Family First’s Steve Fielding has been banging on for months now about queue jumping boat seekers and sending them to the back of the queue. No actual policies, mind, just ridiculous bullshit about Motel Christmas Island and Apple Mac envy. Of course, the whereabouts of this queue that is being jumped have remained a carefully guarded secret, as has Steve’s solution to the queue jumping problem.
“Every time we accept a refugee into our country by boat, another refugee waiting patiently in a camp somewhere is forced to wait even longer,” [said Fielding]
“There are thousands of refugees patiently waiting in line in camps across the world trying to gain asylum but boat people just push them further down the queue.
“There is no way I think we should be rewarding people for jumping the queue and penalising those who are waiting inline (sic).”
Under Family First’s proposal queue jumpers, genuine refugees or not, would be sent to the back of the queue at various refugee camps around the world.
So, Steve Fielding seems to be seriously proposing that asylum seekers arriving by boat should be sent to refugee camps in “various” places around the world. Seriously. The man is a fucking foreign policy genius.
Hold your heads high, 56,376 Victorian voters.
#1 by Bruce on 12 April 2010 - 2:30 pm
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I wonder if Mr Fielding has considered if the asylum seekers wouldn’t have just head to the refugee camps if there were room in them. Said camps usually being closer to their point of departure than Australia.
And does Steve plan to spearhead a campaign to get world leaders to listen to him and start meeting their obligations in giving proper support to these refugee camps, and in speeding up the processing of refugees?
#2 by Idlaviv on 12 April 2010 - 2:55 pm
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Maybe Steve should fly to the US and meet with the Heartland Institute. You know, to hear “both sides”.
He could also get some inline skates, duty free, while he’s at it.
#3 by urakur on 12 April 2010 - 4:40 pm
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Perhaps Senator Steve……. should have them camp out at his digs ?
#4 by Rx on 12 April 2010 - 6:27 pm
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Exodus 23:9
#5 by Toaf on 12 April 2010 - 6:34 pm
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Democracy FAIL.
#6 by Campbell on 12 April 2010 - 6:44 pm
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Someone should yell ‘drink’ every time he uses the word ‘actually’.
#7 by Campbell on 12 April 2010 - 10:41 pm
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Will it kill the thread to invoke the Nazis?
#8 by Scott Bridges on 13 April 2010 - 10:33 am
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Yes.
#9 by Spock... on 13 April 2010 - 7:09 pm
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At least being Victorian gives me the satisfaction of being able to preference him last.
I will vote below the line and number every single box, just so I can enjoy the moment where his box is the last to be filled in.
I’m not petty or anything, but nobody blocks me on Twitter and gets away with it!
#10 by Bron on 13 April 2010 - 7:59 pm
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Fielding’s policy, such as it is, makes me sick.
I want to move to Victoria so I can do what Spock’s gonna do.
#11 by Toaf on 13 April 2010 - 8:04 pm
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Go to the back of the queue, Bron.
#12 by Molesworth on 13 April 2010 - 11:38 pm
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I’m on a boat to Victoria now, just so I can vote him out.
#13 by Bron on 14 April 2010 - 2:43 am
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I’m crying like a refugee, Toaf.
Pingback: Straight to the back of the queue « Groupthink
#14 by Matt Holden on 14 April 2010 - 2:14 pm
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Democracy FAIL — because the ALP preferenced Family First above the Greens and got Fielding elected. Which we below-the-line voters in Victoria will fix at the next Federal election, when Fielding and FF will become a historical footnote. Shame, in a way, ‘cos he’s too funny for words … you couldn’t make him up …
#15 by deffdredd on 14 April 2010 - 11:12 pm
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Victorians shouldn’t feel too bad. Up here we have Barnaby. :O