Government To Spend $4 Million On ‘Stop The Boats’ Telemovie

The Federal government is developing even more strategies and spending even more money on bringing Abbott’s vehement 2013 election staple to life – stopping the boats. On ABC’s Lateline yesterday evening, the government’s plan to spend $4 million creating an anti-asylum seeker telemovie, intended to be broadcast in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, was revealed.

ABC reports that the project was commissioned by Customs, and will be produced by a Sydney-based production company. According to the ABC, the project will be fictionalised, and may feature Australian Navy members or asylum seekers drowning at sea. 
The project aims to act as a deterrent for asylum seekers considering to enter Australia by boat and through people smugglers. A spokesperson told Lateline: “Television soap operas and telemovies are proven media to reach the target audience when seeking to deliver complex messages.”  
Producer from Put It Out There Productions, who will be realising the project, Trudi-Ann Tierney, praised the project’s ambition to save lives; Refugee Council of Australia President criticised the spending on the project, saying, “A TV show isn’t going to stop people who are running from the Taliban.”
The news comes off Tony Abbott claiming yesterday that the Queensland government was the only body strong enough to “stop the boats” and that any other government “would succumb to humans rights lawyers.” 
Today’s report also follows a local street art project which has gained traction this week, where posters by artist and activist Peter Drew have popped up across capital cities. 
Real Australians Say Welcome. 
via ABC.
Lead image by Scott Fisher via Getty.

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