from Politicoz ….

The Gillard government is reportedly planning to excise the entire Australian continent from the Australian migration zone, for asylum seekers who arrive by boat.

This is not a joke, surreal as it may seem.

It is a symptom of the deranged state of asylum seeker politics that only months after the wailing and gnashing of teeth about asylum seekers on both sides of parliament, the government now wants to strip those who arrive in Australia of their rights under the UN Human Rights Convention. This is a descent to Howard-era levels of bureaucratic violence and verbal mendacity.

The Opposition has responded by proudly claiming that it was in fact Howard who first proposed this idea – though it has nevertheless not committed itself to supporting the measure.

To pile on the absurdity, this action would do nothing to relieve the pressures building in the asylum-processing system, as only a handful of boats actually ever reach the mainland.

The Gillard Government will today move to enact a plan aborted by John Howard six years ago that would strip rights from asylum seekers who reach the Australian mainland by boat…

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen intends changing the law to effectively excise the entire Australian continent from the migration zone for people arriving by boat.