Katmondo's Asylum Seeker Policy

"In politics, what begins in fear usually ends in folly" - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Whatever your opinion is on asylum seekers, there is one truism - the current labour governments policy is a complete disaster.  It rates worse than the pink batts, mining tax and stopping beef exports because not only is it blowing billions of dollars (again!) for a dubious cause, it affects real people.  Even if you did not agree with the previous liberal governments policy (the Katmondo does not) at least they did what they said and they did it effectively.

So I come home after a long and weary day at work which was all about money today and turn on the TV and hear the Federal Courts decision to stop the governments 'Malaysian Solution'.  I immediately think to myself what a complete waste of time, effort and huge amount of money on 5,000 boat people per year.  One day the truth will come out and I think we will be ashamed of what happened with respect to the treatment of fellow humans (ie., stolen generation, White Australia policy, Mabo etc).  Watch the movie 'rabbit proof fence' and you may see where I am coming from here.

I also thought to myself if the government just had a 'one fuck up policy' this would actually make money for the government.  How?  Just let them in, set some rules, give them a chance and soon the genuine ones will find work, make money, build communities and pay taxes.  The bad ones will fuck up at least once, so you then deport them - simple.

The whole asylum seeker debate is based on fear and a lack of courage on the part of the political leaders (except a few including Petro Georgiou who sacrificed his own career in the liberal party) to actually form a policy that deals with this issue properly and actually take it off the agenda.  It is embarrassing that the issue of 5000 scared, helpless, desperate boat people that need help occupies the bulk of the political debate in this country.

The bulk of the population originated from people coming by boat to Austraia in one form or another, most looking for a new start in life so whats the problem? Maybe the Katmondo has missed something.

Like most people I think.

Like most people, I think.  Unfortunately the opportunities to stop and think at the same time, are quite rare.  Sometimes I have a great thought.  I use the word 'great' not in the normal context, but in a creative one since having the opportunity to think, reflect and compose a thought is great. Quality is another issue.

Usually the creation of the thought is achieved while I am alone and have no one to share this thought with.  Sometimes, the thought is in the presence of people who sometimes appreciate it.  The idea behind this blog is to provide a repository of thoughts such that one day I can stop and reflect on my thoughts and hopefully other peoples contributions. It also stops me from watching mind numbing TV.

So many great thoughts get forgotten.  I love that epiphanous moment that you get when an idea has formed into a mini piece of philosophy that you could then test, re cut and analyse for an hour.  Unfortunately, the phone rings, a child stubs his toe, a partner needs a hand getting a box down from a high shelf or you are supposed to be listening to someone in a meeting.

While driving home tonight, I was speaking on the hands free with a dear friend of mine when the phone dropped out.  I immediately thought "what is the protocol here? Should I ring back since I made the call? Should I wait for him to call me? Bugger it I shall call".  Of course we both called at the same time, only to reach each others message services.  After we re established contact, I raised this with my friend and we debated it for about 2 minutes and agreed that there needs to be a standardised protocol.  Should the caller ring back or the receiver? Its not that simple, there are good arguments either way.  He was running late for a meeting, I was arriving home to my 'second shift' so the issue remained hanging.

How many times does this happen to you? I would guess 12 times a year for me (one a month at a guess).  If there are 10 million people in Australia with mobile phones, that is 120 million times per year that this may occur.  How much money is that? Such an obscure issue but interesting.  I confess that this is a semi great thought with dubious quality but I hope you get the drift of where this blog is going.

You may wish to delete this blog from your most interesting list now.