Globalisation is a word that holds many different meanings for different groups. It is a word that is used constantly to define the ideas and values that a particular group holds and preaches. Although there are many types of flows falling under the concept of globalisation, there is one that sparks to mind that provokes a continuous debate in Australia; this is the physical flow that globalisation creates. The physical flow is the movement of people across national boundaries. This arm of globalisation has created a heated political debate in which the government, a group of influential national leaders uses the theory of globalisation and the physical flow of people to create power, giving them an excuse to define their decisions about illegal immigrants. This frenzied political debate is one many Australians are familiar with as the media surrounds the matter making it a prominent issue as the government continues to use political propaganda to gain support for their party.
To support my understanding of the government’s involvement
in upholding national sovereignty by slandering those who illegally cross
national boundaries in order to preserve national support, Peter Van Onselsen
explains,
‘… the political debate is centred on
boat people, partly because it plays into people’s (inaccurate) fears about
hordes of arrivals from underdeveloped countries who threaten our way of life,
and partly because opinion polls continue to show that most Australians oppose
illegal immigrants’. (cited in Evers 2010, p.1)
Therefore according to Van Onselsen there are two folds to
this physical flow as a result of globalisation. The first one being that this
physical flow threatens our local values and the protection of our national
sovereignty. This fear is expanded through media influence, capturing the
sights and discussions that are aired into our homes. The second is that the
government feeds off such fears and exploits our concerns into opinion polls
and votes, again using the media as a device to gain our support. ‘Globalisation
crosses boundaries of government and business, media and social movements and
politics at all levels’. (Nederveen Pieterse 2004, p.7) It is a concept that
can fuel anger, cause division and be a maker for political control. What this
physical flow is doing to our country is sparked by high media involvement. In
April 2009 a boat named ‘SIEV 36’ carrying 49 asylum seekers exploded off the
north coast of Australia. ‘Media and public debate about Australia’s
responsibility to individuals seeking asylum by boat was instantaneous’. (Mc
Kay Thomas Blood 2011, p.1) The boat people is a prime example of the nature of
the physical flow movement that is occurring in the 21st century. As
citizens we sit back and watch helplessly what the media has captured and want
us to see.
Talk back radio shows are a hit for expressing our views
about such political issues. Just recently in June, top rating Adelaide host
Bob Francis came under scrutiny after he aired his views. After a caller
suggested that the federal government had a responsibility to help people
“survive” Francis responded, ‘bugger the boat people… As far as I’m concerned,
I hope they bloody drown out there on their way over here. In my opinion they
are not welcome here’. (Media Spy 2012, p.1) As a result of this media outburst
Francis incurred a lot of criticism and ‘widespread condemnation’. Not only was
it by fellow media representatives but also Ministers, like Chris Bowen Federal
Immigration Minister and state opposition leader Isobel Redmond. It cannot be
ignored that these ministers may have latched onto such a comment and condemned
it for their personal appearances for the Australian community. A food for
thought for when you are voting in the upcoming election. It cannot be ignored
that to approve of such comments would lead to widespread opposition of the
party as the media continue to envisage fear in our national sovereignty
through the use of boat people. Just recently the Sunday Night show, a show
that I’m sure most would be familiar with reported a story on people arriving
by boat from Sri Lanka. They represented these people as ‘scandalous criminals’
(Sunday Night 2012) and questioned their stories of living brutal and fearful
lives. According to the Refugee Council however, boat people are not illegal
immigrants but are practicing their right to ‘enter a country for the purpose
of seeking asylum’. (Refugee Council 2010) The media and the government forgot
to mention that in their recent releases and before researching this issue further
I was not aware of this right!
I put this to my readers: What are the real concerns that
the media has forgotten to put across to its listeners? As Andy Lamey explains
and I couldn’t agree more, ‘regardless of the perceived threats to national
security or to the social fabric, regardless of international or domestic legal
requirements, and regardless of the costs involved’, (Lamey 2012, p.2)
Australian Parliament should discover the real answer to the boat “problem”. ‘Two
words, media and globalisation seem to be repeated over and over again. The two
go together like a horse and carriage’. (Rantanen 2005, p.1) In this instance
the physical movement of boat people to our shores as a result of globalisation
and the government’s response through the use of the mediatised world also go
hand in hand. ‘Let us assume, for a moment, that there was no sense of panic
about “waves” of “illegal” arrivals and no federal election around the corner’.
(Lamey 2012, p.2) What would the government then do to get our support? The
continuous amount of propaganda that is plastered around our cities, on our TV
screens and screamed through our radios would inevitably be useless and the
media would thus not control the outcome of the election and the response to
the boat people arriving on our shores. We would have time to think about why
these people are coming into our country, rather than placing an inevitable
fear that they would overrun our nation and destroy our identity. Again in the
words of Lamey, ‘Australia could indeed do much better than to pursue once
again a path that prioritises national security concerns and panders to the
fears of those who expect to be swamped by a wave of dark skinned
non-Christians without appropriate visas’. (Lamey 2012, p.4)
Under all the political squabbling, you can see the real
effect that globalisation has on the movement of vulnerable people escaping the
devastation in their own country. It is worthy to note that the political
debate is centred only on boat people and not the large amount of individuals
that come in via aeroplane, illegal or legal. These people still inhabit our
land just like the boat people are wishing to do. Why doesn’t the Prime
Minister explain the protection of our national sovereignty then? The centre
around boat people is a political struggle for power. Globalisation has created
this movement and boat people are a perfect example that globalisation cannot
have a fixed meaning because inevitably some people win and some people lose
from its construction. In this context constant media coverage has allowed
politicians to exhaust this method by promoting their policies. Without the
media coverage policies would be essentially useless in the power struggle
without the plastering and preaching that politicians do so repetitively.
References:
Lamey, A 2012, Reconciling
rights and sovereignty, Inside Story, 26 September 2012, http://inside.org.au/reconciling-rights-and-sovereignty/print/
.
McKay, F, Thomas, S, Blood, R 2011, ‘Any one of these boat
people could be a terrorist for all we know!’, Journalism, vol. 12, no.5.
Media Spy 2012, FIVEaa’s
Francis off air after ‘boat people’ tirade, Media Spy, retrieved 28
September 2012, http://www.mediaspy.org/2012/06/09/fiveaas-francis-off-air-after-boat-people-tirade/ .
Nederveen Pieterse, J 2004, ‘Globalisation: consensus and
controversies’, Globalisation and
culture: global melange, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham, Md.
Image:
Progressiveslol, 2012, Get your tin foil hats on. We are going to conspiracy town,
OzPolitic, retrieved 28 September 2012, http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1341438407/36.
Rantenen, T. (2005) The
Media and Globalisation, Sage, London.
Refugee Council of Australia 2010, ‘Myths and facts about
refugees and asylum seekers’, retrieved 28 September 2012, http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/docs/news&events/rw/2010/4%20.-%20Myths%20and%20facts%20about%20refugees%20and%20asylum%20seekers%202010.pdf.
Sunday Night 2012,
‘The asylum seeker journey by boat’, Channel
seven, August 19, retrieved 28 September 2012, http://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/#fop.
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