Labor, Shorten and a failure to halt boat turn-backs by military vessels at sea

From The Guardian

Below is The Editorial from to-day's The Age

For readers who are not familiar with The Age,

it is one of two major daily newspapers in Melbourne, Australia.

It is published by Fairfax Media Limited.

The other newspaper is the Herald Sun which is part of Rupert Murdoch's empire. 

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The background for this editorial is that the

National Conference of the Australian Labor Party,

the major opposition party in Australia,

will be held in Melbourne this week-end.

Refugee policy - and its inherent cruelty - is a major issue.

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Shorten's backflip on boat turn-backs is reprehensible

Date ---July 24, 2015 - 12:15AM

In case anyone has forgotten, it was the Australian Labor Party that introduced banishment to Nauru and Manus Island as a way of halting the flow of boats carrying asylum seekers and economic migrants to our shores. And it was Labor under Kevin Rudd that declared "asylum seekers who come here by boat will never be settled in Australia". That uncompromising "solution", as some might glorify it, has been the most profound deterrent on people-trafficking in this region.

Turning back boats was an addendum to that policy. It was introduced by the Abbott government in late 2013, initially by towing boats to Indonesian waters, then transferring people into orange vessels and pointing them back to Indonesia. Later variations include detaining people on Australian vessels in international waters before handing them to authorities from other countries; using Australian naval vessels to sail asylum seekers directly to ports in their home countries; and, more recently, paying cash to persuade an Indonesian boat crew to turn their boat around and go back.

None of this is acceptable. Not the offshore processing system, nor the eternal banishment from Australia. Not the reprehensible prison-like conditions on Nauru and Manus Island, which are designed to crush people's spirits and, thus, deter others who might attempt the ocean journey. And certainly unacceptable, in our view, is the interception, towing or turning back of boats, let alone handing people back to those same countries which they  believe perpetrate persecution, are complicit in such oppression, or are unable or unwilling to protect them from harm and discrimination.

Bill Shorten this weekend will ask the Australian Labor Party's national conference to formally approve  a dramatic shift in policy and  adopt  the turn-back strategy of the Abbott government. We believe the policy is morally repugnant, and that Labor's rationale is flawed.

Richard Marles, Labor's spokesman on immigration, contends that while most people who attempt the sea journey from Indonesia to Australia are genuine refugees, this final leg "is not a flight from persecution. No one is fleeing persecution in Indonesia". This is simplistic rubbish. Ask Papua New Guinea about refugees who have fled oppressive authorities or racial and religious violence in West Papua and other eastern provinces. More importantly, however, we remind Mr Marles that superior courts around the world have confirmed repeatedly that it does not matter whether a refugee has come via one country or many to seek asylum. The claim must be assessed, on its merits, by the country where it is sought.

We believe this nation should uphold its obligations under international law, with respect paid to the needs of each person who seeks assistance. For that reason, The Age does not support turning back asylum seeker boats. Repelling people at sea, or depositing them in other countries, prematurely terminates their claims for protection. This is a ruthless and despicable relinquishment of Australia's obligations.  While the offshore detention system provides for some processing of refugee claims, it is terribly flawed, not least  in principle. 

We believe in justice, and in extending compassion and dignity to people who seek refuge. To that end, we believe processing of refugee claims and detention arrangements should be conducted in Australia, by Australian authorities, and with the prospect of permanent settlement here for those who demonstrate legitimate claims. The Age is not naive enough to presume that this could be adopted without the risk of a sudden flood of boats heading to our shores. It is why we have always argued for a regional solution, rather than a Fortress Australia mentality.

If Labor adopts Mr Shorten's proposal, it will suggest a party that too readily ditches important principles for political gain.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/shortens-backflip-on-boat-turnbacks-is-reprehensible-20150723-giiymr.html#ixzz3gk7Uaa3G

Which of Australia's major political parties has the guts to recognise and represent the views of compassionate Australians? None?

The original article on The Conversation can be found here

Please note: Three sentences in this article have been edited to bold.

