The federal government’s plan to pay $4m to make a telemovie to deter asylum seekers from coming to Australia by boat is an abuse of public funds, the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says.
On Thursday Lateline reported that a local production company, Put it Out There Pictures, had been contracted by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service to make a telemovie to be broadcast in countries from which asylum seekers commonly seek refuge, including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“With the brutal conflicts in Syria and Iraq the only message we are sending refugee families caught up in the violence is, ‘Bugger off, Australia does not care about your suffering,’ ” Hanson-Young said.
“This will do nothing to help improve Australia’s standing in the international community. We should be doing more to help address the refugee crisis by offering safe avenues to Australia, not turning our backs on those in need telling people we don’t care what happens to them.”
Austender records show the contract began on 3 March 2015. In an unusual move, the contract is described as being confidential for public interest reasons. Only 1% of customs contracts have contained this confidentiality provision since 2012.
A spokesman from the immigration department said: “Television soap operas and telemovies are proven media to reach the target audience when seeking to deliver complex messages.”
