En Passant

On ABC AM on Tuesday morning, Richard Marles, Labor’s Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, attacks the Turnbull government from the right over border ‘protection’ (aka the militarisation of the treatment of asylum seekers.)

The terrorism hype and changes to our immigration laws throw away basic rights to a trial and give incredible powers to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. They undermine our freedoms here and now. They set a dangerous precedent. They prepare the way for further criminalising dissent in Australia.

SERCO detention guards are not armed with guns but they are not the only guards with whom children in detention have to deal. Many of the others are armed with guns, batons, sprays and other pieces of equipment.

‘Just following orders’ sums up the bigwigs in the Department of Immigration and ‘Border Protection’ in charge of implementing the government’s racist and reactionary asylum seeker policy perfectly. Here is my challenge to them. Threaten me with punitive action.