Everyone misses the point. Australians, like all western Europeans, are so tolerant it's to our detriment.

We don't want any more people from third world cultures because their values are what makes them third world.

Tribalism, racism, intolerance, misogyny, homophobia - are all things we have pretty much eliminated on a private level (have definitely eliminated it in the public sphere like employment).

We let all these people in and they are heaps ungrateful. Massive unemployment as well, compensation industry totally rorted. That's why these cultures don't have such things, because they are so out for themselves, they take take take and give nothing.

What western Europe has developed in the way of cultural values is unheard of anywhere else. Slavery still exists everywhere except the west, because we have consciences and stopped it ourselves.

Australian-Australians are sick to death of seeing protests over cartoons, but not how minorities are treated in Arab lands say.

Look. There isn't one Muslim country for starters (it's the same for all non-western European cultures though) that treats minorities as human beings.

Knowing this, and knowing that in the areas Muslims live in the west quickly become places all the westerners have to leave for safety reasons, i.e. Greenacre, Bankstown, Liverpool, i.e. the western suburbs...why should we want any more?

Racist? We have the same number of Christian Lebanese - who look identical to Muslim Lebanese physically. One has massive unemployment and crime and known for intolerance, misogny (the massive gang rape spree - 70 committed in a 2 year period according to ABS) and homophobic bashings in and around Sydney is the new thing happening.

Full of hatred for 'the other'. Sorry, no more. Not worth it - costs our society money and mental health.

I was about to raise a bunch of questions about the arguments people keep using, but I feel Amicus beat me to it, as they are perfectly valid issues to raise.

But I'm just going to ask a question about the tiresome "But we signed the UN document so we have to!"- but what happens if the Australian government were to pass a law stating it would be illegal?

So let me get this straight, if one politician, elected by only a couple of thousand LOCAL constituents in a party that got LESS VOTES than the opposition but beat them because they did a deal with another party to form a coalition to beat the numbers, goes and signs a non-binding document at his own discretion and nobody else, THIS act trumps any future act by any more democratic body to change the law domestically?

Also, I really wish this stupid argument about whether the Pacific solution/election of the Rudd government made a true impact on refugee numbers, when it could be solved by reading up some simple statistics of refugee arrival numbers, where they are FROM, and at what time. If rates remained unaffected by the PS, then it's false. If they DID, then it's true. Keep in mind that different people are in different circumstances. Tamils and West Papuans don't quite get as many choices as someone in the Middle East where to move to, and Australia is a LOT closer.

Oh, and to whoever that said it was like the War against drugs- and we need to 'stop the addicts'- not by a long shot- if the addicts actually paid a dealer to hire a bus and take them as a group to a drug factory, risking getting caught by cops, THEN you would have a valid comparison.

"There is no evidence to support the Coalition’s claim that the Pacific Solution stopped the boat arrivals to Australia in 2001."

Susan is trying to argue that black is white. While the effect on the number of boats arriving was not immediate, it had an undeniably strong long term effect.

The evidence of this is the immediate 30 x increase when the solution was revoked.

Recent polling showing that a majority of Australians wish to re instate the policy indicates that very few believe the Labor line that the revocation of the Pacific solution and the surge of boats is unrelated.

How many more drownings must occur before the people traffickers are put out of business.

so it's all about your humantiarianism.. you are so concerned about the lives being lost at sea, is that right Shadow Minister? LOL

you use words like undeniably but where's your evidence?
the 5.2 million returns to Afghanistan just don't register. You people want to get us into dodgy, dirty deals with other countries because of your prejudice and you want to spread misinformation becasue of your politics. Absolute crap as your right wing Abbott leader would say.

Let us get one thing straight.

It is against the law to try to enter Australia without a valid visa. any person trying to do so is an unlawful entrant. i.e. acting illrgally! That is why we can place them in detention, as we cannot detain a person entering legally. Such persons remain as illegal entrants until we decide to give them asylum or deport them. What we have undertaken to do is that if a person applies for asylum then we will not charge them with being illegal.

It makes no difference where the detainees are processed. The main factor in deterring further boat arrivals was the fact that they could no longer get 'permanent residence'. So the withdrawal of permanent residence is the factor to concentrate on and the boats will stop comming.

Look objectively at the figures. From 2001 untill the present government restored the promise of permanent residence in 2008, there were only half a dozen boats.

So if there is no access to permanent residence and the boats stop coming, Christmas Island will be more than adequate and therefore no need for a Pacific solution.

banjo you just continue the unthruths. People seeking asylum who arrive with visas or people overstaying their visas can be detained and are at times detained. temporary visas encourage people to get on boats. if they were introduced now we would see a mass influx of women and children as we did last time. Most refugees didn't undersand what a temporary visa was until they came out of detention. why don't you people focus on the real problems, the conflicts and persecution people are fleeing from.