Australiam Prime Minister says "Dont allow people with HIV to visit or come into Australia" What do u think?

Question

Making this mornings headlines was the Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

He is saying that he thinks we should not allow people with HIV to enter australia.

When I first heard this I thought what the ****, this is stupid.

But if I had to, I could debate the issue on either side. I can certainly see the reasons why this is wrong but I can also see why the PM has said this.

What do you reckon?

Wow, I thought most of you would be against it but you seem to be for it!

I personally think that it wouldnt hurt anyone, but just for arguements sake:

What if we condemed people with Hep C or if we kicked out a group of people who go sick all the time, because they were contagious.

If this is allowed, where will it end?

Not saying I dont think its a good idea, just saying!

Answer 1

What's wrong with that?

I don't see any problem with his statement. People with HIV or AIDS need to get their lives in order and figure out what they can do to help others until their time comes, not go on jaunts to Australia, in my opinion.

And Australia doesn't need tourists so badly that it should have to accommodate HIV/AIDS patients. What if they get sick there, and spread AIDS or HIV to hospital personnel who aren't as guarded as those in the home countries of these people?

Since Australia has a low incidence of these diseases, they have every right to keep it that way.

Answer 2

Like you I was a little stunned, but on thinking about it I really can not make up my mind. This is such an emotional issue.

HIV is controllable with medication. But should we pay for the long term medical costs, when our health system is in such disarray.

There are already guidelines in place for people suffering medical conditions one example that comes to mind TB, so why has HIV been isolated.

I am confused I am beginning to think that maybe the topic creates discussion while the government have other things going on. I am not saying that this is not an honest topic but did I hear the American's have made a similar statement.

Answer 3

Not trying to sound like a hard-ass, but I don't think it's a bad idea.

Certainly, a clean bill of health is a requirement to attain permanent residency or citizenship in a number of countries.

Most countries I know of also require couples to take blood tests before they'll issue them with a marriage license, and I doubt it has much to do with incest.

If there is a possibility that a foreign HIV carrier might infect an Australian national, then isn't Howard actually protecting his nationals?

The alternative would be to monitor the every movement of foreign visitors, making sure they don't share bodily fluids with any of the locals, which would be even more draconian (not to mention financially impossible).

Also, what if an HIV-infected person gets really sick while in Australia? The Australian government would have a humanitarian obligation to treat them - at the Australian taxpayer's expense - with expensive retroviral drugs. The hospitalization of AIDS patients costs a lot more than for people who don't have the virus. They have to have private facilities, more equipment and dedicated staff, and those staff have to take extra precautions to protect themselves against contracting the virus.

We're not talking about discrimination against a person because of his or her nationality, gender, race, religion or sexual preference - we are talking about people with communicable, fatal diseases. If anyone screams discrimination, I would ask how they would feel if their government let in people infected with the Ebola virus or Avian flu.

Post-script: Hepatitis C, while not curable, is not fatal. Only 1% of people with the virus die. Until we find a cure for HIV-AIDS, it is a pretty much guaranteed death sentence. Sure, we can keep HIV-infected people well for longer with treatment, but they will die before their time. What other contagious diseases are you thinking of? TB? Malaria? Typhoid fever? They are curable.

Answer 4

What's wrong with it??? Why SHOULD a modern industrialized nation like Australia allow people infected with a deadly disease which is incredibly expensive to treat enter the country and become a drain on the health care system?

EDIT: The PM is not advocating throwing out any Australian citizens. He's saying that new arrivals should not be infected. There's a HUGE difference.

Answer 5

I agree , not just for Australia , but the whole world. To stop the immigration especially from high Aids infected countries it would help contain the disease.
I would go a step further and have someone that is infected with AIDS tattooed so if they tried infecting a new partner the potential victim would have a chance to make an informed decision not to take the risk.
Perhaps we should create an island country for Aids only people then they would feel equal and accepted and they could not spread the disease outside .

Answer 6

Smart. What an idea, keep sick, infected people away. Why should nations take on other people's problems? Gov'ts should act in the best interest of THEIR people. I don't see how inviting in sick people is going to help Australians.

Socialist world citizens should give of themselves, goto the source and do what they wish, not invite people to ruin the rest of the world.

Answer 7

They have a lot of strict rules regarding people coming in. They have for a long time. They are very protective and quite bold about it

Love his stance on Islamic groups.

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Answer 8

That's right and then you all wonder why America wants tighter control over our borders. Every country in the World should protect their own country and it's people. It is not wrong. Our Leaders need to protect the countries they are leading. No it is not stupid, but very protective.

Answer 9

He didn't say not to visit. He said there should be restrictions on immigrants with HIV. His point is they make the cost of Australian's health care system to increase. I think it is wrong and unethical but I understand his point.

Answer 10

I agree with the PM. That is how HIV is spread. The US also will not let HIV people in & will not let them out of the US. It is a dangerious diease that is spred very easy.