Down Under shuns migrants with HIV

Prime Minister John Howard said Friday that Australia should bar immigrants with the AIDS virus, and his government is examining ways to make its tough restrictions even stronger.

HIV-AIDS workers accused Howard of xenophobia and promoting the racist belief that immigrants -- particularly Africans -- were responsible for bringing the disease to Australia. Advocates also said they were puzzled by the idea of tightening laws when the vast majority of HIV-positive prospective migrants and refugees are rejected under the current rules.

Howard was asked in a radio interview in Melbourne if he thought people with HIV should be allowed into Australia as migrants or refugees.

Howard replied that although he wants more advice on the issue, ``my initial reaction is, no.''

``There may be some humanitarian considerations that could temper that in certain cases, but prima facie -- no,'' he told Southern Cross Broadcasting. ``I think we should have the most stringent possible conditions in relation to that.''

He said Health Minister Tony Abbott is ``examining ways of tightening things up.''

Many countries, including the United States, restrict immigration and visa approvals for people with HIV, although there are often exceptions. Australia has long had rules that can be used to block people with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis from entering.

Exceptions can be made in some circumstances, such as when an HIV-positive prospective migrant is related to an Australian citizen. AIDS activists say few countries -- including Qatar, Russia and the United Arab Emirates -- ban immigration by HIV-positive people.

Don Baxter of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations said prospective immigrants are given HIV tests, and most HIV-positive applicants are rejected because that they could place an unfair burden on the public health system.

``It's very tight already,'' Baxter told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Chris Lemoh, an infectious-disease specialist who is researching HIV-AIDS among African immigrants, said a ban on people with HIV would be a ``hysterical overreaction.''

``It mixes racism with a phobia about infectious disease,'' he said. ``To not allow people to come on the basis of any health condition is immoral, it's unethical and it's impractical to enforce.''