First, though, the
good news. Following the recent High Court finding that Australia has the right to keep stateless asylum seekers in detention indefinitely - at least according to our laws, not the international treaties we've agreed to uphold - Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has used her ministerial discretion to
grant visas to nine asylum seekers who could otherwise have been held, without charge or trial, until they died. Kudos to the Minister for a sensible solution to a frighteningly injust situation.
Family ValuesNow the bad news:
Family face deportation because of disability. The parents: counsellors working in the areas of suicide prevention and domestic violence in Australia. The child:
a twelve year old autistic boy, diagnosed at four years old, two years after the family's arrival in Australia. The family's application for permanent residence: refused because of the boy's health. The twist: the government have featured the boy in a calendar released to mark International Day of People with a Disability.
This is not an almighty cockup: it's policy. The poor bloody refugee who set himself on fire in front of Parliament House had been struggling for years to bring his wife and three daughters to join him in Australia. He was refused permission because one of his daughters has cerebral palsy.
I've mentioned some of the reasons I don't want to have a child. This country's attitude to children and families is also on my list.
Notes from StasilandWhat's the right term for David Horowitz's
dob-in-a-liberal crusade? Libel? Harassment? Intimidation? Censorship? McCarthyism?
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