PM slammed for HIV comments
John Howard’s own health and immigration ministers have distanced themselves from his on-radio comments that he supports a ban on HIV-positive people migrating to Australia.
A spokesperson for Kevin Andrews said the immigration minister would provide carefully considered advice to the prime minister, but the immigration portfolio had a non-discriminatory policy.
A broad range of the community have HIV and it’s not something we’re going to discriminate on by any stretch of the imagination, the spokesperson said.
After a number of checks and balances there’s a number of people who are let in that are skilled and healthy who also happen to be infected and manage their condition.
The spokesperson suggested the issue stemmed out of fear from one particular case in Melbourne.
That’s an extremely isolated case; the baby is not going out with the bath water. But if you’re going to come here you need to behave responsibly, the spokesperson said.
A lot of people who come here aren’t even educated on safe sex. Perhaps there’s a need for more entry counselling.
The West Australian has reported that Liberal MP Judi Moylan has outright opposed the suggestion.
It could cause a lot of problems if people were discriminated against on the basis of a health problem, she told reporters.
Howard was responding to comments by Pauline Hanson, which she repeated to Sydney Star Observer this week, calling for HIV-positive immigrants to be banned.
A spokesperson for Tony Abbott said the health minister was waiting on advice from his department before he would comment.
Labor has also remained silent on the issue, with the office of immigration spokesperson Tony Burke not returning calls this week.
Every online poll by the Australian media on the issue reported strong support for Howard’s comments.
However, the HIV sector and immigration experts expressed outrage over the suggestion of a ban and called on opposition leader Kevin Rudd to go on the record.
David Puls, a solicitor with the HIV/AIDS Legal Centre, was surprised by Howard’s lack of knowledge of the current system.
Immigration law already bars people with HIV from migration to Australia in the vast majority of cases, he said.
In other cases there already has to be humanitarian, economic or familial benefit reasons for the grant of a visa.
Don Baxter, executive director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, said applicants had to demonstrate they wouldn’t be a burden on the health system.
But those people accepted, chiefly spouses and partners of Australian citizens, can and do contribute enormously to Australia’s benefit.
Brent Allan, a successful residency applicant from Canada and now vice-president of NAPWA, called the process de-humanising.
Everyone with HIV gets rejected initially -“ that is what was so disingenuous about what Howard had to say -“ and then they have to apply for a health waiver, he said.
But Allan explained the system is set up to fail people with HIV on the health cost test as well.
Unfortunately they use an antiquated equation from prior to anti-retroviral treatment which places the lifetime cost to the healthcare system at around a quarter of a million dollars, he said.
Allan said that only after two rejection letters can humanitarian grounds be considered.
I really do think the cost of treating someone with chronic Type 1 diabetes and treating someone with HIV is comparable, but we don’t even ask someone if they’re diabetic, it’s more about the stigma of HIV, he said.
Howard’s comments have been further criticised around the world by HIV/AIDS and humanitarian bodies.
A candlelight vigil and community protest against a ban will take place at 6pm Friday 20 April in Hyde Park North, supported by Amnesty International and the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby.
Organisers from the National Union of Students said Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek and Senator Kerry Nettle will speak at the protest.
