21 December 2004

NZ No Place For Australian Rejects

New Zealand First associate immigration spokesperson Dail Jones is urging the Government to end the practice of accepting refugees and asylum seekers who are turned away by Australia.

This follows news of an application being lodged for asylum by a family who has not been able to prove they are genuine refugees to the Australian authorities despite lodging 20 legal applications disputing their case.

“These people have been given every legal recourse and have been granted legal aid throughout their time in Australia. I don’t see how the New Zealand authorities could view their case any differently,” said Mr Jones.

“As we found out with the Tampa refugees, taking a soft stance on these matters carries a high cost to the nation and we do not want to continue being seen as a dumping ground for Australian outcasts.

“It is time this Government took a stand and started putting the interests of New Zealand and New Zealanders first,” concluded Mr Jones.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>