"We may be appalled by Donald Trump's proposed border wall....".

We should be appalled that anyone would be appalled by an attempt to prevent illegal entry, but this silly woman clearly thinks it is wrong for a country to protect its borders. She is appalling.

Border protection has nothing to do with asylum-seeking, or the legitimate arrangements a country has to deal with asylum seekers. Nor has it anything to do with 'international obligations', which apply only to Western countries, it seems, that allow themselves to be bullied by the United Nations. Enough of crackpots like this!

Risible rubbish written by an apologist for the criminal people trafficking organisations?

What a wonderful world this would be if every other nation just respected other nation's borders, sovereign rights, except where UN concurrences has declared them a rogue nation that risks the peace of almost any and all other nations!

And how nice it would be if Mr Putin just ordered his Russian "advisers" to stand down in the Ukraine and Syria etc. If only North korea weren't hell bent on building a bomb or backing the simpleminded notion that they could threaten anyone or weaken international resolve by actually sending it over to mainland America or here as IBM delivered Nuclear weapon!

Before hitler and after the war to end all wars, who'd have thought a madman would have been mad enough to attack Poland and start WW11?

And who would have thought the world would have stood idly by and watch the genocide of Rwanda, Pol Pot and Idi Amin.

And who but rank nutters, peace freaks and fifth columnists would not be seriously disturbed by the quite massive military build up taking place in Mainland China or over the annexation by them of disputed territory.

You clearly have no understanding of the issues in play, or the Asian mindset and just how vulnerable we really are if China ever decides she wants more than we are willing to sell?

Almost every boy and his dog were shocked speechless when an major Asian military force bombed the piss and pick handles out of Pearl Harbor and again when it was sent as an instant replay into Darwin Harbor!

There's nothing wrong with building dream castles in the air, always providing you don't move in as a permanent resident?

Our peace was purchased at enormous price by folk you clearly disrespect to hell and back, and is only guaranteed by eternal vigilance and folk, who unlike you, are prepared to put everything on the line!?
Alan B.

Again Kellie personifies the Green-Left cause supporting queue jumpers who can afford to pay people smugglers $10,000 a seat. Kellie cares not for the real refugees in Africa who are starving with no money.

Any of the Trotskyite uni students who do the actual writing of "Kellie's" articles knows that Australia will have no operational "P-8A Poseiden aircraft and medium altitude unmanned aerial systems [presumabley Tritons]" until the early 2020s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_P-8_Poseidon#Australia

It is the Coalition Government and even the ALP Opposition who support successful Operation Sovereign Borders, leaving Kellie duped by people smuggling organised crime.

It's perfectly extraordinary that anyone should hold that border security oughtn't be anything to do with the military. What the hell do these people suppose "having a country" is actually all about? And who the hell do they imagine is primarily responsible for ensuring that Australian territory is actually held by the Commonwealth of Australia? Holding territory means that you get to decide who does and does not enter it.

It's really, really basic.

If the military are not supposed to defend our borders, what are they supposed to do?

Australia also has the right to monitor, regulate and stop young male Muslims - with a high risk security profile - from entering Australia by boat or plane and if/when they are let through.

I wonder what position Kellie or our elected "representative" Sarah Hanson-Young would take (or explain away) after a siege or mass shooting?

"The poor killers were misunderstood victims of oppressive Western society" maybe?