Anti-immigration UK politicians praise Australia’s “tough system” that bans people with HIV

Anti-immigration UK politicians praise Australia’s “tough system” that bans people with HIV

A PROMINENT British politician, who said the UK should follow Australia’s lead by banning people with HIV from migrating, has been criticised by a local health campaigner who says “progressive” British policies on migration should be adopted here.

In an interview last week with Newsweek Europe, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage (pictured above) said he wanted to limit the “quantity and quality” of migrants to the UK.

Asked to clarify what he meant by “quality”, Farage replied: “It’s simple. That Latvian convicted murderer shouldn’t have been allowed here. Yes and people who do not have HIV, to be frank.

“What are those words inscribed under the Statue of Liberty? ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses . . . ‘

“What you’re saying is: ‘Bring me your electricians, your merchant bankers and your guys without HIV’.”

Dr Rosemarie Gillespie, chief executive of UK HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, said the UKIP leader was ignorant and should be ashamed.

In bracketing those living with the condition with murderers, and suggesting that there is no place for them in his vision of Britain, Mr Farage has stooped to a new level of ignorance,” she said.

“It is to the UK’s credit that for more than three decades successive governments, no matter their political stamp, have refused to put in place border controls against people with HIV.”

Farage’s comments were made on the eve of a by-election in the English county of Essex which saw former Conservative Party politician Douglas Carswell become UKIP’s first MP.

Carswell, whose physicist father is credited with diagnosing the first HIV cases in Uganda, initially said in an interview with the Guardian that he agreed “with everything that Nigel has said”.

However, within days, Carswell had modified his position.

“No one is seriously suggesting we should screen people for HIV coming in,” he told the BBC.

“What I think Nigel rightly said is we need a system like in Australia, a tough system to control our borders but it’s got to be humane.”

While Australia doesn’t specifically ban people with HIV from migrating it does turn down applications if the estimated costs to Medicare are over a certain level.

It’s a policy which Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) chief executive Rob Lake said effectively “filters out” those with the condition.

“The UK has fairly progressive laws when it comes to unrestricted access to medications,” he said, adding it was important both for the health of the individual and to prevent transmission.

Australia’s policy on immigration should move towards that of the UK — not the other way — according to Lake.

“Currently it’s all focused on the on the cost of medications and not the benefit the individual brings with them,” he said.

He cited improvements to medications which meant most people with HIV were able to work.

The AFAO head also criticised UKIP for bringing people with HIV into the wider debate about immigration.

“It’s disappointing a UK political party would take this up and a shame to see HIV being used as a political football,” Lake said.

It’s not the first time UKIP has got itself into hot water over LGBTI issues. In June, one of the party’s representatives to the European Parliament said discredited gay ‘cure’ therapies should be offered for free by Britain’s health service.

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2 responses to “Anti-immigration UK politicians praise Australia’s “tough system” that bans people with HIV”

  1. I can not believe that Australia not only still bans gay marriage, but also bans HIV positive people migration access to Australia!

    Our country is such an joke to the point of embarrassment in 2014 with the cunt Tony Abbott in charge, that when I am ever visiting overseas I say I am a New Zealander – instead of Australian, because I am ashamed to be Australian (only because of both Labor’s and Liberal’s Government policies)!

    And then on top of that another two men on a train going on a racist rant to a security guard doing his job. The two men were saying and quoting “I am proud to be white” – just shows that Australia REFUSES to move forward with the rest of the western world!