I listened to an Iraqi man on talk back radio tonight. He stated that he had to leave Iraq because of the war. His father paid $20,000 to send him to Australia and paid an undisclosed sum to send his brother to America. He stated that his father wanted to get them out because America was bombing their country. At no time did he state that foreign forces were contributing to bringing peace to his homeland. Last night I watched a documentary on TV that showed Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. They were working to train Afghani soldiers to fight the Taliban and improve the living conditions within that country. The comment was made by one of the Australian military personnel that the majority of the Afghanis they were training were illiterate but they were willing to fight to change the conditions in their country and at the same time learn new skills. It would seem to me that those with money couldn't care less about their country, and would rather pay out huge sums to get out rather than take up arms, whilst the poor are either left with no option or are making the most of the opportunity to better themselves and conditions. Surely one has got to ask, if these so called "refugees" don't like the conditions within their country why are they not joining the forces to change the conditions? Why are they being allowed to come here to sit back on the dole. I believe the answer to Australia's asylum seeker problem is to send all eligible men back to their homeland to train with the Australian soldiers. There should be no option. Families should be allowed to stay here on temporary visas until conditions change within their homeland and then they should go back. Just imagine the advantage to the coalition forces to be boosted in their numbers by native speaking individuals, fully aclimatised, with first hand knowledge of regions, customs, traditions and politics with a passion to change the conditions within their own country. This has got to be acted on immediately.

Well, well, well .... It seems that BOTH major political parties have finally woken up to the FACT that MOST Australians are not at all happy about people entering this country illegally. It took the incumbent Labor people a while to twig that their new humane policies were a complete DUD and if they didn't want to go down the tube they'd better start taking notice of their support base.

Anyway that's democracy - not always concerned whether right or wrong, rather what the majority wants. This time I believe the majority clearly understands that illegal entry is wrong and needs to be stopped.

So how long before the Greens come to the same conclusion? Beats me why they haven't already given their agenda regarding population control and limits. Surely risk of quarantine breaches introducing disease and pestilence to native fauna and flora would also cause a flutter in the ranks? (I'd add risk to people and agriculture but those aren't big Greens concerns) They'll come to their senses soon though I'll wager.

Julia - thank-you for introducing a modicum of common sense and opening some REAL debate minus the PC crap most Aussies have come to resent ferociously. Good Lord - come up with a solution that works and I might even have to vote for you ....

Hasbeen asked David Jennings:
“David, would you be in publicly funded employment, by any chance?
…I guess it's the easy come easy go syndrome at play.”
David Jennings replied that he was an academic and it was debatable if that was government funded.
You said on 9 June 2010: “Govt kicks in only 25-40% of a universities revenue. The other 60% has to come from somewhere and foreign students are a useful component of that revenue.”
So not only are you reliant on government spending to keep your job…but on immigrants and plenty of them. They who pay the fiddler call the tune – YOUR tune - the hard reality of immigration factories. Just a thought Sweetie Pie.

He probably makes more money than you Jack? But why the obsession with where people get there money from?

Politics.

First you create the notion that everybody is under imminent threat by some kind of menace.

It could be refugees in boats, a budget deficit or rising interest rates.

Then you portray yourself as the only person who can save everybody.

It's been happening since ancient times when Crassus pretended to save Rome from Spartacus and his marauding hoards - and will keep on happening.

Let’s now really put the cat amongst the pigeons and settle this “no-win” issue once and for all.

We’ll alter this Kobayashi Maru simulation slightly so that the so called illegal boat people that are trickling in are actually of Germanic origin, say Norwegian, Swedish, Dane or of the British Isles say Welsh, English, Scottish or perhaps Dutch, German or Belgium.

Whatcha mean “that’s not fair, it’s cheating”?
Ahh...but as Kirk says “I don’t believe in the no-win situation”.

Touché