The Tragic and the Transcendent

Missing the Boat: Australia and Asylum Seeker Deterrence Messaging

“…What our findings do suggest, backed up by Richardson (2010) and Koser (2010), is that government media and Internet strategies focused on deterring asylum seekers from their boat journeys to Australia are adopted without substantial knowledge of how information is sourced before and during these journeys and, when 'messaging' knowledge is utilized, how influential it is in decisionmaking. Consistent with our research, international studies have revealed particular reliance on smuggling agents, for example Costello and Kaytaz (2013) in Switzerland and Canada and Gilbert and Koser (2006) in the UK.…”

“…However, researchers suggest that Australia's deterrence messaging is "based on a flawed and outdated view of the communication process and a simplistic understanding of refugee audiences" and largely ignores research that finds "refugee audiences are diverse, unpredictable and capable of producing a variety of interpretations of the messages they receive" (Richardson, 2010). More broadly, Koser (2010) states that evaluations of information campaigns in a range of countries have concluded that such campaigns to deter asylum seekers have, on the whole, a neutral impact: "If people are fleeing for their lives they are unlikely to be deterred by a flyer or a poster" (Koser, 2010).…”