20 years on from Tampa and the "children overboard" bullshit. The day we became horrible.

"In Canberra that evening, Howard (Captain Velour Tracksuit) introduced the border protection bill to parliament, giving the government sweeping powers to refuse entry to people seeking asylum by sea. The Act would be made retrospective to 9am that day, two-and-a-half hours before the Tampa entered Australian waters."
“I saw that as a moment of real moral reckoning … You had a decision of the court that allowed the government to say ‘we will take the humane approach’. And that opportunity was missed.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/22/the-tampa-affair-20-years-on-the-ship-that-capsized-australias-refugee-policy
#Tampa #asylum-seekers #refugees #Afghanistan #ausgov #ozgov #shame #oz