Blockheaded bureaucracy
November 1st 2008 21:01
There is plenty that is fundamentally right with Australia's immigration policy, with its commitment to multicultural awareness and acceptance, and there is no doubt plenty to applaud in the efforts of the bureaucrats who administer that policy. Most days, it's smooth sailing.
This is bureaucracy, however, and a collision between common sense and the quagmire of committee-inspired regulations which form the framework within which every bureaucrat struggles to breathe, let alone operate, is never far away.
And so we have the news which broke Friday regarding Dr Bernhard Moeller, a German doctor living in Australia with his family and working at a hospital in Horsham, Victoria. According to a report in Melbourne's The Age, Dr Moeller is a particularly skilled physician who has the respect and admiration of the community he cares for. According to the report, Dr Moeller's application for permanent residency in this country has been rejected by the Immigration Department because he has a son, Lukas, 13, who has Down syndrome.
Bernhard Moeller came to Australia with his wife Isabella and second son Felix because Australia offered better mainsteam education opportunities for Down syndrome children than Germany. Before they could start that mainstream education, however, their application for a permanent visa has been rejected by the immigration authorities, who defended their decision by saying the health care system would not be sustainable if people with health conditions were not excluded.
Are they saying they can't do their job properly because the Health Department can't do its job properly?
The only light in this murky story is the inference that the Education Department is doing its job. Pity Lukas Moeller won't see any benefits from that.
This is bureaucracy, however, and a collision between common sense and the quagmire of committee-inspired regulations which form the framework within which every bureaucrat struggles to breathe, let alone operate, is never far away.
And so we have the news which broke Friday regarding Dr Bernhard Moeller, a German doctor living in Australia with his family and working at a hospital in Horsham, Victoria. According to a report in Melbourne's The Age, Dr Moeller is a particularly skilled physician who has the respect and admiration of the community he cares for. According to the report, Dr Moeller's application for permanent residency in this country has been rejected by the Immigration Department because he has a son, Lukas, 13, who has Down syndrome.
Bernhard Moeller came to Australia with his wife Isabella and second son Felix because Australia offered better mainsteam education opportunities for Down syndrome children than Germany. Before they could start that mainstream education, however, their application for a permanent visa has been rejected by the immigration authorities, who defended their decision by saying the health care system would not be sustainable if people with health conditions were not excluded.
Are they saying they can't do their job properly because the Health Department can't do its job properly?
The only light in this murky story is the inference that the Education Department is doing its job. Pity Lukas Moeller won't see any benefits from that.
The Age
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