It was revealed this week that the Government is planning to spend a whopping $40 million on a new high security prison in Goulburn to house suspected terrorists.
There is already one such prison but since the number of suspects has doubled in the past 12 months from 15 to 30 there are fears we not be able to adequately accommodate them. Yes, that’s right. 30! 40 million dollars on 30 prisoners. But don’t panic it will be equipped to handle 40 prisoners if things start to get really out of control.
What this essentially means is that you will be better cared for if you are a potential terrorist than if you are a victim of domestic violence. To date I can’t think of a single safe house or refuge in this country that has had 40 million dollars spent on it. To be honest, I don’t think we have spent that much on all of them combined.
As it stands, not one person has died in this country as a result of a terror attack in the past 12 months. Recent statistics on the amount of Australian women dying at the hands of domestic violence show that we are losing nearly two a week. That is two women being murdered every week by their partners. It you ask me that’s the terror that needs addressing.
Having been a victim of domestic violence, I can state emphatically that one of the reasons we don’t leave is because there is nowhere to go. Nowhere that is safe. If we seek refuge at friend’s houses we run the risk of putting them in danger too. Furthermore, we have to expose our secret that we have been trying to keep quiet from those that we know. The shame in this is huge and, at times, enough to keep you in harms way.
The average sentence for a man who kills his spouse is seven years. For some reason, the murder of someone you profess to have loved holds a much lighter penalty. Maybe it’s assumed that they already have to deal with the loss of a loved one. This is how nuts this has become.
I sat at the dinner table with my father last night as he expressed his concern over terror threats and was glad the government was pouring millions in to such an issue. I fired up with the argument I have just presented and the misappropriation of funds. In his defence he said “Why does one have to suffer because of the other” and maybe he is right. I guess it’s the language, the vigilance, the constant focus on one and not the other. It reinforces the misconception that domestic violence is still very much an acceptable part of our social norm.
In a nutshell though, if you are feeling as though you’re fearing for your life at the hands of a partner and need safe refuge, it may pay to utter your support for Isis and Allah. In the very least you will be whisked away to a $40 million facility with 3 meals a day and much needed protection. As completely insane as this seems it’s hard to argue with; especially if it saves your life!
