Objective: To analyse the way in which a public health metaphor has been incorporated into Australian political practice to justify the exclusion or mistreatment of unwelcome non-citizens, giving particular attention to recent asylum seekers. Approach: Starting with a personal experience of working in an immigration detention centre and then drawing on media reports and published scholarship, I critique political rhetoric and policy on asylum seekers, arguing that the significance of a public health metaphor lies in its effectiveness in persuading the public that refugees and asylum seekers are a moral contaminant that threatens the nation and has to be contained. Conclusion: Acceptance of the metaphor sanctions humanly degrading inferences, policies and actions. Public health professionals therefore have a responsibility to challenge the political use of public health and associated metaphors. Implications: Substituting the existing metaphor for one that is more morally acceptable could help to redefine refugees and asylum seekers more positively and promote compassion in political leaders and the community. © 2009 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2009 Public Health Association of Australia.

Asylum seekers Refugee health Public health policy Political rhetoric

detention responsibility personal experience government regulation politics Metaphor morality refugee Health Policy Australia health care policy Article Healthcare Disparities Health Status Disparities immigration Humans Refugees public health