#netherelands

Income Tax – The Netherlands signed the Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Information

It was announced on IRAS’ website that on 5 December 2016, IRAS and the Tax Authorities for the Netherlands signed the Competent Authority Agreement (“Agreement“) on the automatic exchange of financial account information (“AEOI“) based on the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS“).

Singapore and the Netherlands will commence AEOI under the CRS by September 2018. Under this Agreement, IRAS will…

Rachel doesn't like the Africans refugees that have infiltrated her suburb in Australia. Does she change her tune after spending time in a Kenyan refugee camp for the hit reality show, Go Back to Where You Came From?

The Third World initially showed up in the Reality TV genre in pretty lame, unimaginative ways. You had Survivor where the concept of Westerners living it rough in a Third World setting bizarrely meant doing jigsaw puzzles in the jungle. In Amazing Race contestants travel to 'exotic' places, but in a very touristy, bungee-jump-off-this-cultural-monument-then-hop-on-a-plane-to-Peruguay-for-the-next-challenge-before-having-to-speak-to-a-local way. In short, there was very little reality in Reality TV. When reality did show up, like when Merlin used his 15 minutes of fame on Big Brother to draw attention to the plight of asylum seekers in Australian detention centres, he was booed and jeered by the audience and eye-murdered by the presenter, Gretel Killeen (I wrote about that incident here).

But Reality TV has developed, and less fluffy and more politically-charged television has been created based on the Third World/First World divide. For example, Weg van Nederlands (“Crazy about the Netherlands”), premiered last year in the Netherlands featuring five young asylum seekers competing to prove their attachment to the Netherlands by answering corny questions on tulips, local pop songs, and by carving an outline of the country’s map from a slice of Gouda cheese. All five have already had their asylum requests rejected at this point, so the prize is 4000 euros in a plastic suitcase to take with them when expelled.

The cruelty of getting asylum seekers to prove their love for the Netherlands before sending them packing to the homeland they're trying to escape is the point (the unsettling paradox of light entertainment made of harsh reality is furthered by the tacky perky tone of the host, theme tune and set design). It's a strange, subversive but engaging way of making a political statement - the cruelty of the TV producers is meant to provoke the compassion in the audience.

Another example is the incredibly emotional and informative Australian reality show Go Back to Where You Came From. In this series, six ordinary Australians (some anti-refugees, some pro-refugee, others questioning their stance) take a 25 day refugee journey in reverse. That is, they start in Australia, go on a leaky dangerous boat to Malaysia and then travel to refugees' countries of origins (eg. the Congo and Iraq). They experience what people do to escape their homeland, then experience the horror that is their homeland. The series added much needed perspective and an emphasis on the human toll of the heated political debate surrounding 'boat people' in Australia.

You can also point to other examples where reality TV is engaging more with the experience of people in the developing world (I believe there's a UK reality show where unruly kids are made to live with an African family to gain some perspective and humility? Maybe even a Wife Swap special or two which uses the fish out of water tactic of showing the contrast in experiences?).