Ear-bashing for Aust govt

THE Australian government’s stringent immigration and visa application processing policies have been described by callers on a radio talk-back show as racist.
Callers to the FM 100 radio talk-back show yes­terday expressed frus­tration and anger over the strict policies which have denied some Papua New Guineans from travelling to Australia for holidays, study or to visit friends.
A caller claimed that Papua New Guineans had sometimes been treated as primitive and backward and, thus, had go
through a stringent screen­­ing process as if they were potential terrorists or asylum seekers.
One caller said it was frustrating when the Im­mi­gration and Visa department officials demanded financial statements, birth certificates and even requested DNA tests to be done to identify the children of those travelling.
The case of the Austra­lian immigration authorities removing the sandals of former prime minister Sir Michael Somare, the founding father and the longest serving MP in the Commonwealth nation, during a visit there, was also brought up during the show.
No comments could be
obtained from the Austra­lian High Commission.
But its website states that:
l    Australia has a universal visa system – all visitors and permanent migrants to Australia must apply for a visa or a visa equivalent, with conditions appropriate to their stay;
l    Our visa application system is a risk-based system. The traveller’s risk profile, reason for travel and individual characteristics are all ta­ken into account, and will determine what kind of visa application process is undertaken.
l    As part of the visa application process, all applicants are checked against the Movement Alert List (MAL), a watch list contributed to by security and law enforcement agencies as well as other Commonwealth agencies. MAL continues to check clients throughout other border security layers.
After a visa is granted, a traveller passes through a number of other checking processes, many unknown to the traveller, culminating in their final check at the Australian border.
Australia’s visa system provides a screening mechanism for preventing the entry of people who are identified as po­sing a security, criminal or health risk and facilitating the travel of ge­nuine travellers.