Last month we started sponsoring the Rewind page of Communicate magazine. In support of that we posted our first reaction piece, providing our advice on what the modern British Government should do as and when the perennial request for the Elgin Marbles to go back to Greece raises its head once more. Coincidentally this very request was put forward just a few days later, this time by an MP during PM Questions who mooted it as a possible help for Greek’s financial crisis. Unfortunately it didn’t go any further so we won’t know if the Department of Media Culture and Sport has taken our advice or not.

This month the topic is Australia. The Rewind piece is giving retrospective advice to the 19^th Century governors of that far-flung outpost of the British Empire on how to rebrand itself from the world’s largest penal colony into an attractive place to emigrate to. The crisis being that without new settlers, there was no hope of growth or prosperity. Have a read of some the answers, their quite amusing!

Now, the issue of immigration is still a thorny one for Australia. On the one hand not much has changed in two hundred years with the nation still actively encouraging people to settle there. However, at the same time there is a strong national debate about illegal immigration from boat people asylum seekers arriving from regions such as the Middle East and Africa. The treatment of the debate has tarnished Australia’s reputation with mounting international criticism about the dehumanised nature of the discussion with Australia’s tabloid press labelling the refugees as queue jumpers. In December, the nature of the debate changed when 27 asylum seekers died in a boat off Christmas Island.

For Australia, importing fresh talent is seen as important for the nation’s economy. But it needs to address the reputational dichotomy of seeking professional people such as from the PR industry (no, I’m not joking!) whilst at the same time wanting to keep out refugees desperately seeking a better life.

Everyone experienced in crisis comms knows that the single most important priority is human compassion. Get this right and what may at first look like a looming disaster could actually reflect well on the brand. Brand Australia, therefore, needs to pay close attention to this – as, by the way, does UK Plc which has been similarly criticised when it comes to its treatment of asylum seekers.

When I was a national news reporter I covered a fire at an asylum seeker centre in Bedford. This was started by rioting asylum seekers who were indignant at their treatment. Fortunately no one was injured and the news focus was on those who escaped. But that was the start of the debate into how asylum seekers are being treated so I am fully aware of how damaging such an issue can be.

If the national brand wants to hold its head up on the international stage then it needs to ensure that it is demonstrating human compassion. This applies both in the everyday dealing of asylum seekers and being prepared for disasters. For Australia, it must ensure that should there be a similar disaster that occurred in December that it is able to respond and be seen to respond as quickly as possible to care for those involved.

Photo by Flickr user yewenyi. CC BY-NC 2.0