Vol. 5 No. 7 September 1995 $5.00 Facing change Alan Nichols on the future of democracy in Burma Rowan Callick, James Griffin and Michael Zahara on twenty years of independence in Papua New Guinea Fred Chaney on leaving the WA Liberals Big books for Spring with Gerard Windsor, Margaret Coffey, Max Teichmann, Keith Campbell, Paul Coltins, lan Bell and Paul Tankard The Change In younger, idler days he used to wonder What had become of all that he had learned. Sane as the next man, he'd been prompt to forget Most of it out of hand. To polish and marshal Minutiae, like an idiot savant, Was never his gift, his calling. The craquelure Close to the door-jamb, the mirror-flash as a meat-van Hugged a roundabout, the solitaire Au bade of a sparrow trying out the day- They were dismissed to the nothing from which they came. It was the same with those other invaders, the books. Turning the pages as if unleaving a forest, He gave them away, apart from oddments and offcuts: The nickname of Albert the Great, Hobbes with his picture Of laughter as martial, Cleopatra calling for billiards. As he got older, his question displayed the answer Knotted within it: all that he'd ever learned, Favoured or exiled, was turning into fear- Not of the kind that insight can bring to heel, But the shear of the ice-wall meeting the unplumbed ocean. Peter Steele 2 EUREKA STREET • SEPTEMBER 1995 Volume 5 Number 7 September 1995 A magazine of public affairs, the arts and theology CoNTENTS 2 29 POETRY THE DEVIL'S ERA Th e Change, by Peter Steele. Twenty years after his death, Eam on De Valera is rem embered by Frank O'Shea. 4 COMMENT 30 BOOKS 7 Gerard Windsor takes issue with T erry VIEWPOINT Eagleton's Heathcliff and the Great Fred Chaney explains what made him Hunger: Studies in Irish Culture; Mar­ jum.p. Muriel Porter looks at two sides of garet Coffey reviews David Fitzpatrick's deliberations at the Anglican Synod (p8). Oceans of Consolation: Personal A ccounts of h ish Migration to Austral­ 9 ia, and Andrew Hassam 's Sailing to CAPITAL LETTER Australia: Shipboard Diaries by Nine­ teenth Century British Emigrants (p33}; 10 Max Teichmann look's at Eric LETTERS Hobsbawm 's A ge of Extrem es, The Shmt Twentieth Century, 1914-1991 12 (p34}; Ian Bell assesses The State We're FREE FOR ONE, NOT FOR ALL In, by Will Hutton (p36); Keith Camp­ Alan Nichols investigates the new state bell argues with Frank Tipler's Th e Get a lift of affairs in Burma. Physics of Immortality , Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection throughout Spting 15 of the Dead (p 38} ; Paul Collins reviews A FRAGILE INDEPENDENCE Bruce Kaye's A Church Without Walls. with the season's Rowan Callick, Jam es Griffin and Being Anglican in Australia (p42); Paul Michael Zahara survey the past and Tankard looks at the revival of the essay big books. future of independence in Papua N ew form in three new Australian collec­ See pp30-44 Guinea. tions (p43). 21 45 FOOTBRAWL THEATRE It's every which way for Rugby Leagu e, In Queensland, Geoffrey Milne reviews Cover: and other m arvels. Released Burmese democracy reports Mike Ticher; David N adel Miss Bosnia leader, Aung Sa ng Suu Kyi, and reviews two histories of the AFL (p23) . Sir Michael Somare, first Prime 47 Minister o[ Papua New Guinea. 24 FLASH IN THE PAN Graphic by Liz Dixon. Graphics ppl2, 13, 15-20 by LEUNIG DRAWS A CURLY ONE Reviews of the films: Vanya on 42nd Li z Di xon Moira Rayn er reads th e funeral oration for Street, Apollo 13, Mina Tannenbaum, Cartoons pp3, 5, 6, 10, 38-40, 42, politi cal correctness. Window to Paris, On Our Selection, 48 by Peter Fraser. Anne Fwnl< Rem embered and Burnt by 25 the Sun. ARCHIMEDES Eurelw Street magazin e 50 Jesui t Publications 26 WATCHING BRIEF PO Box 553 FED UP EIREANN Richmond VIC 3 12 1 Tel (03 )9427 73 11 Paul Ormond recalls the fraught history 51 Fax (03 )9428 4450 of the Irish famine. SPECIFIC LEVITY VOLUME 5 N UMBER 7 • EUREKA STREET 3 EUREKA StREEt C OMMENT A magazine of public affairs, the arts A NDREW HAMILTON SJ and theology Publisher Michael H. Kell y SJ Editor A different boat Morag Fraser Consulting editor Michael McGirr SJ N A <>Nccc o" tN )u", two stotie' •bout "'ylum Editorial assistant: Jon Greenaway 0 seekers made headlines. They sh owed the good and the bad Produ ction assistants: J. Ben Boonen CFC, faces of Australian attitudes to refugees. Paul Fyfe SJ, Juliette Hughes, The first story described how the D epartment of Immi­ Catriona Jackson, C hris Jenkins SJ, gration had freed from detention 18 East Timorese asylum Paul Ormonde, Tim Stoney seekers. The second story reported a speech by Alastair Nicholson of the Family Court, who trenchantly