Spitting Into the Wind

Refugee advocates and health groups accused Prime Minister John Howard of discrimination today after he suggested banning HIV-positive migrants from entering the country.
Howard, whose government has introduced stringent immigration restrictions since winning power, said he would consider legislative changes to stop HIV-positive migrants from settling in Australia.

"My initial reaction is no (they should not be allowed in)," Howard told commercial radio yesterday.

Immigration lobbyists are up in arms about the comments, but I think I have to agree with him. Our health care system is already stretched to the limit and certainly these people would need plenty of medical care, and probably without the benefit of being in a health care fund. Waiting times for operations for Medicare reliant patients are already stretched to beyond a year for elective surgery (and in most cases elective does not equate to non-urgent).

I'm not often in agreement with Pauline Hanson's political views, but this time she has a point.

"We're bringing in people from South Africa at the moment, there's a huge amount coming into Australia, who have diseases, they've got AIDS," Hanson said at the time. "They are of no benefit to this country whatsoever, they'll never be able to work."

NineMSN asked in a poll today, "Should HIV-positive migrants be allowed into Australia?" The results:

• Yes - 12566
• No - 61751