11 Comments

This show must surely be the most odious currently on broadcast TV. This piece nails why. One additional point - the invasion of privacy is profound and selective. The idea that vulnerable individuals selected for filming give informed consent is risible.

A disgrace in every respect.

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Agreed. Informed, agencied consent does not exist under these conditions.

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I hate this show so much. In a crowded field of othering, it is one of the worst offenders. THANK YOU Jacinta for writing about it. I have been waiting for someone to address this form of entertainment which exploits as much as it is possible to exploit, the complete helplessness of people at border control. I am white and privileged but recently experienced a horrific body search at Houston performed in public (because fuck knows what they would have done in private) that went far beyond what they tell you is going to happen. The shock on the faces of witnesses as border security delved into my underwear told me I was not overreacting. Christ knows what they might have done had I not known or understood English or was not white.

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You're so ridiculous for this and quite unfair to the border security personnel, painting them as "racist" and "white Karens" for doing their job and keeping the country safe.

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This article perfectly articulates why I hate Border Security

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great article. the barely concealed racism and othering of Border Security highlights so much of the ordinary ugliness of Australan culture

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To be clear the line ‘Australia’s model of penalising asylum seekers..’ suggests *all* asylum seekers arriving in Australia experience the (absolutely horrible) process of those who arrive outside of the official intake. More than 20,000 refugees and asylum seekers are part of Australia’s 2023-24 humanitarian intake and they receive wrap around support in the community. Not something the far right loves.

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So well said

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You get the exact government you voted for...

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You are not Australian and therefore have no idea how serious Biosecurity is here or what you are talking about. Agriculture is one of our largest industries. Recent cases of FMD and avian flu have resulted in the deaths of 1000s of livestock. Both of these diseases came in from overseas. One of the main problems is not always the food and other potentially contaminated materials - wood, fur, feathers, seeds etc - but their *failure to declare* that they are carrying food etc. They have lied on their incoming passenger card. Not a great start.

Plenty of white people are detained and questioned, about drugs usually, but also foodstuffs. We can't afford to be sentimental with people's home made food. Ignorance is no excuse. We cannot risk it.

They are not profiled - usually one of the sniffer dogs picks it up. Unless you're suggesting dogs are racist? Not everything is racist. Hurt feelings are a small price to pay to keep our country safe.

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All passengers are given declaration forms in their native language. The fines are not for bring food in, it's for failure to declare. Every person who gets taken aside for food in this show has not declared. They are lying about not having food that can spread disease and destroy the Australian ecosystem to circumvent the law. Get fucking real it's not a sob story about being denied your comfort food because white people are evil.

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