Brisbane: exhausted by influx of African refugees

5 October , 2007, the World Today, ABC:

... it's the Queensland Liberal MP Gary Hardgrave who has emerged as the Minister's [Kevin Andrews] strongest supporter. Mr Hardgrave is the member for Moreton, an area in Brisbane where most of the state's 6,000 Sudanese residents live.

He's also the former minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. In a morning newspaper report, Mr Hardgrave is quoted as saying "his community is exhausted by the influx of African refugees", and needed a break.

He also reportedly said he doesn't think it's a bad thing to give his constituents time to breathe. And again, Prime Minister John Howard is standing by his man.

JOHN HOWARD: Well, Gary Hardgrave is in the best position to talk about the attitude of his electorate. I don't live in Moreton. Gary represents it very, very well and he has been a great member.

Community rejects Sudanese crime claims, Courier Mail:

MOOROOKA residents and business owners say the only "crimes" local Sudanese refugees commit are loitering and being loud in public.

The area's federal Liberal MP Gary Hardgrave said this week the local community was "exhausted" by the intake of African refugees ...

But police say the African community crime rate is not disproportionate to the rest of the population.

All the business owners and residents who spoke with The Courier-Mail yesterday agreed the migrants posed no problems ...

"He (Mr Hardgrave) was a big advocate for North African migration from 2001 to 2004 but since people (voters) said they won't vote for him if he keeps bringing them here, he has changed his mind," Mr Zingifuaboro said.

A number of shop owners near a supposed Beaudesert Rd hotspot claimed the Sudanese often gathered in numbers at public places but did not engage in anti-social behaviour.

Presuming these views, that Moreton has no black crime, the voters yet say they are exhausted. So simply living in a multiracial town is exhausting. And that is true. All things foreign hit the subconscious with unease and shock. You feel unease just living there. That, alone, is enough reason to stop black refugee intake.

I repeat, this is not hatred of foreigners or races, they are just making the most of their opportunity. It is the unease caused by the macro-level sea of foreign faces that one is affronted with in a multiracial town. It is hatred of the policies and politicians that mix incompatible races/cultures and tell us to celebrate it.