Fear and Loathing: The Threat of Asylum Seekers and Terrorism

Abstract

This chapter will debunk the threat that asylum seekers represent a particular kind of threat to national security, and that harsh measures are required to discourage them from travelling to Australia in order to reduce the threat of terrorism. The truth is that Australia already has in place a robust set of laws to deal with any asylum seeker who might turn out to represent a threat to the community. It is also the case that Australia's legal and administrative actions against asylum seekers since 2001 are, at best, questionable with relation to our obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and other international laws. In short, the alleged threat to national security has been overstated and owes more to political imperatives than to a careful analysis of the facts - even though the latter is said to form the foundation of good intelligence work. At the same time, the 'tough on refugees' policies promulgated by both sides of the political spectrum have effectively denied and negated the humanitarian principles that underlie the Refugee Convention.