Monday, July 22, 2013

Boat people - The government ad campaign

I noticed the government has started an ad campaign along the lines of "By Boat, No Visa" to stop people smuggling. There is now doubt that most people I talk to consider people arriving by boat to be a concern and a problem, and when people think about what they'd do if they were in the same situation, they'd probably do the same. This isn't an easy problem for the government but what we should always keep in mind is these are real people and no matter how the press or government portrays them, we need to remain compassionate.

You can easily find more information about refugees arriving by boat by using Search Australia and search for "boat people" or "people arriving by boat".

Try also to keep a balanced view of the numbers. The press and government make these big issues because it suits their agenda, but the reality is around 500,000 people arrive in Australia each year and about 250,000 leave. The number arriving by boat is still a relatively small figure. You can see if you review the statistics on arrivals that government policy makes a significant impact on the numbers arriving. Let's hope our government of the day responds appropriately and compassionately.

Kelvin Eldridge

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