Border Force backs Zero Chance campaign after children given anti-refugee playing cards

Australian Border Force (ABF) has stood by its Zero Chance anti-refugee campaign after it was revealed refugee schoolchildren in West Java as young as four were given playing cards stamped with the Australian government coat of arms with illustrations of people in a boat on heavy seas.

As Crikey revealed yesterday, staff at Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre in West Java alleged three unidentified Indonesians trespassed on school property a week ago and handed out about 80 packs of playing cards to children aged four to 12 — before taking photos of the children, without parental consent, holding the cards.

The cards were marked with the government’s Zero Chance message, as well as a URL and QR code that leads to the Australian government’s Zero Chance website.

The ABF told Crikey that offshore deterrence messaging was a “critical component of Operation Sovereign Borders’ effective multi-layered approach”. 

“This type of engagement helps ensure people smugglers who manipulate vulnerable men, women and children are defeated, and importantly, prevents loss of life at sea,” it said.

It did not respond directly to questions about whether the Home Affairs Department had authorised giving playing cards to children.

“Engagement” activities such as this are outsourced and providers get relevant approvals from local authorities to hand out material. It is understood that campaigns based on bipartisan policies during a caretaker period are accepted under caretaker conventions.

Muzafar Ali, co-founder of the learning centre, said he was concerned the cards were distributed in the lead-up to the federal election. The centre works with adults and parents to ensure that they remain vigilant and are not targeted for political use, but Ali said that the fact children were targeted this time was “exceptional”.

Alison Battison, director principal at Human Rights for All, an Australian law firm dedicated to assisting asylum seekers, said it could be the first direct marketing to children by the Australian government, and would not be “reflective of international law relating to asylum seekers and refugees”.

A statement from the learning centre said it did not publicise the incident before the election, because it did not want to encourage its political use.

The playing cards were distributed a week before the Liberal Party sent out text messages on election day saying that the ABF had intercepted “an illegal boat” trying to reach Australia.

The texts, which will be investigated by the Labor government, told voters to “keep our borders secure by voting Liberal today”.

Ali said he would like the Labor government to “deal the situation with dignity with respect, not making [sic] this a political issue”.

In February, the government held a film competition for Sri Lankan filmmakers “to creatively express ‘illegal migration to Australia’, showcasing that there is zero chance of successfully travelling by boat to Australia”. The competition angered refugee advocates.

The Zero Chance website also features games simulating a boat journey to Australia. The only outcomes are being banned by Australia, being caught by border control or being tricked by people smugglers.