Beware the supermarket shopping asylum seekers
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Over the weekend Brisbane’s Sunday Mail dispatched its snapper to Toombul shopping centre north of the city to pap its front-page target. But this wasn’t a celebrity. It wasn’t a crook on the run. This was a mother and her two daughters — “suspected immigration detainees” as the paper captioned them. We don’t know their names, but thanks to the paper’s sleuths we do know what they purchased while “enjoying” their tour through Coles — “home brand Hawaiian pizza, Smith’s potato crisps and cartons of Coca-Cola.” The Sunday Mail splashed the supermarket scoop across their front page — headlined “THEY’RE HERE” (surely not a nod to Poltergeist?) — in a story that ran prominently in all of Rupert’s rags yesterday.
And if you somehow missed the implication, Piers Akerman filled in the blanks in the Daily Telegraph this morning: this “happy Afghan women” (Piers has the inside word on her mental state and nationality) and her fellow “fast-tracked” asylum seekers with their “overflowing shopping trolleys, courtesy of the Australian taxpayer” send a “strong message” that Australia’s doors are open. How can we hope to have a reasoned debate about asylum seekers, and the oft mentioned push and pull factors, with press coverage like this? They’re here, all right. No, not “these people” (as Piers likes to refer to them.) We mean tabloid fear-mongers like the newly-installed Sunday Mail editor Scott Thompson — setting any kind of reasoned debate about asylum seekers wildly off course for another ugly political debate in an election year. |
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32 Comments
the work of these hacks is permeating the education system too with my 9 year old daughter asking me recently why these boat people are getting in to australia. after i spent a few minutes re-setting the landscape about asylum seekers and the reasons why they see asylum in australia and that fact that australia is a signatory to the UN on this matter she then asked, why are we being so horrible to these people? it is quite frightening that this debate is being so heavily skewed at some many levels
keep up the good work crikey!
Perhaps we can open a detention centre for dodgy conservative right wing journo’s. We could lock up Piers, Bolt’s and of course, the queen of the right wing diatribe Randa Devine. I think it would be a great way to spend tax payers money.
The stench of xenophobia and whinging; how distinctly Australian.
Are these stories supposed to be telling us that asylum seekers are being accommodated in the community (particularly minors and families)? Didn’t we already know this? So now the media are reporting on their shopping(!).
Come on journos, lets push the bar of journalistic integrity even lower by going through their rubbish bins.
I’m with Fitter, but hey, let’s go all the way and next time Rupe waltzes into the country (to swing his d!ck around) let’s claim that he’s a terrorist (well he is…against the truth!), revoke his visa, detain him in Villawood, and then deport the grub back to that broken down country he claims to be a citizen of.
If indeed this poor woman was Afghani, she would be muslim. She would know better than to buy a pizza containing pork products. What kind of trash journalism is this?
I for one am glad that boat people shopping for hawaiian pizza and coca cola at Coles made the front page. Run for the hills, Queenslanders - “They’re here”!!
I second Fitters motion.
Or is it that, in the words of Stephen Sondheim, ‘They’re already here”?
Time to round up, lock up and waterboard Piers or Andrew Bolt or Miranda for a maximum of 6 hours a day (or whatever the CIA “humanely” limited the daily allowable waterboarding time to).
I wouldn’t be in favour of asking them any questions though while we were performing this “enhanced” method - I think we’ve all heard far too much from those mouths already!!!
Either that or parachute Piers into Afganistan so he can report on how he could singlehandedly nip the boat people source in the bud. He wouldn’t have to worry about his personal safety though - as Nathan said - they don’t touch pigs in an islamic country…
HB - “Don’t bother …., they’re here” ….. and writing for the local “chip rapper”.
But what’s all the fuss about? What do we expect? Listen. “Murdoch’s Party” seems to have only has only three formed policies : “Boat people are bankable scum”, “Rudd is worse” and “No”!
Only a right-wing cretin would seek to bash refugee immigrants for assimilating with (admittedly American, but a very Aussie adoption of American style) Australian trends such as coke and ham and pineapple pizza. Isn’t failure to assimilate the number one gripe of these clowns?
trying to look on the bright side…
by focusing once again on immigration, does this not suggest that the nasty side of politics has surrendered the field on health policy, education, the environment and the economy, so needs to focus on the only thing it polls strongly on: Hansonism.
“LNP Queensland senator George Brandis said 29 people-smuggling boats had been detected so far this year, bringing the total since the Rudd Government’s policy was introduced in August 2008 to 101”.
And, of course, ABC News has been running with this handy George Brandis tally mentioned in the Daily Telegraph and thus joining the beat up. The implication is clear but unstated that government policy, rather than push factors, are driving the refugee inflow.
