Sanity at Last

At long last, a decision has been made about asylum seekers that restores my faith in my country.

The High Court has redeemed us, and thrown a giant spanner in the works of offshore processing.

Political posturing aside, (and there is plenty of this from both sides) this decision is probably the most significant change in the view of the High Court on this issue since the Tampa incident. Put simply, it throws the nonsense of off shoring our refugees right out the window. The various tin pot administrations who are happy to take the metaphorical forty pieces of silver provided will be the only people worse off.

The interesting issue now, is whether the government has enough courage to begin processing all boat arrivals on the mainland, and to return to the structures that worked quietly and effectively pre-Tampa.

Zoning areas for immigration would be another move that would assist, as would the introduction of an Australia card which refugees and everyone else would be obliged to carry. The fact that the carrying of an ID card has ever been a political issue in this country is beyond bizarre.

But that would require ethics and courage, neither of which is evident in either of the two major parties these days.