Writer
P&I Guest Archive
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Reviving Malaysia. John Menadue
As I pointed out in an earlier blog (27 March 2013), the Nauru/Manus ‘solution’ is not working to deter asylum seekers. The government foolishly adopted Tony Abbott’s proposal. With the failure of Nauru/Manus, the Minister for Immigration, Brendan O’Connor has spoken about the need to revive the earlier proposal on Malaysia. Last weekend the SMH Continue reading »
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Fear of Asia. John Menadue
This fear has been with us since European settlement – a small, relatively wealthy white community living on the rim of the large populations of Asia. This fear stunts our own human growth and is an obstacle to trusting relations with our own region. Although we have broken the back of ‘white Australia’, fear of Continue reading »
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More punishment for asylum seekers and refugees. John Menadue
The Coalition has announced that in government, it would deny boat arrivals access to an independent review of their claims for refugee status. It is another way of punishing vulnerable people and winning political points. There will be no change in appeal rights of asylum seekers who come by air. The punishment will only be Continue reading »
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Tokyo postcard. John Menadue
It is great to be back in Japan for cherry blossom. I first came to Japan almost 45 years ago and have been visiting regularly ever since. On our visits and residence in Japan, we stayed at scores of minshuku – Japanese B & B – across the country. It was a wonderful experience. Cherry Continue reading »
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Are most asylum seekers and refugees Muslims?
Well, as a matter of fact, most asylum seekers and refugees are not Muslims. But I am sure that many commentators and a lot of the community believe that most are Muslim. The dog-whistlers like Scott Morrison feed on this assumption .According to Jane Cadzow in the Sun Herald he urged the Coalition parties “to Continue reading »
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The Asian Century – another smoko? John Menadue
Chaired by Ken Henry, the White Paper, ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ was released five months ago, in October 2012. We have heard precious little about it since. Prime Minister Gillard appointed Craig Emerson, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Asian Century Policy. I have not seen or heard anything from him that gives Continue reading »
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Hazaras in peril. John Menadue
There are an estimated 50,000 persons of Hazara background living in Australia. Many of their relatives and friends are being intimidated and killed regularly in Pakistan. It is not surprising that they are fleeing and paying people smugglers to get to safety in Australia or elsewhere. The Hazara are a Shia group who have traditionally Continue reading »
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The Boat People Obsession. John Menadue
The Australian Parliamentary Library has again pointed to our obsession with boat people. In its 11 February 2013 Research Paper”Asylum seekers and refugees, What are the facts”, it highlights (p.8) that despite increases in boat arrivals in recent years, the number of ‘Irregular arrivals by sea’ to Australia is quite small compared with other countries. Continue reading »
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The Pacific Solution has failed. John Menadue
The Government fell for a dud Coalition “policy” that suggested that by re-opening Nauru/Manus the flow of asylum seekers by boat would be reduced or even cease. We recall that many times Tony Abbott said that on becoming Prime Minister, the first thing he would do would be to get on the phone to the Continue reading »
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Judge Murphy and Sexual Abuse in Ireland. John Menadue
The Australian Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse commences its hearings in Melbourne on April 3. If the experience of the four enquiries in Ireland is any guide individuals and intuitions in Australia face ordeals. Judge Murphy headed the ‘Commission of Investigation’ into sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. Her Continue reading »
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The Flow of Asylum Seekers to Australia follows world trends. John Menadue
The Australian Parliamentary Library has just released a Research Paper showing that the flow of asylum seekers to Australia since 1999 follows the trends of asylum flows to OECD countries generally. Reading the Australian media one would think that we have a problem with asylum seekers that no other country has. At the Centre for Continue reading »
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The Medicine Lobby. Vested interests win again. John Menadue
Professor Stephen Duckett of the Grattan Institute has just reported that ‘Australians are paying too much for prescription drugs. The cost of this overpayment is at least $1.3 p.a.’ This is another example of the power of vested interests in the health sector and their ability to extract economic rents from the community. The other Continue reading »
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Does Australia care about what happens on its doorstep in Sabah? Guest blogger: El Tee Kay
Almost a month ago two hundred of the self styled Royal Sulu Army, some heavily armed, landed in a small coastal village in Sabah, Malaysia. They came from the nearby Tawi Tawi islands in the southern Philippines. Their objective was to “persuade” the Malaysian Government to recognize their “hereditary” claim to Sabah for the Sulu Continue reading »
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Confusion and Contradiction on Asylum Seekers in the Community. John Menadue
Arja Keski-Nummi and I have described the services and lack of them for the 12,000 asylum seekers living in the community as ‘Kafkaesque’. The policies and rules concerning these asylum seekers have no sense or logic. Some are living in the community on bridging visas with work rights and some without work rights. Boat arrivals Continue reading »
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Could this be a John XXIII moment. Guest blogger: Monsignor Tony Doherty
Announced in every news outlet, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, an Argentinian Jesuit who is the first in his order and the first from Latin America has been named as the bishop of Rome – Pope number 266. In these early hours of the announcement, we are left with the crumbs of his story. Theologically conservative, we Continue reading »