We are not told of the Howard government figures or even that the opposition claims on this are open to question. Your ABC in service of the opposition Liberal Party and we are paying for the propaganda.
Uhhh… they are here.
So are the ones that blew up their boat and murdered 5 people last April.
Why does the left want this to be kept secret? Lets not forget that the Rudd Government claims they would keep intact OFFSHORE processing… gee shopping down in Centro is Brisbane sure if offshore! If you can’t handle the public knowing about this then it’s the LEFT that has the problem.
Just another Rudd Labor Government failure of policy.
That Afghan woman is a Kurdish mum, Piers is a bit of old tosh and truth out, you belong in some institution for lunatics.
We have invaded Afghanistan, our soldiers are murdering children, women, Afghan cops and governors with complete immunity from prosecution yet you dare to whine that maybe some Afghans might have done something wrong after being tortured by our navy for over a day.
And there is no such thing as fucking offshore processing, it is impossible to have anyone apply for asylum here unless they are here.
Some of you need to finally find a brain because you make me want to vomit.
And of course the media have all been told that it is not fucking people smuggling and they are all silent on it.
Even Hedley Thomas will not look at documents I sent him, it doesn’t suit the media anywhere in this country to tell the truth.
We ratified two conventions making it legal for people to arrive without documents without being punished for the simple reason refugees can’t get documents from the people who want to shoot them.
We ratified the people smuggling protocol which absolutely forbids punishing said refugees and those who give them a ride because we are the ones making it impossible for refugees to get here otherwise.
Yet we keep sending innocent people, poor Indonesian fishermen, to jail for transporting refugees to the authorities.
You should be bloody ashamed of yourself attacking our troops like that from the safety of your keyboard. While they are out there fighting for Afghani freedom and democracy(you remember those nice mates of yours the Taliban don’t you) you are sitting comfortably on your computer here in Australia talking shit about them. Why don’t you pop over there and put your socialist arse on the line helping those poor souls yourself? Too gutless is why.
Offshore processing does exist… we’ve done it in Nauru, PNG and now Christmas Island.
Believe or not, but these people do not have an automatic right to enter our country, and we should not let them in until WE have decided we want them here, and thatprocess should take place outside of Australia.
Rudd has backflipped on that promise, much like his “we’ll turn back the boats” and now we see these “offshore processing” Rudd style is the local Brisbane Coles Checkout. No wonder the left are going ape about these pictures, it shows what a massive failure the Rudd soft touch policies have done.
Great, my views are now being moderated because I’m not left leaning enough, yet a bloke who pretty much called out troops kiddie killers gets his posts through no problems. Disgraceful. The left is without morals.
Nathan Landis has captured my instant reaction to this story - what absolute crap is this! It constantly terrifies me that most Australians digest this garbage without thinking. It’s actually well known amongst the general Australian population that Muslims do not eat pork - indeed it’s used as a point of mockery in our media and schoolyard teasing, and in torture in the extreme expression of this (as an aside - the depiction of that cruelty in the ‘East West 101’ episode is one of the most affecting moments I’ve seen in Australian TV drama. I know the broader audience don’t want to know, but if only this sort of program was seen by a wider audience - people would learn so much) yet they then accept a story like this about ‘Hawaiian pizzas’ without even registering that this point just shows it to be a beat-up and fabrication and it is designed only to irresponsibly incite outrage. And yes, people are happy and all too willing to be outraged and resentful and have their fears played to - it saddens me that the majority of Australians are like that and that is why these papers are the bestselling and talk back radio is the most listened-to.
I would be happy to be out shopping with my child too, if I was no longer having to be fearful of being hunted by the Taliban! What is going on with the increasingly embarrassing Australian media at the moment? So many seem to be hell bent on creating hysteria and fear mongering about asylum seekers (most of whom are actually found to be genuine refugees) whilst ignorantly being blinded to the ‘push factors’ which drive them to our shores. I agree with ‘Engineering Reality’ let’s send Piers Akerman over to Afghanistan to be properly educated about these ‘queue jumpers’ who for some bizarre reason want to leave this country to come to our ‘compassionate shores’ to provide a future for their children… let’s see how long he lasts!
Yeah especially when the Aussie taxpayer is paying for it, despite you not even meant to be here(what happened to offshore processing again?).
Why don’t the lefties put themselves out there and house, feed, cloth and pay for these queue jumpers if they feel so strongly about letting them in. They might have a leg to stand on, but of course most lefties are dole bludgers themselves, so it’s the hard working Aussie battlers that have to pay for them instead.
“So are the ones that blew up their boat and murdered 5 people last April.” (sic)
Frankly ,THE TRUTH HURTS, given the above comment I am surprised Crikey did not moderate you completely off this blog. I suspect that this rubbish only slipped through because it was just about incomprehensible. To suggest that the lady and her child, in the picture, might be murderers is about as low as you could go, if not libelous.
