Bloody hard

Australia is a rugged country, most people who live elsewhere get this. Perhaps we who live here find it a bit curious, and find that we are not so much rugged or tough, but laid back.
We often say that we are the land of the ‘fair go’. But like so many such statements, the ones who get ‘the fair go’ are those who are doing pretty well already, thank you very much.

One of the things that has saddened me in the more than half a century I have lived here, is that our hearts seem to have become increasingly hardened.
Not rugged but HARD.
We are no longer saying,”If you want to live here then you have to work hard, and pull your weight.”
We are saying stupid stuff like
“We are full!”
“Go back to where you came from.”
“If you come by boat you will never settle here!”
Now, I came here by boat in 1967.But then I am white, I was born in the UK…and though I may have some non-Aryan ancestry…yet of course I speak English ( and a smattering of other languages…looking forward to retiring to brush up on Bahasa Indonesia !)
Curiously we moved into a South Australian industrial town, Whyalla, as did hundreds of other UK citizens in the late 60s. There was a real sense of ‘ghetto’.

I went to the central High School ….I had never experienced ethnic discrimination before …but I did there. I was a Pom!
People laughed at my accent (NW England) as if they some how had the key as to how English should be spoken.
Let me tell you that Maroon …is pronounced MAH ROO N
Not MA RAWN!!!
That it’s perfectly OK to say DANCE with a hard ‘a’ and you can say DARNCE if you want to…but who cares?
To provincial South Australians these seemed like linguistic baseball bats.
We tended to retreat to our ethnic homelands…so my four close friends were from Liverpool, Tyneside, Luton and North Wales.
By the time I graduated with education degrees and became a teacher in the third High School the tables had reversed.
In that school 85% of the students were not born in Australia. Most came from the UK with about 10% a mix of Greeks, Italians, French and others.
While I realise I was subjected to the pejorative “Pom”…in the Eastern school, the Aussies were “Skips” in the Western school …and thought to be as thick as two planks.
This is how prejudice works, not with logic but with the prejudice of the majority mocking the minority.
All of this is of course nonsense.
I was fortunate to have teachers who realised that when I was a minority “Pom”, I had actually probably had better schooling in Maths, Physics and Chemistry before I came to school in Australia than they had been able to deliver. John Lyon my Chemistry teacher was one of the first to spot this.
He gave me an A in my first series of reports even though I had been taught under an ‘old fashioned’ way. He took time help me translate this, and I accelerated with his help.
Five years later, inspired by him I guess, I went to be a teacher in school of which he was Head (Stuart High School). I understand now that he had not only an educational vision, but also a spiritual, philosophical and theological vision of what a school might be. I liked that.
Deeply influenced by liberal Protestant theology. He promoted such epithets as “Freedom to choose!” and “Acceptance of consequence” deeply seated in the theology of Tillich, Bonhoeffer and others.
Made sense to me.

Who's in detention?

I wrote to Matt Williams  (MP for Hindmarsh, SA) about the present Government policy concerning immigration detention

Dear Mr WilliamsI have always been glad of your replies (even if sometimes taking a few weeks) to my questions.Can you tell me what is your understanding about the number of children who are in detention in the so called "arrangements" with Nauru and Manos Island. In particular I would be interested if you can you tell me how many children have been shifted from the mainland to Nauru and Manos to make it look as though we have actually reduced the numbers of children in detention, even though we have added to those on Nauru and Manos.

He replied :

Dear Stephen Thank you for your email. At the moment there are 79 children in detention which includes 72 children who are scheduled to go back to Nauru. The Immigration Minster has been working hard to get that number down to zero as quickly as possible. In some cases parents of the children have adverse ASIO assessments. We will not be releasing that parent out into the community but we are trying to make arrangements for the mother and children to go out. Like you and the Immigration Minister I want all children to be out of detention and the Government and Immigration Department are working very hard to achieve this. I discuss this matter and other migration issues with the Minister during our regular meetings in Canberra. Thank you again for raising this matter with me. Yours sincerely
Matt

I leave you to decide whether this is satisfactory. 

As for me. It is not!

Journeys of life- part the second

In 1967 we set sail for Australia. I was 14. I think none of us, parents included, had any idea of what was really ahead of us.
Nevertheless we had an exotic trip aboard the SS Orsova of the P&O line. Visiting Gibraltar, then Port Said......just before the Suez Canal was closed we passed through, , bypassing Aden (where an 'incident' had occurred...a soldier I think having been shot.... ) we went to Djibouti on the horn of Africa.  I remember being quite frightened as night fell and we were far away, and quite aware, for the first time ever, that we were white people on a black continent.
We went on to the exciting city of Bombay/Mumbai....we had never seen anything like it. Encapsulating as it does both the tensions of India and the still present tensions of the Raj with its great gateway to India.
The tension that India is both British and Indian.
In the midst of all this is poverty and porn....women in cages.....I had no conception of what this meant.
From there to Penang and the Temple of a thousand Buddhas   and the Snake Temple (here). The stupid taxi driver gave my brother R a baby snake. At least we had the sense to realise that there was no way we would be bringing live reptiles into Australia.
A couple of day later we sailed into the more benign Singapore. A pleasant drive around and my father had clever photos taken of my mother sitting in his hand....I will try to find these and post them later.
Then we landed in Fremantle, sailed on to Adelaide (the Bight was rough!) and then we drove to Whyalla ......what a shock!

