We’re still waiting to get “swamped”

Posted by Bron on Wednesday 3 December 2008, 10:28 am
Categories: Politics Tags: BillHeffernan, PaulineHanson, Racism, xenophobia

Ten-plus years on, we’re still getting doomsday predictions from our right-wing politicians who still seem to think getting swamped by whoever the latest Scary People are.

Pauline Hanson in 1996:

“I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40 per cent of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate.”

Of course, John Howard never denounced this blatant race-baiting and xenophobia. He just stole Pauline’s policies and made this country an embarrassing one to live in (yeah yeah, the right-wing morons reading this are probably thinking “If you don’t like it, leave!” Get fucked. That’s such a lame-arse response and you know it).

The same old bullshit continues today, courtesy of the doddery dribbling fuckwit Bill Heffernan:

Liberal senator Bill Heffernan later told reporters that Australia was at risk of being swamped by millions of climate-change refugees in the future, declaring it “absolute lunacy” to change the border protection regime.

The sooner Heffernan and his mob piss off, the better.

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35 comments on “We’re still waiting to get “swamped””

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 10:53 am #Nic

Didn’t immigration drastically increase under Howard? How is that stealing Hanson’s views?

Don’t you believe that climate change will create millions of refugees? I thought that was received truth in the green/left political sphere.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 10:55 am #Wah

Of course Heffernan will never endorse any moves to combat climate change to stop the need for people to seek refuge from it.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 11:04 am #THR

Didn’t immigration drastically increase under Howard? How is that stealing Hanson’s views?

Howard had already lashed out at Asian migrants in the 1980s.

He took on the jingoistic rhetoric of Hanson, especially post-Tampa (i.e. ‘We will decide who comes to this country…).

His ministers, including Peter Costello and Fisher Price man Kevin Andrews both opined on the inability of migrants to ‘integrate’ and ‘assimilate’.

At the same time, yes, immigration into the country continued steadily, as cheap labour was needed to sustain Australia’s period of economic growth.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 11:05 am #Ross Sharp

the right-wing morons reading this

Right-wing morons can’t read. Mostly, they just look at the pretty patterns the letters make, jab their fingers at a keyboard to make some pretty patterns on their ownsome, have a dribble in their drool buckets and go outside to chase the pigs.

It’s a simple life, but they sure gots a a talent for it. Yes’sum.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 11:06 am #Wah

Don’t confuse increasing immigration to the cynical use of asylum seekers to pander to the racist vote and Alan Jones.
Just because you increase immigration does not mean you’re not a racist cunt. If Howard had his way all the immigrants would be white Europeans.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 11:16 am #Toaf

Nic asks, “Don’t you believe that climate change will create millions of refugees?”

I think a more pertinent question might be, “Does Bill Heffernan really believe that climate change will create millions of refugees?”

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 11:29 am #Suburban Marxist

Yeah, i thought climate change didn’t exist…so what’s he worried about?

Bolt, Blair et al must be gnashing their teeth in frustration. A perfectly good opportunity to dog-whistle on race and they can’t take advantage of it!

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 2:06 pm #Bridgit Gread

When it comes to whipping up xenophobia about an influx of refugees, climate change is a ‘convenient truth’.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 3:29 pm #John Surname

“If Howard had his way all the immigrants would be white Europeans.”

Wah, I completely disagree. He would have let in the ones good at cricket.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 3:32 pm #John Surname

“I thought that was received truth in the green/left political sphere.”

Ah yes, because we all think alike. Are you going to do what Blair’s commenters do when they come here and crap on about how we “hate AmeriKKKa”, and then accuse us of being “immersed in American pop culture”? There are some more right-wing truths of the left for you.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 3:44 pm #Nic

Well John, it seems pretty well dispersed view amongst the left:

The Watermelon left:
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/777/40054

The Greens
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24553193-2682,00.html

Oxfam
http://www.oxfam.org.au/media/article.php?id=487

Labor
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/we-must-plan-for-climate-change-refugees-labor/2006/01/05/1136387564679.html

The left don’t all think alike - but it seems to be a common enough view that millions of refugees will result from climate change.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 4:12 pm #Keri

John, you forgot the Jews.

Nic, you can’t ascribe a view ad-hoc to an entire “grouping” of people and then a la Bertrand provide a few links and hope it stands up. Because one contrary view would knock it down.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 4:18 pm #Nic

Keri,

I’ve provided links to show that it is the view of the Greens, Labour, Greenleft Weekly and a NGO. If that doesn’t cover the left in Australia, I can’t say who I have missed out. Happy to be corrected though, but I think that I’ve at least established that it is view of the political representatives of the majority of the left in Australia.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 4:18 pm #Bron

What Keri said.

