There are some key differences between the Naaru scheme and the Malaysia scheme which may produce a different result in the alternate timeline where Naaru got to the High Court.
Specifically, the current plan involved dumping refugees in a second country and then leaving them to the tender mercies of the locals with little or no effective oversight.
Naaru involved locking refugees up in a detention centre under the direct control of the Australian government, merely relocated to a second country to deal with a domestic political concern.
This really is one of those times where the right response to the panic wasn't "we understand, you have legitimate concerns", it was more along the lines of "Here are the facts. You are quite simply wrong. Get over yourself."
But that would've required political courage and a willingness to accept that one might lose an election by not pandering to the baser fears of the electorate. You don't get that very often from either side.
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Date: 2011-09-01 09:52 am (UTC)Specifically, the current plan involved dumping refugees in a second country and then leaving them to the tender mercies of the locals with little or no effective oversight.
Naaru involved locking refugees up in a detention centre under the direct control of the Australian government, merely relocated to a second country to deal with a domestic political concern.
This really is one of those times where the right response to the panic wasn't "we understand, you have legitimate concerns", it was more along the lines of "Here are the facts. You are quite simply wrong. Get over yourself."
But that would've required political courage and a willingness to accept that one might lose an election by not pandering to the baser fears of the electorate. You don't get that very often from either side.