Australia’s inhumane refugee policies are shaming us all and we all deserve that shame. Yes the Gillard Government deserve blame for giving in to the oppositions fear tactics and for not exposing their exaggerated claims about Australia being swamped with “illegal boat people”. Worst of all they adopted the cruel, impractical and expensive Liberal policies which both the media and the opposition are ironically now criticising them for. They caved in because the oppositions fear mongering was costing them votes.

The policies of our major parties are not designed to assist the refugees but to keep them out of Australian territory. Like the Wizard of Oz our political leaders have created a paper-mache monster to raise our fear levels. To ease our consciences we are of course not stopping refugees, we are “stopping the boats and the people smugglers”.

So what does that say about our courage and intelligence, especially those of us who have changed voting intentions on the basis of “border protection” , meaning not an invasion by malevolent forces but protecting us from men, women and children who are seeking our help.

Our response so far shows that when we hear unsubstantiated horror stories we give in to our fears instead of our using our reason. Furthermore it shows that in order to feel safe some of us are prepared to lock up innocent people and their children in harsh concentration camps out of sight, out of mind and with no end point to their suffering.

The most disappointing outcome of our blind fear is that we do not engage our intelligence in finding creative solutions to either the causes of the refugee crisis or how we can help the refugees to be settled in a new country without adding to their trauma.

Blind Freddy can see that most refugees are not coming straight from conflict to Australia. They are escaping from a lifetime spent in refugee camps with no identity no connections and little hope of an improved life for them or their families. No wonder they will risk their lives on a leaky boat, they have no life.

What can we do as a compassionate nation rather than a fearful nation to help their hopeless situation? Here are some ideas that would assist these people and help ourselves at the same time.

The first stage is to restore hope for people with no future and this may be achieved by diverting the massive funding from “border protection” and from shutting down our overseas concentration camps. With this funding the Government could build education facilities from primary to tertiary close to the major refugee camps.

By providing carefully targeted tertiary education and training to refugees it will make them more attractive as immigrants to Australia and to countries all over the world.

Another step would be to provide funding to speed up the processing of refugee claims and increase our refugee intake. Refugees who achieved required skill levels could be granted a speedier pathway to Australian citizenship.

The above measures would have a great impact on the morale of refugees by providing them a pathway out of their meaningless existence and lift their feelings of self-worth.

The advantages to Australia are that the flow of boats to our shores would be greatly diminished and when people arrived here as refugees they would be pre trained to take up employment meaning that they would not be welfare dependent for long periods.

A major bonus would be that our national psyche will be healed when the feeling of mean spirited, fear ridden, hatred and division that shrinks our imagination and diminishes our self-respect, is replaced by a new creative spirit of cooperation and connection to one another.

The teeth gnashing and squealing of Australias “free press” over the proposed media laws is a little like watching and listening to feeding time on a pig farm.

Acting as though they are the outraged agents of the God of Truth they line up to save the citizenry against the devils who would kill free speech.

And what is it the threat? The Government wants to upset the industries self regulation body by adding an independent overseer in the public interest. This, according to the Murdochracy puts us as a nation on par with Nazi Germany and Iran. Nothing brings out the baying dogs of the press more than a threat to their total supremacy in the market of ideas.

Lets get real there is no diversity of opinion in Australian media. The Murdoch empire dominates Australian media and the first edict of the Australian press theocracy is “ I am thy lord thy emporer and there shall be no other emporer beside me”.

When one media proprietor completely dominates the discussion there is no plurality of ideas being discussed. In Australia the lack of plurality is as evident as the dominance of Pravda in the old Soviet Union.

The Levenson inquiry in the United Kingdom showed that free speech looks more like corruption when fearful subservient politicians do the bidding of newspaper proprietors. It lead to an appalling lack of morality by British tabloids even criminal acts that trampled on the rights of privacy for many Britons. The Murdoch newspapers were the worst offenders.

In Australia the hegemonic powers of Murdoch,s Australian press is even greater. There is no doubt that it has been destabilising the Gillard Government with such fervour and lack of balance it competes with Fox news as the most dishonest media outlet in the Western world.

It is interesting that the media as one push for an independent body to examine the police saying that because of their power, in a proper democracy the police cannot and ought not judge themselves. How often have we seen headlines saying “Who should police the police?”.

In an industry that wields an even greater power, the power to create new truths and realities, the power to destroy governments, the media ardently believes they should be their own police.

The concept of free speech is largely derived from the ideas of influential philosopher John Stuart Mill who said:

…the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self-protection. … the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. (On Liberty ch.1 ¶9)[2

Mill never envisaged a mass media that would be dominated by few extremely powerful individuals and corporations,or that proprietors would happily destroy the good name of others for entertainment of their audience, or deliberately mislead their viewers about life and death issues like climate change.

Is it healthy for one individual to dominate political discourse to the extent that members of parliaments are so fearful of being politically destroyed that they bow to the will of that proprietor at the expense of their constituencies and good governance?

Despite the growth of online blogs there is not a healthy plurality of views being aired in Australia as the corporate monopolistic mass media drowns out alternative views and furthermore it has dependent governments hooked on its ability to give and take power.

At this moment a conga line of such politicians in the parliament are selling us out while bowing to their puppet master and clamouring for his anointment in the upcoming election. Even Craig Thompson has joined in the chanting of the penitential rites.

Priest (Abott): Have mercy on us, Lord Rupert
Congregation: For we have sinned against you.
Priest (Abott): Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
Congregation: And grant us your salvation.

Priest (Abott): May almighty Rupert have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life (tenure).

Congregation Amen