An island fortress mentality

Moves to greater accountability and transparency in detention practices need legislative teeth. The heavy focus on border protection needs to equally matched by a continued focus on social cohesion and harmony policies and successful settlement policies within our borders. Hard policies must be matched by soft policies to achieve maximum effect.

The recent five-year extension of private contracts in immigration detention facilities by the Rudd Government needs to be very carefully scrutinised to ensure proper public accountability. And under no circumstances should we countenance a return to the inhumane and degrading temporary protection visas despite calls to that effect.

More broadly in the multicultural affairs space the Government needs to restore the critical position of full time Race Discrimination Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission, which was made a part-time position under the Howard government. It also needs to consider a stronger legislative framework around religious discrimination and vilification. The Government needs to begin incorporating the needs of disadvantaged migrants and refugees in the social inclusion agenda, which is currently a blank space in that regard, and it should also restore parity in SBS’s funding as against the ABC’s. Moves to reduce barriers in the Howard government’s higher level citizenship test also need to be fully implemented and monitored.

It is unfortunate that the basic principles of human rights and ethnic and religious minority rights sometimes clash with our critically important democracy and its sometimes unfortunate side effect - majoritarian rule. But this is why we have a legal system and international standards around human rights that need be observed: to protect people who otherwise may be forgotten, discriminated against or discarded.

National leadership around issues of multiculturalism, cultural diversity, non-discrimination and anti-racism is still required as is a consistent narrative from the highest levels that both recognises and embraces our culturally diverse population.

The Australian community and our current government can ensure we do not witness a return to those difficult years when refugees and asylum seekers were demonised by many and our community was hopelessly divided around issues of race, religion and migration. This is a significant challenge for the Rudd Government and one which I am confident they can rise to.