The Race Issue in Australia’s 2001 Election: A Creation of Politicians or the Press?

Abstract

In late August 2001, the routine journey across the Indian Ocean of a Norwegian freighter, the Tampa, would become a voyage from hell, with the Tampa itself transformed into a floating monument to inhumanity, the focus of an international political dispute, and a bitter symbol in Australia’s 2001 national election. The story of the Tampa is a modern morality tale: it documents the tragedy of refugee policy and global migrations – the conflict between asylum-seekers desperate to find a better life and the reluctance of citizenry of the rich stable democracies to embrace them. It also contains a powerful lesson for the press – and a warning of challenges to come.