Image via Flickr user IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation
So why did it take us so long to act?
For the Abbott government, the roadblocks were many, and self-made. And while the delay may seem trivial in light of the result, but it depicts a government determined to avoid the unavoidable.
The government went to the election with the phrase "stop the boats", lead with the phrase "stop the boats", and even answers unrelated questions about the economy with the phrase "stop the boats". The refusal to settle refugees has been, by the Prime Minister's admission, the cornerstone of this government.
With thousands of refugees in offshore detention, it would be seen as hypocritical to adopt a completely opposite policy for this current crisis. When that exact thing happened the ABC's Leigh Sales quizzed the PM on the double standard:
"We have Syrian refugees in our own detention centre on Manus Island," she said. "Why do those people not deserve a chance at refuge in Australia?"
The government has spent a considerable amount of effort convincing Australians that the act of seeking asylum is itself illegal.
"Well, we don't want to reward people smugglers," answered the PM, then sought to clarify that by adding: "And we don't want to reward people smuggling."
Abbott's answer was muddled, and highlighted a nebulous distinction: Syrians languish on Manus, punished for choosing a mode of transportation not favoured by Australia because the government has spent a considerable amount of effort convincing Australians that the act of seeking asylum is itself illegal.
Furthermore, anyone who comes to Australia on a boat is jumping a queue. The very existence of a queue is itself a myth, but it's now so deeply ingrained in the conversation that refugees are now seen by a large swathe of Australians as pushing ahead in line.
Implicit (and often explicit) in this ongoing campaign against asylum seekers has been, what can only be called, a strong sense of racism. To deny this is to ignore that, even in these recent and exceptional circumstances, Liberal politicians urged Tony Abbott that any refugee settlement include "no more Muslim men".
The plight of Middle Eastern Christians very quickly became a talking point. Senate Leader Eric Abetz suggested that a refugee intake should prioritise Christians, adding "Christians are the most persecuted group in the world". That's a common refrain, and Christians are certainly persecuted across many parts of the world including the Middle East, it's almost certainly not true.
One statement threatened to turn a humanitarian response into something akin to the White Australia policy.
With war and violence indiscriminately affecting Syrians regardless of religion, this one statement threatened to turn a humanitarian response into something akin to the White Australia policy. Even if such a distinction is not practically applied – and the wording of "persecuted minorities" in Abbott's ultimate announcement suggests it will be – the damage is surely done. A Muslim community already marginalised by many of their fellow citizens, by the press, by their own government, can only be pushed further into isolation with every statement that tells them they are considered lesser.
This was one of the many problems Abbott was considering this week when the pressure grew and he continued to stall. But then what had appeared on news channels to be an invading force—Arabs rushing into Europe, literally running past security officers—took on a tragic face when the photograph of Aylan Kurdi went around the world. Abbott's initial and extraordinary response to that image was, "stop the boats", immediately displaying less variety in his answers than a standard store-bought magic 8-ball.
But Abbott would have had an inkling this image would have power. It's why the press have been forbidden from going anywhere near our off-shore detention centres, lest a similar empathy-inducing image draw the public attention.
Related: Calling Bullshit on the Anti-Refugee Memes Flooding the Internet
And so he gave in, announcing that we would indeed accept Syrian asylum seekers, although initially at the expense of others. He would not increase the net total of refugees, but would simply move the numbers around a bit.
This announcement was condemned, and after days of insisting he would not increase the grand total he found himself doing just that. On Wednesday, Abbott announced Australia would permanently resettle 12,000 refugees in Australia, on top of our current intake.
This announcement came paired with another: Australia would begin a campaign of bombing strikes in Syria. We were assured the USA asked us to contribute—it wasn't mentioned Abbott had reportedly asked the USA to ask Australia in the first place.
The government has been eager to engage in a military action against ISIS in Syria, but such action couldn't be be announced in isolation during a week where Abbott has been pilloried for an insubstantial response. The strikes simply could not be announced until an increase to our refugee intake was first announced, and there was not a moment of pause between them: both announcements took place at the same press conference.
The delay of a few days, a few weeks, may not seem like a significant factor given the ultimate result, but it depicts with alarming clarity a government that is deeply unwilling to open its arms to those fleeing their war-torn homes. Those arms had to be crowbarred open, forced with great effort into a welcoming gesture.
Tony Abbott eventually did the right thing, but did so with a profound reluctance that will not soon be forgotten.
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