Dear All,
I've only just picked up on this story but one of the first
first things that strikes me is a delicious irony in
that given that the father of the girl in question will have
severe burns necessitating prolonged and intensive medical
treatment it is not unlikely that the medical costs that
such treatment involves will cost the Australian taxpayer a
good deal more than any that might have been incurred from
admitting the young woman in the first place. It may well
prove that the Australian Immigration Service have
undertaken something of a false economy.
There's also the wider point about the freedom of disabled
people to move unhindered and this is something that i've
given some thought to in regard to my own situation. As a
disabled academic with a particular interest in Australia I
would jump at the chance to work there. However, an
able-bodied colleague of mine spent some time in Australia
and retold the story of the medical checks that she was
subject to prior to her being given clearance to work
there. I couldn't help thinking how I might fare in such
circumstances. It would seem, then, that in the global
economy where it is supposedly everyone's right to sell
their labour wherever and to whomever they choose this
right is not applicable to disabled people.
Peter Handley
School of Economic and Social Studies,
University of East Anglia,
Norwich
UK
On Fri, 6 Apr 2001 16:33:52 +1200 Patsy Wakefield
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Frank
>
> I read this disturbing story in our morning paper, and thought perhaps New
> Zealand was a little more compassionate. Not so, it is stated in our
> immigration information that people will only be considered if they are
>
> * are not likely to be a danger to public health; and
> * are not likely to be a burden on the health services; and
> * are fit for the purpose of entry.
>
> But who decides what is a burden versus benefit ? The same type of
> bureaucrat who decides whether a person with a disability should get "X"
> piece of equipment or be allowed to have a liveable income.
>
> While immigration is a complex issue, this man had been granted asylum, it
> would be reasonable to assume that his family would also be allowed in.
>
> Patsy Wakefield
> Masters Student
> Information Science Dept
> University of Otago
> Dunedin
> NEW ZEALAND
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
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