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This by Andrew Probyn is a good example of what is wrong with so much political journalism in Aus. The asylum seeker debate is framed almost totally in terms of political tactics. The lives of refugees - even the policy details - are barely mentioned abc.net.au/news/2019-02-1…
For instance, there has been basically zero interrogation by most of the political establishment in Australia about the true causes for the reduction in seaborne asylum numbers since 2012. It's a complex mix of factors that can't be reduced to deterring people smugglers
We know in fact that boats have continued to sail towards Australia, and have been intercepted and towed back. Journalists also know this, but find it almost impossible to challenge major party talking points about "the people smugglers' business model'
It's an incredibly complex policy dilemma, and to make matters worse a veil of official secrecy cloaks everything under the guise of 'on-water matters'. I understand the difficulties of reporting on that.
But to blandly accept that if seaborne asylum flows suddenly spike up, this is a political negative for Labor buys in to a decade of political mendacity by the Coalition. It also reinforces a view of migration policy that is crude, mechanistic and in key aspects actually untrue
Saddest of all, this kind of reporting essentially concedes the Coalition's key point, which is that the only way to 'save lives at sea' is to construct a punitive system of migrant detention camps on foreign islands. As I and others have argued, this is a false dichotomy.
A final point on this -- it is possible to call out the bullshit and commentate on politics factually and with attention to detail. Katharine Murphy is as usual the standout, but today's column by @gpaddymanning is also excellent themonthly.com.au/today/paddy-ma…