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Productivity and Skills. John Menadue
For months, the Business Council of Australia and senior business executives have been banging on about the need to increase labour productivity. To achieve this, they have emphasised the need to amend the industrial relations legislation, ‘Fair Work Australia’ as essential to lift productivity. Many have seen it as an attempt by employers to rebalance Continue reading »
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The Power of the Gambling and Liquor Complexes. John Menadue
I remember speaking many years ago to an old friend, Justice Xavier Connor, after he had completed an enquiry for the Victorian Government on a possible casino in Melbourne. He recommended against it. He said ‘John, gambling and casinos everywhere in the world attract criminals and organised crime. It is like bees around a honeypot. Continue reading »
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Asylum Seekers and Paedophiles. John Menadue
In my blog of March 5 I spoke about the demonization of asylum seekers by Scott Morrison. He has variously alleged that they bring disease, wads of cash and jewellery. He has also called for the registration of asylum seekers moving into a residential area. But Senator Abetz has gone even further. He made it Continue reading »
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Let them Work. John Menadue
Last month, Bruce Kaye (guest blogger) and I wrote articles about the need for a change of government policy to allow asylum seekers to work. This is important for their dignity and self-respect and their integration into the Australian community. It would also be less costly to the Australian taxpayer and the Australian community. Today Continue reading »
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The Neverending Story. Guest blogger: Greg from Cottesloe
Side show alleys have become smaller these days. They used to be the centre of attraction at the annual Royal Show with the boxing troupes, the bearded ladies and so on but even the shrunken lane of today still has a conjuror performing the old pea and thimble trick. The conjuror puts a pea under one Continue reading »
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The Malaysian General Election. Will the fix be in again? Guest blogger El Tee Kay, Kuala Lumpur
Australian Senator Nick Xenophon flew into Kuala Lumpur in mid-February. He was detained and deported back to Australia as he posed a “security threat” to the country. He was roundly condemned by the Malaysian Home Minister, the Election Commission and the media for his interference but received favourable support overseas and from the opposition parties, Continue reading »
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Prejudice compounded by ignorance. John Menadue
The Scott Morrisons and Ray Hadleys of this world have had a field day vilifying one asylum seeker living in the community who came by boat. The prejudice is bad enough, but their ignorance is just as appalling. In the last ten years, 65,000 asylum seekers came to Australia. 47,000, or 72% of them, came Continue reading »
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Normalising Crime
There is a tendency to normalize crime in our own group, church or community by saying that the rate of crime in our own group is no worse than in other groups. It is a view I have heard expressed recently in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Ratzinger used this argument at a conference in Spain Continue reading »
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Another misleading story about hospital costs
The head of Ramsey Health told us in the AFR today that the “Productivity Commission report on public and private hospital systems found that the private sector was 30% more efficient” It did not. Last year the CEO of the Private Hospitals Association said that private hospital costs are 32% lower than public hospitals. The Continue reading »
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The blame game in health continues.
Some weeks ago Victorian hospitals announced bed closures, job losses and elective surgery delays because of a dispute with the Commonwealth Government over the hospital funding formula. In an election year the issue seems to have been temporarily resolved by the Commonwealth stomping up more money. But it highlights the continuing malaise with divided. funding Continue reading »
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What the Subtitles Say. Guest blogger Greg from Cottesloe
Here’s a popular generalisation. Subtitles or dubbing? Americans prefer dubbing of foreign films because it demonstrates that even Shaolin monks can speak English with a Bronx accent if they try hard enough. The fact that the lips keep on moving seconds after the voice stops merely adds to the mystery and allure of these foreigners. Continue reading »
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The Greens and Asylum Seekers. How the ‘perfect’ became the enemy of the ‘good’.
The policy ‘purity’ of the Greens has helped deliver us Nauru and Manus where asylum seekers are suffering. Furthermore, and as the former Secretary of the Department of Immigration told us last year, the Nauru/Manus approach would not work again to deter asylum seekers. That now seems tragically borne out by more tragedies at sea Continue reading »
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Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
‘There is nothing on this earth as ugly as the Catholic Church And nothing so beautiful’ (Cardinal John Henry Newman) A letter to fellow members of St Mary Magdalene’s Parish, Rose Bay I have found great beauty in the Catholic Church. Inspired by the Eucharist, I joined the Catholic Church over 30 years ago. That Continue reading »
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Work rights for asylum seekers. Guest blogger: Bruce Kaye
Having had direct experience of asylum seeker hosting it has become obvious at the ground level that the ‘no work’ policy introduced in August last year by the Federal Government is creating confusion and misery for the asylum seekers and frustration and despair for those involved in hosting. As citizens, my wife and I are Continue reading »
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The asylum seekers that we don’t talk about
In the last ten years, 65,000 asylum seekers have come to Australia. 47,000 or 72% of those came by air. Only 28% came by boat. In the last five years, we received 47,000 asylum seekers, of whom 28,000 or 62% came by air. Only 38% came by boat. In only one year, in the last Continue reading »
