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Labor/a guy called George Wright emailed me a few days ago, asking for donations to help win the 'neck and neck' polling race. He asked me to foward the email on to three friends. This was my mostly-coherent reply. I'm sending it to more than three friends.
Dear George,
I read the first email you (or your staff, whichever) sent with interest and pleasure. I was excited by even the possibility of a Labor win, given how bleak things had looked previously. I considered donating. I had $50 in my bank account earmarked 'political donation'. It was going to go towards Labor, and the sudden wild hope of that win.
Then the news of the PNG 'solution' broke, and I was horrified and disbelieving. Surely we weren't producing an asylum seeker policy that would leave *Abbott* impressed? And then the full page advertisements appeared: giant 'f*ck off, we're full', like the back of some racist bogan's ute, advertisements produced by *my government*, representing *my country* to the world.
And then this evening I saw the photo put out by DIAC, of the terrified woman learning what was going to happen to her, what my government was going to do to her, and to thousands of people. And I realised, vicerally, that *she could be me*, that she could be a friend of mine, any one of my loved ones. That if she was allowed to settle in Australia, that she could be my friend. And that we, *my country, my party* are terrorising her *for votes*.
"We get to choose the Australia we want to live in," you say.
I don't. I don't get to choose a Prime Minister who will treat her compassionately and who will care for her as she needs. Both Rudd and Abbott will treat her equally brutally. This is a nauseating realisation for me.
I do get to choose where I send my money, and my support. Accordingly, my donation money is going to the Greens. I will speak against this Labor government whenever I can, and I will speak for the Greens wherever I can.
This Australia you are speaking for is not an Australia I want to live in.
Dear George,
I read the first email you (or your staff, whichever) sent with interest and pleasure. I was excited by even the possibility of a Labor win, given how bleak things had looked previously. I considered donating. I had $50 in my bank account earmarked 'political donation'. It was going to go towards Labor, and the sudden wild hope of that win.
Then the news of the PNG 'solution' broke, and I was horrified and disbelieving. Surely we weren't producing an asylum seeker policy that would leave *Abbott* impressed? And then the full page advertisements appeared: giant 'f*ck off, we're full', like the back of some racist bogan's ute, advertisements produced by *my government*, representing *my country* to the world.
And then this evening I saw the photo put out by DIAC, of the terrified woman learning what was going to happen to her, what my government was going to do to her, and to thousands of people. And I realised, vicerally, that *she could be me*, that she could be a friend of mine, any one of my loved ones. That if she was allowed to settle in Australia, that she could be my friend. And that we, *my country, my party* are terrorising her *for votes*.
"We get to choose the Australia we want to live in," you say.
I don't. I don't get to choose a Prime Minister who will treat her compassionately and who will care for her as she needs. Both Rudd and Abbott will treat her equally brutally. This is a nauseating realisation for me.
I do get to choose where I send my money, and my support. Accordingly, my donation money is going to the Greens. I will speak against this Labor government whenever I can, and I will speak for the Greens wherever I can.
This Australia you are speaking for is not an Australia I want to live in.
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