This has been done by The Editor of The Network.

Frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has fired a salvo in one of the most electorally important battles for Bill Shorten at the coming ALP national conference – whether a Labor government should turn back boats.

Fitzgibbon, a former defence minister, predicted that turnbacks would be part of Labor’s policy for the election. “Let’s have the debate at national conference. I believe that will be the outcome,” he said.

Fitzgibbon’s view represents that of the NSW right, of which he is a member, but the issue is difficult for Shorten and the conference.

It is one about which many ALP members feel passionately; the national conference make-up between right and left is closer and more uncertain than usual; and Labor at the last election was highly critical of the Coalition’s policy.

Shorten is already in a tricky position. When immigration spokesman Richard Marles last year signalled Labor might embrace turnbacks, Shorten slapped him down, saying “the case has not been made out for change”.

But there is a growing feeling in the parliamentary party that Labor needs to alter its policy.

If the conference said an ALP government should not turn back boats, it would be handing the Liberals a big weapon for the election. Together with the tough offshore processing regime, turnbacks have been regarded as important in stopping the people smuggling trade.

The parliamentary party is, in theory, bound by what conference decides, although in practice the MPs have exercised considerable flexibility.

The draft platform for the July conference is silent on turnbacks.

The Labor for Refugees group is gearing up for a strong fight at the conference.

Its national co-convenor Robin Rothfield told The Conversation on Sunday that an amendment on turnbacks was being prepared based on ACTU policy.

Rothfield said the proposed amendment would go to a meeting of the national left in Sydney at the coming weekend.

It reads: “Labor rejects other policies of ‘deterrence’ implemented alongside offshore detention, especially intercepting and turning back boats at sea, or transferring refugees to other vessels for immediate return to their countries of origin without a proper assessment of their claims for protection.

“Such policies needlessly put both asylum seekers and seafarers in danger. Provisions in the Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment Act 2014 which facilitate boat turnbacks and give the Immigration Minister the power to secretly suspend the application of Australian Maritime Law and International Maritime Conventions to any vessel must be repealed.”

Fitzgibbon told Sky a range of tools was needed to ensure the flow of boats did not resume and “one of those tools currently is boat turnbacks”.

“Personally I can’t see that there’s an overwhelming argument that turnbacks isn’t an important part of the tool kit.” Fitzgibbon said there was a universal commitment within shadow cabinet to ensuring the asylum seeker flows did not begin again.

The ALP’s incoming national president, Mark Butler, from the left, said that Labor was “committed to making sure the boat passageway between Java and Australia remains closed”.

Pressed on whether he thought that turnbacks should be part of Labor’s policy, Butler told reporters that one of the concerns Australians had with this policy area was “the government’s obsession with secrecy, particularly their obsession with secrecy they have around the turnbacks operations they have in place.

“Particularly around questions involving safety at sea, for everyone involved including Navy personnel, but also the impact on relations with our important neighbour, Indonesia.”

The government is already preparing its counter if Labor does say it will turn back boats. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton was out on Sunday declaring that Labor in government would not follow through with action.

Postscript: Mirabella on the march

Former Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella on Sunday won preselection for her old seat of Indi, making the Victorian electorate one of the most interesting contests to come. In 2013, Mirabella lost what had been a safe Liberal seat to independent Cathy McGowan, who ran a campaign based on localism.

Mirabella, who would have been a cabinet minister in the Abbott government, had ignored the signs over years of an eroding vote. Bidding for preselection, she admitted she had spent too much time away from her home patch. “Clearly, I got the balance wrong,” she wrote to preselectors. But some Liberals believe she could be a drag on the party’s vote because of her previous record.

The Nationals have indicated they will also run a candidate. Their strategy has been to position themselves, if McGowan held the seat, to mount a strong bid for it on her likely retirement after another term.

Listen to the Politics with Michelle Grattan podcast, with Labor environment spokesman Mark Butler, here or on iTunes.