You may know that on the island of Nauru, viagra 40mg there is a facility in which those seeking asylum in Australia are detained. The detention centre, sick privately administered by an engineering company with no previous experience in s?y?s?t?e?m?a?t?i?c?a?l?l?y? ?k?i?c?k?i?n?g? ?t?h?e? ?s?h?i?t? ?o?u?t? ?o?f? ?f?r?i?g?h?t?e?n?e?d? ?d?e?s?p?e?r?a?t?e? ?p?e?o?p?l?e? ?b?u?t? ?g?i?v?i?n?g? ?i?t? ?a?n? ?e?n?t?h?u?s?i?a?s?t?i?c? ?g?o? ?r?e?g?a?r?d?l?e?s?s? the sector, has been described by Amnesty International as a “human rights catastrophe”.

Certainly. Australians have an entitlement to unbiased reports on the way in which their revenues are being spent. But, reports are scant and bound, it seems, to dwindle further.

Call me old-fashioned, but I can think of a better use for tax revenues than (alleged) torture. So, I want to know.

And I want you to think about how you might help me raise and allocate funds for those media professionals prepared to apply and go to Nauru.

You might have read today that Nauru government has hiked the single-entry media visa from $200 to $8000. It is, I understand, a non-refundable application fee for a visa granted, according to ABC online, “three or four times” last year.

Bugger all, then. The Nauru government’s generosity with media visas is consonant with the Hon. Scott Morrison’s approach to family reunion visas.

8K is a fat whack of cash, most particularly when the odds of it producing a visa are slim.

The official rationale from Nauru is that the move is a “revenue-raising exercise” and as I am sure that this is entirely true* and is not based on a covert agreement between the Australian and Nauru governments to quash the possibility of reporting on the Nauru Detention Centre by an industry already strapped for cash, I thought we could help the Nauru Government out.

They deserve something. I thought new carpet, maybe. Or, maybe a little independence from Australian foreign policy. Or slippers. Whatever. Think of it as a Myer gift voucher.

Perhaps we can crowd-fund application fees for those Australian journalists or organisations seeking a visa. Obviously, recipients of the large sum we could easily raise should not be permanent employees of publicly listed companies. Nor should they be tits we do not like.

Obviously, some monies donated will produce no benefit. Despite this commitment to inbuilt failure and despite my own belief that If It Helps Just One Person it has been a pretty crappy action, if it does help Just One Good Journalist get there, many will benefit.

To be clear: I am not planning to produce or administer the works of journalism myself as I write fluffy op ed. I would, however, welcome the assistance of a few grown-ups willing to be named to disburse the funds raised. I.e. What we need is a selection committee of well-regarded media professionals willing to decide to whom our funds raised would go.  

And I would be keen for any assistance from those with expertise in media visa applications who could possibly give the recipients of our fund-raising help in filling out their effing forms.
I seek your advice in

* assessing the sanity/relative benefit of this idea

* connecting me to organisations or people capable of and willing to report on Nauru

*  offering me the names of professionals who could help decide to whom we give our dosh

Please feel free to share this post or email me helen AT badhostess DOT com to assist me in finessing this notion.

* May contain traces of lie