Maybe they are giving you a free hand to expose readers to the illogical bile usually found at Murdoch media.
Incidentally, what is it about the right and difficulties with spelling, editing and sentence construction? Have the private schools let the taxpayer down?
Why don’t you want me saying it? It’s true isn’t it?
Do you have a problem mentioning what these people did back in April? Wanna keep it secret do you?
Maybe instead of attacking me for dare talking about this crime, you should be attacking those who DID the crime. I wasn’t the one who poured petrol about the hull. I wasn’t the one who lit the fumes with a match, killing 5 people. The left can’t sweep this one under the carpet.
Strawman, this lady was never on that boat. But what about the people who WERE where are they now? Deported? Nope… Rudd bloody let them in with Permanent Residency Visa’s and they are walking our streets on our taxpayer dollars! You couldn’t write this stuff if you tried.
TTH, you seem to be making the argument that all asylum seekers are murders because a boat last year contained some. Whether or not that is your point is beside the main game; it is the impression I get.
You need to be much clearer in your arguments. The wilful or lazy conflation of asylum seeker issues makes every discussion an absurd slanging match.
No I’m making the argument that Rudd even lets murderers into the country, and gives them permanent residency visa’s and the left have no qualms about this whatsoever.
It’s true though isn’t it… every single one of those people have been given permanent residency visa’s and are now walking our streets getting paid tax payer hand outs. The left doesn’t seem to worried though “let em in!” they say.. even the ones that kill people.
“It’s true though isn’t it… every single one of those people have been given permanent residency visa’s and are now walking our streets getting paid tax payer hand outs.”
How do you know this? I don’t know that it’s true and I strongly doubt the records of their movements is known. I also don’t think everyone agrees with you that they were murderers. Has there been a court case? Evidence presented of what happened? Or is this statement based on what you read in the paper?
Trying to turn this into a Left/Right culture war doesn’t help your argument either.
The point the original commentator has clearly missed is this:
THEY’RE HERE… BUT THEY’RE NOT MEANT TO BE HERE.
Everyone remember Rudd’s promise of continuing offshore processing? Well an inner Brisbane Coles is not bloody offshore is it. Thats what the newspaper article was pointing out.. Rudd’s Asylum Seeker policy is in tatters.
These people have not been deemed Refugee’s. They have come illegally by boat. They SHOULD be on Christmas Island, NOT here.
“You couldn’t write this stuff if you tried.”
You are trying, TTH, but doing a very bad job of it. Anybody who has committed a crime will be prosecuted if evidence can be found. There is absolutely no reason for any cover up of murder , manslaughter or whatever crime that you so wildly allege.
What can’t be covered up is the viciousness of your comments and the ugliness of this continuing asylum seeker beat up.
Matters of this nature should not be used as a political football. The Liberals would be wise to stop playing this hate fueled game because a backlash against these tactics has already begun.
Oh turn it up. Polls consistantly show Australians want TOUGHER border protection, not softer. It’s a minority of very vocal leftwing latte sippers who want these people flooding in, the silent majority are being told to shut up and accept it.
Well I won’t accept it, and many other Australians won’t either. Back in 2001 we had a mandate on this issue, Howard went to the public and said do you want tougher laws and they replied by voting him back in on a landslide. The left need to realise just because they scream the loudest, doesn’t mean they are always right.. and this is definately one of those times.
I don’t know, there’s a “certain logic” in TTH’s presentation, “they’ve” obviously had a lot of practice mass debating!
Unfortunately another “truth” is “Howard went to the people” on the coat-tails of Reith, at least, and the lies he was peddling about those “children overboard”, with photo’s from another event - while the actual ADF people involved were trying to tell them the truth, through hurriedly erected “fire-walls” - “Inquiry into a Certain Maritime Incident”, check it out.
Some Australians “want” tougher “protection” because so much of the commercial media is of a certain bent, and digest the news before passing it on - in a form to feed a certain agenda - playing on fear and prejudice - but can anyone actually quantify those “figures”? What are they?
TTH:
“Polls consistantly show Australians want TOUGHER border protection, not softer.”
This may be true, but I disagree fundamentally that if a lot of people want something it must happen.
And yes Howard did go on to win that election on those lies, then in ‘04 beat Mark “Franken-Furter” Latham (evoking comparisons with “a drover’s dog” and such), then, next, when “the coast was clear”, he lost his seat!
Then, those remaining, joined Labor, after Rudd won, to turn back those “meaure’s of Howard” - now they and they’re media cheer-squad are braying “they’re coming, they’re coming”“, with sod all mention of their own role in that “roll-back” - because the “issue” is still good for “emotive votes”.