Turning boats away cruel, says Georgiou

Petro Georgiou has denounced Tony Abbott’s plan to turn back asylum-seeker boats as cruel and undeserving of support, in his valedictory speech last Tuesday.
Mr Georgiou, born in Kerkyra, was elected in 1994 as the Member for Kooyong and is regarded as a true liberal and an architect of multicultural policies.
In his speech he highlighted how he sat on the floor of the House of Representatives in 1975, as an adviser to Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
He reflected on how the “supply crisis did not harm Australian democracy” adding that, “[it] attests to the resilience of our political system.
“The fact that Gough [Whitlam] and Malcolm [Fraser] reconciled years ago is a tribute to their stature as national leaders.” Mr Georgiou said.
The veteran MP accused both major parties of regressing to a punitive approach, making vulnerable people political footballs.

After a career as a Liberal Party administrator and ministerial adviser particularly in service of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, Mr Georgiou spent much of the
Howard era at the centre of a small group of liberals whose views on border protection, civil liberties and social justice were mostly in stark contrast with the majority of his party.
Mr Georgiou is regarded as one of the chief architects of multiculturalism, particularly in the establishment of SBS Television.

He reflected on the emergence of the “pernicious influence of Hansonism” which “stirred racial prejudice” and how multiculturalism, “one of Australia’s unique accomplishments was denigrated” while “asylum seekers were subjected to increasingly harsh measures.”
His preparedness to stand on principle may have retarded his career path under Howard’s leadership, but won him widespread respect among Liberal and Labor supporters.
“On some issues, however, I was unable to support the position of the party majority. A Liberal Member of Parliament has the right to do this.”

Mr Georgiou also warned both sides of the house of a new “dark chapter.”
He said while Howard’s economic legacy is self-evident, the era’s denigration of multiculturalism and its tough approach to asylum-seekers had caused him “grave concern.”
Mr Georgiou said he thought changes to asylum-seeker policy and the later election of the Labor Government had closed a “dark chapter” in the nation’s history.
But, “that chapter has been reopened. Regression has become the order of the day. With an increase in boat arrivals, asylum-seekers are being subjected to increasingly virulent attacks.”
Mr Georgiou attacked the Opposition Leader’s plan to turn back asylum-seeker boats and process asylum-seekers in unnamed third countries.

He was critical of Labor for no longer processing asylum claims from Afghans and Sri Lankans and reopening the Curtin Detention centre.
Mr Georgiou went on to thank his mother Anastasia and late father Constandino Georgiou “for their enormous affection and commitment to their children despite the pressures and anxieties of migration.”
He thanked his children Constandino and Alexia, who he says “felt the impact of my involvement in politics” from a young age, calling them “admirable young people.”
At the end of Mr. Georgiou’s valedictory speech there was effusive applause from both sides of the House as well as the gallery.
(source: neos kosmos)