My apologies, Amicus, I was making a behaviourial comparison... You're obviously not a child,. I'll watch my wording in future.

Of course, refugees arriving on boat are "clearly con-men and sneaks" though, aren't they? Unfortunately, they're not here to defend themselves against name-calling like you are. As far as I'm aware, ~90%+ are found to be genuine refugees.

Unlawful immigration? What unlawful immigration? They are arriving on our shores seeking asylum... Perfectly legal. Whether you like it or not, we have signed these UN agreements and therefore should be bound by them. Australians are, as I understand it, people who stick by their word. We are also the country of "the fair go". Besides, how can we expect "rogue" countries like Nth Korea to respect international law if we crap on it ourselves.

People overstaying visas, that's unlawful. Whether there is a racist driver behind the focus on boat people rather than overstayers... I don't think so.

TrashcanMan

“I'll watch my wording in future”

We’ll hold you to that promise!

OK, what word would you use to describe these guys?
"We learned from Detachment 88 (Indonesia's specialist anti-terror police squad) that at least one mobile phone held by this group of 11 Afghans had been used to contact senior al-Qa'ida figures," he said.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/asylum-seeker-linked-to-al-qaida/story-e6frg6nf-1225891385695

And what word would you use to describe this group?
“They travelled to Islamabad, some staying in the al-Hira Hotel, before flying to Indonesia in late October. Even though they were all Afghans, they obtained valid visas to Indonesia by posing as a Quetta business delegation with the apparent endorsement of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce.”
http://www.smh.com.au/national/revealed-smuggler-arrested-over-gangs-plot-to-ship-afghans-here-20100711-105p8.html

Or, even, this guy?
“On that visit the third since arriving in Australia as a boat person in 2001”
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/its_like_a_jew_going_back_to_hitlers_germany_for_a_holiday_or_not_really

One word that might be appropriate is , UNLUCKY.

PS here’s a look at what on-shore processing of asylum seekers would look like (give it a minute) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeSgBL7gpAk

Horus,

You've picked out a couple of examples out of thousands of people. Weak, weak, weak.

Guilty until proven innocent? Is that your idea of the 'Australian Way'?

The fact is, we, as a civilised, advanced nation, should be treating people humanely, and we should be respecting international laws we have agreed to. If not, we are just a bunch of hypocrits.

TrashcanMan

<< You've picked out a couple of examples out of thousands of people. Weak, weak, weak >>

No,No,No.

--If the Afghanis posing as the Quetta business delegation had changed into their poor-fellow-me-civvies and boarded a boat, they would have morphed into just another boatload of unwashed needy refugees –and would likely have been ushered into OZ (even if they had, as a grande finale, blown up their boat at great risk to OZ defence force personnel!)

--If the group with the al-Quada phone had thrown it overboard with their papers ( of course, after they had used it to make a triple 000 rescue call from off the WA coast)- Who could establish that they were anything but innocents’?

---If our refugee frequent flyer to Kabul had gone onto one of the many ABC panels and testified of his well-founded fear of persecution, and dire need to escape to OZ --Who would have been so uncivilised or inhumane to have challenged the veracity of his story?

Your Tennyson-esque weak, weak, weak, does come into --but only in relation to our assessment processes.

"Fleeing war to a hotbed of paranoia". As Patrick McGorry said in the media this week, Policy on asylum seekers is being driven by emotion and appearance when hard-nosed pragmatism is needed.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/fleeing-war-to-a-hotbed-of-paranoia-20100722-10mwf.html

and,

"Don't blame asylum seekers on congestion"

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/dont-blame-asylum-seekers-on-congestion-20100722-10mi3.html

Some common sense at last - in the fray?

May we get somewhere, as 'fair-go' Australian's on this issue.

http://www.miacat.com/

“Don't blame asylum seekers on congestion"

Aye! and I don’t blame the shoppers in this vid either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnyRm6htkPY

If you’ve been advertising : “COME ON DOWN –HAVE WE GOT A DEAL FOR YOU!”

What would you expect, eh ?

The only way to stop the mad --ME FIRST – stampede is to stop the advertising, make it harder to find a bargain, and cut the never say no sales approach.