There's lots of things wrong with this, but probably one of the most obvious ones is the anti-gay laws that PNG has. If you arrive by boat, and are gay, fleeing persecution because of being gay, how can the Australian gov then send you to a country that persecutes gays?
Papua New Guinea jails people for homosexual acts for up to 14 years and LGBT and intersex rights group Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) condemned Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for the new policy announcement.
‘This is a humanitarian disaster,’ CAAH co-convener Cat Rose said.
‘Australia has resettled a number of gay refugees who have arrived on our shores, recognizing the reality of danger that homophobic persecution has put them in their home country.’
‘It was bad enough when they were locked up, interrogated and challenged about their sexuality by our government. But now they are going to have to plead their case as refugees in a country that can imprison them for the reason they give for fleeing. The Australian government has been more than happy to prop up a reactionary and homophobic government as it continues to act as PNG's colonial overlord, it should take full blame for the situation there.
‘Lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex people report difficulty finding employment and facing societal stigma in PNG, where illegality forces homosexual life underground. To make matters worse PNG has a high prevalence of AIDS, but people live in fear of seeking testing due to the illegal status of their sex lives.
'It is an absolute disgrace. Rudd's support for marriage equality will mean little if he banishes those of us unlucky enough to be born in countries that persecute us to this kind of life.’ - See more
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