Moreover, it’s not a climate change issue as far as I’m concerned. It’s about bigots like Heffernan using something they probably don’t believe in anyway (ie climate change) to scream bloody murder about the reffos “swamping our country”. It’s the underlying prejudice disguised as “logic” and/or “reason” that I have an issue with.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 4:21 pm #Keri

Nic,

I’m not going to get into a discussion on whether Labour is Left Wing or not, but you’ve entirely missed my point. Even if that’s the view of political parties with Left factions, or that are Left Wing, you still can’t legitimately ascribe that view to every single left-winger.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 4:26 pm #John Surname

“the Greens, Labour, Greenleft Weekly and a NGO”

None of which are organisations I belong to. And none of those links claim it will create “millions of refugees”. Yet another troll with an imagined view of “the left” making shit up.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 4:31 pm #Nic

Yes Keri, I realise that you can’t ascribe a single viewpoint to every member of the - which is why I wrote my last sentence to say that at the bare minimum it is the view of every leftwing political party in Australia.

Personally, I think that if you can ascribe a view to each of the main political parties on the left, you can say that it a view of the Left, even if it is not held by every single person who is leftwing.

I describe the ALP as a left wing party, but even if you exclude them I’ve shown that it applies to the Greens and Greenleft Weekly (the paper associated with Socialist Alternative).

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 4:39 pm #Nic

John,

The first and the fourth links that I posted expressly use the term millions (being 150 million and 10 million said by Bob Brown himself).

Bill seems to be a believer in climate change and has made repeated comments on it.

We need GM crops to cope with climate change:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/GM-crops-need-rethink-Heffernan/2007/03/07/1173166737789.html

Climate change threatens our security:
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s2050326.htm

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 4:54 pm #John Surname

This isn’t even a political issue. It’s actually a position of the IPCC, which, as I understand, are not a political organisation. It’s then, gosh darn it, accepted by people who would trust scientists and aren’t blinkered into subscribing to a particular view because it’s the opposite of what their percieved enemies believe, or because they immaturely believe it makes them some kind of free thinking rebel.

The Greens article wouldn’t load on my third world internet. As for the 150 million figure, I totally disagree with that. Like I do with a lot of what he has to say.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 5:07 pm #broken left leg

Professor Blainey anyone?

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 5:15 pm #Nic

150 million is, apparently, from the IPCC report.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 5:32 pm #John Surname

That figure is an a worst case scenario based on a population of 10 billion people in the year 2050, but it’s merely a guess at this stage. There isn’t enough data apparently. They’re also labelled as envirnonmental refugees, because of other environmental facors. They currently number 25 million as it is.

These guys are studying it exclusively: http://www.each-for.eu/index.php?module=main

I await their findings.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 5:55 pm #Suburban Marxist

“…Greenleft Weekly (the paper associated with Socialist Alternative).

Green Left Weekly is the paper of the Democratic Socialist Perspective faction of the Socialist Alliance.

The ‘Socialist Alternative’ magazine is the publication of …Socialist Alternative!

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 5:58 pm #Nic

Sorry Suburban. I always get Socialist Alternative and Socialist Alliance mixed up (for the obvious reason). I even checked, but still typed the wrong one.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 6:03 pm #Suburban Marxist

You’re forgiven.

Unless you start with the Peoples Front of Judea routine…

:-)

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 6:19 pm #Nic

No worries. Politics is too serious a business not to have some fun, though.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 6:22 pm #Mondo Rock

Nic’s right you know - if climate change has the effect that it is predicted to have there will be millions of climate change refugees.

I don’t see how that conclusion can be realistically rejected. It’s certainly not a “received truth in the green/left political sphere”, as Nic has so patronisingly asserted, but it is one of the logical outcomes of climate change. That is, if you believe in ACC then you pretty much must believe there will be refugees resulting from it.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 6:33 pm #Nic

Mondo, you are correct (perhaps even about the patronising tone) - if ACC is true these refugees won’t just be people from the third world. Melbourne beachside suburbs will be inundated. Australia will have no capacity to house refugees when our own cities will be underwater.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 9:14 pm #Suburban Marxist

Melbourne beachside suburbs will be inundated.

Its a good thing I’m in a swimming team then!

Australia will have no capacity to house refugees when our own cities will be underwater.

Where there’s a will ($), there’ s a way.

Provided resources are allocated according to the anarchy of the market then your’e absolutely correct Nic.

However, with a little contingency planning….

And maybe spending some of our $22 Billion defence budget that we use to defend ourselves from…an Indonesia that uses three quarters of its defence forces on internal policing…or from New Zealand…or from…

$22 Billion!

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 9:42 pm #Alister

Melbourne beachside suburbs won’t be threatened. Using the same dumb thinking that got us where we are today, some future Jeff Kennett will just fill in the heads.

I wish I was joking. I really, really do.

Wednesday 3 December 2008, 10:35 pm #Darryl Mason

Put down the bongs and pick up a steaming hot cup of reality you Evil Pagan Lefties. The Professional Idiot has revealed that the New Invasion Of Rich Queue Jumpers (Possibly Front Line Assault Troops Of The Lefty-Green-Nazi-Socialist-Communist-Secret-Muslim-Muslim World Caliphate) has begun. In the past month, almost 90 people have tried to enter Australia illegally off WA. 90! NINETY! I blame Baz Luhrman. And Nicole Kidman.