A screw up for Labor is a win for human rights: Malaysian Solution

Well all of you should know that IANAL, but hey if Scott Morrison who also is not a lawyer can comment on what the High Court says, why can’t I? Or to quote from Julia Gillard “can I just say”..

When the High Court handed down its decision re the so called Malaysian Solution in a 6-1 judgement today Australia had a chance of moving forward again.

I won’t go into why calling anything a “solution” to a problem that doesn’t actually exist is fundamentally wrong, I’ll look with just this issue and its outcomes.

Firstly, as I have previously pointed out, Labor lost to the left in the last election.  Off shore processing isn’t going to get the votes it needs to win again. The fact that they right royally screwed up is going to lose them more, especially after today. A day when Labor could have gained ground with Abbott’s not so tacit support for Howard’s comments on work place reform.  That little thing called work choices.

Whilst Malaysia is definitely out, Manus Island looks like it is, and Nauru (possibly) needs to be tested in court, one thing is clear, offshore processing is on shaky legs.  The only reason that Nauru could now possibly survive this judgement is that only recently have they now signed the UNHCR agreement.

Of course Morrison et.al forget and certainly don’t remind people, that this decision had it been made when the Pacific Solution first came in, would have seen it cancelled.

The reasoning for this is quite simple.  The High Court ruled on Section 198A of the Migration Act.  That little bit of the Migration Act was brought in by Howard.  As it turns out,  the High Court decided who comes to this country and how they do. So while yes this is a massive failure for Labor, it is an even more massive failure for the Liberal Party.

The only possible justification would have been that Australia ran all the details of the facility on Nauru.

Even after all this we still have the questions that neither side of politics has been able to answer, that of why?

  • Why do we need to process offshore if we run everything?
  • Why do we need to waste so much money processing offshore if we run it all anyway?
  • Why do we damage so many people, just to allow them to come to Australia anyway?

If when 10 years ago, Beazley had taken a stand when the Tampa arrived and said no, we will process onshore, perhaps Labor would be in a better position. At least they would have a moral high-ground from which to argue.

Given the similarities between the parties on this and other issues, no wonder we ended up with a hung parliament.

Process people onshore. Sure give them health checks and security checks first.  Then release them into community supported housing.  It will not only save a lot of money in the short term, but even more long term when you take into account ongoing mental health issues. This won’t win people over from the right.  But even opening Nauru ( if even possible ) at this point wont anyway.  But it will win people over from the left.

Despite so much legislation passing under this government and the ground work for the future being laid out with pricing carbon and the NBN, even this week the passing of the plain packaging for smokes legislation, they just screw up.  The biggest screw ups always seem to be when they try and out do the right. As the saying for goes, never argue with a fool in public people can’t tell the difference. When the left are heralding the High Courts judgement Labor should look not to Alan Jones, Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott but to its real heart land.

And for those that think that the last Pacific Solution fixed the problem, I’ll leave you with this graph.

Unauthorised boat arrivals to Australia by calendar year

Funny how during the 80’s when there was no Pacific Solution there was no boat people problem.

 

— Update —

Julia Gillard pres conf 1/10/11: “There are questions over the future of offshore processing arrangements that must be considered”

Labor has nothing to lose at this point. When Gillard said “The court’s ruling represented a missed opportunity”, she shows she is still missing the point.  It isn’t a missed opportunity.  It is one that can fix the issue and cut off the divisive statements from the Liberals.

Further Julia Gillards seemingly narky attack on only one of the Judges over the judgement makes no sense.  It was a 6-1 Judgement.  Picking on Justice French makes her look petty.

And from the ABC: The United Nations refugee agency says it will not be involved if the Federal Government restarts offshore processing in Papua New Guinea or Nauru.

The Pacific, or Indian Ocean Solutions are all but dead in the water.  Morrison and Abbott must be fuming at Labor for the fact that no longer can Australia process offshore because it fits an agenda that never made any sense.

Can we now stop talking about off-shore processing and start working out how to do it on the mainland.

 

 

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