Good News Story

It was great to hear that one of our younger parishioners, J, a wonderful sax player in a youth band went with his con-freres to Inverbrackie on Christmas Eve to help the new residents of the detention centre celebrate their first Australian Christmas.

His mother, R, was agog at her son having to pass through a security cordon but also thrilled that he was having to confront some of the real stuff that we as Australians have to deal with today.

This is what we need more of, our children being exposed to the reality that you can meet people from vastly different backgrounds and then play soccer with them and find that they are just the same as us.

The term of my natural life

I have lived most of my life in South Australia and I am glad to have done so. There is always a modicum of melancholy at this time of years because it was on March 18th 1967 that we arrived on the SS Orsova (pictured) at Outer Harbour. We did not get to see much of Adelaide, our family who had come to meet us were in much haste to get back to Whyalla where they had work commitments etc.

Those of you who have made the journey from Adelaide to Whyalla will know that you travel from the relative lushness of the city to the edge of the desert. It was for us a great adventure, though the culture shock was probably greater than you imagine. Looking back it felt more like moving into the American mid-west than Britain down-under. It was remote, culturally sparse, and educationally harsh.

All but one of my siblings has gravitated to Adelaide, and I often think how fortunate we are to live in such a temperate and stable place. Here, in the middle of a State election campaign, you get the impression that even if the worst happens and your opponents win, life will still go on much the same.

Although in SA we bemoan all sorts of things, and we are mocked ceaselessly by those who live on the Eastern seaboard for being small, quiet and perhaps a little inward looking; I suspect that most of us quite like that. And in fact I sometimes think we like to keep the secret and certainly do not want Adelaide to become like Sydney or Melbourne, so we almost conspire to not promote ourselves too much.

It would be good to be included on some of the national tours a bit more often. It's a pity that plays, musicians, art and so on seem to manage to go to Perth but find that Adelaide is hard to do.

As for the rest, I am glad to have discovered the secret.

Fair comment?

It is right that we should be reminded, by none other than Alexander Downer, (the Advertiser today) that it is appropriate to have 'zero-tolerance' for people smugglers. No one would disagree with that.

I must admit that I always feel a little uncomfortable being lectured by any former Howard government minister about the rights and wrongs of immigration policy.

What is important is that the true mark of a civilised society is not that it stomps on those who exploit the vulnerable, but that it is generous and compassionate towards those who are so exploited. This does not always appear to be the case either under this government, and certainly not under the former government of which Downer was a part.

The Elementary History of Detention

Most of us who have read a smattering of Dickens, or done a little history of the 19th century and before will no doubt have wondered about the curious practice of making those who are jailed pay for their imprisonment!
Yes this was indeed the practice. It is of course a practice which victimises the poorest of the poor.
And it seems bizarre!
Bizarrer still when you realise that until today those in the detention centres of Australia have been required to reimburse the government. Even more bizarre when we appreciate that many 'ordinary' citizens seem to think that the practice of making refugees pay for the privilege of being in Baxter, or Villawood, and latterly Nauru (now closed) and Christmas Island; has been on our statute books.
Praise God that today the Senate has voted to remove it. (here)
I take my hat off to Senator Troeth, who voted against the majority of her (Liberal) party to do the right thing

PS In a small footnoote: Senator Fielding, wanting a bet both ways says these laws went too far but voted for them any way...and then wonders why people think he is......

As the world turns

It was my great pleasure at the weekend to officiate at a wedding of one of my parishioners. I have known the family for nearly forty years. The uncle of the groom and I were mad Anglicans at university together.
His parents, who in a way look exactly the same as they did in 1970...except for the fact that they are frailer...have been faithful church people, I suppose, for all of their lives.
In fact when I said to their parish priest some weeks ago when we were bemoaning how hard things were...Thank God for KK ....and she said to me with liturgical vigour...Yes thank God for KK!
For that reason alone it was sufficient joy to do this wedding.
KK is probably the quintessential Australian born in the 1920s. Of Anglo-Celtic background, stable job for most of his life. Worked hard. Maintains a sense of humour and a strong sense of service, loyalty and friendship. He and CK, as faithful matriarch and patriarch beam benignly over their family...even though it has not been without its pain.

