Comedian Sammy J has provided critical satire of Australian politics over the past few weeks of the federal election campaign, in the form of a Play School spoof called Playground Politics. However his most recent episode on Australia’s refugee situation is perhaps the most clever, hilarious and brutal of the lot.
Whilst Australia’s offshore detention centres have been something that politicians have desperately tried to keep off people’s minds in the upcoming election, Sammy J has ensured it’s something we’re all thinking about in this terrifically written piece. In only 24 hours, the video has already been watched over 300,000 times.
We start off in a boat with Sammy, and he invites us to come ‘be a refugee’ with him. Whilst listing all the ingredients it takes, including ‘a well-founded fear of persecution’, he spots a ‘Border Force Boat’. In a kids voice, he playfully remarks “But I’m allowed to seek asylum!”, quickly followed by the punchline: “Uh oh. Looks like we’ve sailed into a moral vacuum!”.
Soon we are invited to come ‘make an Immigration Detention Centre’ with him, in classic Play School style – on the floor, with all the materials set up. Dripping with irony, he uses a shoebox for the creation.
He continues to jibe at the government ignoring ethics, by using the first page of the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 as a ‘roof’ for the creation. As Sammy brutally mocks – “It’s not really standing up is it? Doesn’t look like it’s going to provide any protection whatsoever! That’s ok. We don’t really need it.”
Channel 9 even pays a visit and he suggests that: ‘If anyone can save kids from the Middle East, it’s Channel 9!’, referring to the baby snatching scandal from earlier this year.
He leaves us with a final observation of our own forgetfulness, a stark reminder that this issue will not go away until it is properly addressed.
“Are you feeling sad? That’s ok. Maybe we can just put a lid on this for now. Maybe we can put it under the rug. If you haven’t got a rug you can just put it in another room, or anywhere out of sight! Then just sit down and try not to think about it. Might feel a bit uncomfortable, but you’ll get used to it!”
If there’s one thing you watch today, make it this:
