Meg Pickup, Ballina
Actor Rhys Muldoon’s tweet – ‘Ivan Milat being treated better than asylum seekers. That stings,’ – says much.
Australia treats our most notorious serial killer more humanely than refugees.
Two examples support this. The Morrison government lends a tin ear to reports of at least 23 cases of self-harm among refugees on Manus since May 18. The Lorengau hospital, unable to cope with the increase, turned the most recent cases away, sending them to a clinic.
In Melbourne Kurdish man Sadoullah Malakooti and his three young daughters live in fear of becoming homeless. This follows the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) payment they received being stopped in April this year and with their mounting bills they have been disconnected.
A year ago the Department of Home Affairs stopped their family payment. Last year their Medicare cards were not renewed when they expired. Sadoullah is not allowed to work. He awaits a reply to his application to the Federal Court for his refugee protection claim to be reviewed. If we have an obligation to serial killers we have the same obligation to refugees, people who do us no harm.
There is an anomaly here. There is the Morrison government who governs the people of Australia.
And in their act off governing it is they, the government, who have an obligation to serial killers and refugees in the process of being the government. We, the people are not the government but have voted for a certain government to act for us in ethics and morality.
Once upon a time, many years ago a democratic country was said to be “government by the people for the people shall not perish from this Earth.” said by Abraham Lincoln but that does not seem to apply any more.
Ivan Milat was convicted of murder in 1996, so he has been in jail for 23 years and is likely to die in jail.
The harsh treatment of asylum seekers is political and they are treated in a political way. That is politics.
If you do not like their treatment by the Coalition government, vote Green.
We also have an ‘obligation’ to prevent homelessness and people living below the ‘poverty line’. Isolation is a contributory factor in suicidal deaths of Australians and poverty is isolating. We pay politicians obscene amounts (with a current pay rise due) … but they don’t seem to be capable of SEEING that whilst rents have increased by about 300% (estimate – more likely 500% in some areas over the last 20 years), + the same for power costs, the ‘rent allowance’ remains stagnant (I think about $150/fortnight max). People trying to exist on the ‘Newstart Allowance’, through Centrelink, are treated as criminals, or at least on parole. Miss a deadline for reporting earnings, having an appointment with a private job-seeker ‘provider’ or applying for a huge number of jobs per month and you are basically up the creek without a freaking paddle. It is a huge juggle with casual work, etc, but, yes – better to have had family arrive here on the 2nd fleet than be in the position of an asylum seeker today.
Sarah,
If we were on the subject of homelessness we would discuss homelessness. What about writing a letter about homelessness instead of butting in on another person’s subject of Ivan Milat. Ivan is not homeless.