The groom is a great young man, who works hard and has a great sense of humour. He is lively and intelligent and socially and politically aware. His new bride looked, of course, stunning. She is of Cambodian origin though she was actually born in a refugee camp in Bangkok. Her parents finally ended up with their kids in Adelaide, and they sat with quiet and respectful demur throughout the proceedings. Conversation with them is good, though you are never quite sure of the transmission of subtlety from them to me and me to them. Always, always deadly polite.
The best man, older brother, I married five years ago. His wife today looking quite the mother, and their two daughters (both of whom I have baptised) looking gorgeous. Well, the best man spoke with a humour and dignity that shows the maturation of the marriage process on a man. And it was good to see it.
Did I mention that the uncle of the bride who works in a remote aboriginal community as the administrator/carer/ambulance driver...wasn't actually there, because well he lives remotely? Or that the groom's sister has a boyfriend who is Iranian.
I bumped into a man who told me he was baptised in the church where I am the priest, and he was blown away when I told him I knew his mother.
Much food for thought about our interconnectedness....I tend not to think of it as being inbred!
But any way it does suggest much about the nature of Australian society.
For those who live in small worlds where two chops and three vegetables automatically present themselves for dinner still, and everyone's ancestors were born in England, mainly, or Europe...it is not like that. Probably has never been like that. Thank God for open families. Thank God for culture-clash. Thank God for opportunities like this.

With bated breath

We are all waiting with anxious anticipation to see what information Immigration Supremo, Kevin Andrews, is going to reveal about Mohammad Haniff that justifies the continuing revocation of his work visa.
Haniff appeared on 60 Minutes last night some what at pains to protest his innocence ( a little too 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' for my liking but perhaps I am as tinged with xenophobia as my fellow compatriots (here)).
One thing we can be sure of, if there is nothing forthcoming from Andrews, who can hide behind the excuse of confidential information.....then we can be pretty sure there will be no apology.
In fact this feels like the same sort of 'no-apology' land that we have visited before.
The protestations that no apology is necessary because he has acted within the law only stands up if evidence is presented that shows that there was indeed niggling doubt about Haniff's soundness. We wait in vain.
It begs the question about what the right way to act is. Ethics 101 tells you in tutorial one that there is huge difference between what is legal and what is right. Holy Writ tells us recourse to the legal system is the last resort and things should be settled before that stage....Andrews should know this since he is one of the klatsch of Christian politicians (instrumental you may remember in overturning the Territory's euthanasia legislation) who seek to have their faith-voice heard. I find his recent action strangely lacking in Christian character.
So I wait with baited breath for the information....and will not hold the same breath for the apology that Haniff deserves if he is, as he claims, a coincidental player.

What we pay you for?

I suppose politicians have a tricky and responsible job. Which is why we pay them a lot of money. So I am always a little disappointed when they fail to deliver. There is, sadly, not much to pick between both sides. Maybe that is because in the search for truth, justice and....well let's not get carried away....but maybe there are only a few limited answers.
We could at least expect that opposing parties might actually offer us some choice of policy, but they don't seem to.
So I am disappointed when:

• Both sides seem to be remarkably silent about the injustices in Immigration law
• Both sides capitulate to logging interests because there are critical votes at stake
• Neither side seems concerned about the obvious injustices done to Mohammad Haniff as they were about David Hicks
  
• Both sides accept the heresy of the 'free market' which dictates everything about economy

When will one side or other actually offer something that looks not just like pragmatism, but like hope and vision. If we can't have vision couldn't we have a little imagination instead of this wretched cynicism that you seem inten to dish up.
Isn't THAT what we actually are paying you for?

We do not presume

The presumption of innocence is a wonderful thing, if not a little risky. It really undergirds the whole of our legal system.
It is indeed a risky thing, because our presumption may sometimes be mistaken. It is the price we pay for not having a system which presumes guilt, which is also a risky thing, because the consequences of presuming an innocent person is guilty can be devastating (if not fatal) for ...well...an innocent person. In our civilised way we think this is worse thing to risk than occasionally letting a guilty person go free.
Now, I don't know whether Mohammad Haniff (here)is innocent or guilty. I am therefore disturbed by the immigration processes used to detain him yesterday, after the presumption of innocence had been effected by a legitimate court.
This indeed is one of the fatal weaknesses of the whole framing of immigration law (not just this case) we presume guilt. Now no doubt a Minister, in this case Kevin Andrew, may claim knowledge of special circumstances (and may indeed have such); but we have courts to test the veracity of this sort of 'special knowledge'. We are on a slippery slope indeed when authorities, however august, outside the legal system presume to effect the processes of the law.
I hold no hope that any of this will be heard by those in power (on either side) or that forthcoming elections will change their stance. Ever fearful of the electorates' anxiety they will not risk being thought 'weak'.
But it seems to me that the true 'weakness' here is not being prepared to stand up for the fundamental principles of our way of life. Presumption of innocence is one such.