Austrailia hates Trig

[amdezurik]

not because his mom's is a rogue RW nut-job, just because of who he is;

SYDNEY, Australia – A German doctor hoping to gain permanent residency in Australia said Friday he will fight an immigration department decision denying his application because his son has Down syndrome. Bernhard Moeller came to Australia with his family two years ago to help fill a doctor shortage in a rural area of Victoria state.

His temporary work visa is valid until 2010, but his application for permanent residency was rejected this week. The immigration department said Moeller's 13-year-old son, Lukas, "did not meet the health requirement."

"A medical officer of the Commonwealth assessed that his son's existing medical condition was likely to result in a significant and ongoing cost to the Australian community," a departmental spokesman said in a statement issued Thursday by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081031/ap_on_re_au_an/as_australia_residency_denied;_ylt=Ajmc3oTDP4BdiOgfRfiI3WtvaA8F

[BrklynLiberal]

1. That is VERY, VERY sad....

[pnwmom]

7. It's disgusting. n/t

[d_b]

2. ...

wtf is going on down there o.0

[SoCalDem]

3. During the height of the immigration boom to the US, we had "health requirements" too..

Unfortunately, in a finite environment of government provided health care, some countries just prefer to care for people born there with disabilities, and see "new" people with disabilities as a challenge they are not willing to pay for..

This is why we CANNOT have a hodge-podge of differing state-by-state health care.. Close by states with generous benefits might be inundated by people from neighboring states that are not as generous..

[KamaAina]

6. Indeed. And the Phillies might win the World Series.

Close by states with generous benefits might be inundated by people from neighboring states that are not as generous..

As it happens, the textbook example of this comes from the Philly area. Pa.'s services for children with autism are pretty pathetic -- but NJ's are among the best. (We're talking here mainly about educational services rather than health care, but the principle is the same.) So, when a Philly-area family receives an autism spectrum diagnosis for their child, their first move is often to house-hunt across the Delaware River in south Jersey.

[shireen]

4. wow, that's really mean.

this doctor's been performing a valuable service and they do this? Very low. However, I think the idiot who made that decision will be fired soon. I doubt if Australians would tolerate that crap.

[depakid]

5. There are avenues of appeal

Doc needs to hire a solicitor and/or migration agent to sort out the options- and perhaps make some arrangements for private insurance, a bond, or some such thing.

The basic health requirement makes sense (especially in countries with universal health care).

The fact sheet is here:

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/22health.htm

[Fla Dem]

8. Whoa...."did not meet the health requirement."

My first reaction to this was Nazi Germany and the culling of the mentally disabled. I thought Australia was better than that.

[Gwendolyn]

10. Actually, it was us who taught them the tricks of the trade.

[TennesseeDem]

9. Wow, kinda makes me sad about my native land.

Unreal.

[Jed Dilligan]

11. They have to maintain their utopian image:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NayXbIvs8rc

[LeftyMom]

12. Most countries have a health requirement for migrants.

In the US you have to be negative for TB and HIV, among other things, to legally immigrate. You also have to be innoculated for pretty much everything under the sun as part of the process, as the assumption seems to be that every migrant is a plague rat leaving a diseased third world cesspit (generally not true at all.) As far as I know there's no requirement in terms of cognitive disabilities, but there's also no expectation that the US taxpayer will fund your medical care as there is in Australia.