criticised Contributing editors the Australian policy of detaining the children of asylum Adelaide: Greg O'Kelly SJ seek ers. H e reportedly compared the remote detention Brisbane: Ian Howells SJ Perth: Dean Moore cen tres in Western Australia to concentration camps. Sydney: Ed mund Campion, Andrew Ri emer, The freeing of the East Timorese refl ected Australian Gerard Windsor policy towards refugees, the Department of Immigration and Europea n correspondent: Damien Simonis the Government in the most favourable light. After they had US correspondent: Thomas H. Stahel SJ arrived in Australia by boat, their representatives claimed they had been tortured, and asked that they be released from Editorial board detention because of the risk to their mental health. Peter L'Estrange SJ (chair), T he claims and request w ere investigated by the Margaret Coady, Margaret Coff ey, Department of Immigration, which judged that the welfare Valda M. Ward RSM, Trevor Hales, of the asylum seekers would be best served by their release Marie Joyce, Kevin McDonald, into the community while their claim for refugee status was Jane Kelly IBVM, being heard. Peter Steele SJ, Bill Uren SJ The decision to release the East Timorese was strongly Business manager: Sylvana Sca nnapicgo attacked by the Indon esian Government, because it seem ed Advertising representative: Tim Stoney to support the claim of torture. The Indonesians also argued that they sh ould not be given refugee status. In response the Patrons D epartment of Foreign Affairs made it clear that the decision Eurelw Street gratefully acknowledges the support of Colin and Angela Carter; the to free the East Timorese from detention had been made on trustees of the estate of Miss M. Condon; humanitarian grounds without reference to the Department. A.J. Costello; Denis Cullity AO; Furthermore, Senator Evans insisted that the decision on W. P. & M.W. Gurry; Geoff Hill and refugee status would be made independently of the D epart­ Janine Perrett; the Roche family. m ent. Thus, the treatment of the East Timorese asylum seekers Eureka Street magazine, ISSN I 036-1758, was governed by th e conviction that their human dignity Australia Post Print Post approved could be respected adequately only by release from detention. pp34918 1/003 14 The priority of their dignity over more abstract Australian is published ten times a yea r interests was maintained unequivocall y in the procedures by Eureka Street Magazine Pty Ltd, which led to their release, and in the fa ce of the opposition 300 Victoria Street, Richmond, Victoria 3 12 1 of a powerful neighbour. T his was Australian refugee policy Tel: 03 9427 73 11 Fa x: 03 9428 4450 and its administration at their most heartening. Responsi bi li ty for cdi tori a I content is accepted by The criticism by Alastair Nicholson, on the other hand, Mi chael Kell y, 300 Victori a Street, Richmond. drew attention yet again to an Australian practice which Printed by Doran Printing, dem eans huma n dignity. Although the government has 46 Industri al Drive, Braeside VTC 3 195. remained obdurate i n maintaining detention, it is so © jesuit Publications 1993 damaging a practice that it will inevitably attract criticism Unsolicited manuscripts, includi ng poetry and from representatives of bodies like Amnesty, civil rights fiction, wi ll he returned onl y if accompan ied by a groups and family courts, which deal daily with other viola­ stam ped, self-a ddressed envelope. Requests for tions of human rights. Only those w ho administer it from a permissio n to reprint mate ri al from the magazine distance fail to recognise its evil. should be addressed in writing to: While the nature and effects of detention were well The edi tor, Eurel<a Street magazi ne, represented in submissions to the Senate enquiry into PO Box 553, Richmond VIC 3 12 1. Detention, the case against it is worth repeating. It is not 4 EUREKA STREET • SEPTEMBER 1995 that Australian deten tion cen tres are run like con­ The easy assumption that the sole criteria gov­ centration camps. Although the eff ects of deten tion erning the treatm ent of asylum seekers and other are exacerbated by the remoteness of Western Aus­ minority groups should be Australian interests and tralia, the regime and physical facilities of deten tion public opinion is of concern. For it m eans that groups centres are generally reasonable. Moreover, within the which do not enj oy support or influence in the com­ limits of their primary responsibility to ensure that munity can be deprived of proper protection. The the inmates do not escape, the officers are mostly 1m­ treatment of the Cambodian boat people dem onstrat­ Inane.