If Bali can have a robust immigration policy, why can’t Australia?
Having scoured the internet following the announcement, the digital world does not appear to be littered with accusations of racism or cruelty. No one is accusing the Indonesian Department of Immigration of abusing human rights or violating United Nations conventions. They aren’t even prepared to say Indonesia is a ‘bit mean’.
Why the double standard?
As we have discovered over the last few years, Australia struggles to deport foreign criminals convicted of serious crimes. It certainly does not have the strength to nudge a few straggling students and tourists back onto a plane. There always seems to be some taxpayer-funded human rights lawyer lurking about nearby, acting against the interests of border security.
Bali, however, isn’t mucking around with ‘Operation Jagratara’.
In addition to deporting hundreds of people without pomp or ceremony, Australian tourists have been warned this week that there’s a 20-year extension on their holiday to be served in a jail cell if they overstay a visa. The penalty could be as severe as ‘life’ depending on the circumstance and collection of other crimes committed.
The message is clear: don’t cause trouble in Bali.
This fresh crackdown comes after concerns were raised that the pre-investment visa system, which allows a longer stay, was being exploited by those who failed the strict rules required for other visa categories. Individuals had been caught using it as a backdoor to residency or a means to conduct dodgy business.
Indonesia is a nation trying to walk the line between foreign investment and foreign corruption, with several illegal operations already broken up under the campaign.
This ‘zero-tolerance approach’ to secure the nation’s borders has been shrugged off by the open-border proponents in Australia.
This is where identity politics struggles.
Instead of a simple idea – such as border security – being applied equally across cultures, it exists on a sliding scale of eligibility based upon inherited historical colonial guilt.
Dissolving a nation’s borders is no different than dissolving the integrity of that nation. Europe and America are both at the pointy end of this ruinous mindset.
When it comes to Bali, one of the reasons cited for the visa crackdown is the high level of crime among visa over-stayers, a situation that Australia has in common with Bali. For their regime, it is about security and safety.
‘Immigration surveillance is expected to create a safe situation for the Indonesian people,’ said Silmy Karim, the Directorate General of Immigration. ‘We want to ensure that Indonesia is a comfortable destination for tourists and foreign investors who obey the rules.’
Australia wouldn’t mind a bit of that too, given what citizens have been forced to watch unfold on the streets of major cities every other weekend. Our politicians don’t even seem to know if they can deport visa holders who wave terrorist flags let alone fail to follow cultural norms, as directed by Indonesia.
‘Indonesia is a country that upholds the tourism sector, but comfort must be accompanied by order. We want foreigners who come to Indonesia to understand and follow the rules and norms that apply in this country. We also try to ensure that those who come are qualified travellers through the strengthening of intelligence cooperation and information exchange with other countries.’
The last thing the Australian government did was abuse the tourist visa system to bring in Palestinian refugees of questionable character.
In addition, there are a suspected 70,000 people living in Australia on overstayed visas who should be deported. That’s 70,000 people putting pressure on infrastructure to the detriment of citizens.
What would the commentary look like online if Australia were to take a leaf out of Bali’s immigration book?
