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The Forum > Article Comments > Refugees will be an election issue > Comments

Refugees will be an election issue : Comments

By Graham Young, published 12/7/2010

A 'What the People Want' poll finds the refugee story encapsulates some of the themes that underlie the two sides of Australian political debate.

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Asylum seekers represent the great divide between those who can imagine fleeing terror and those who can't.

Once you've imagined it or experienced it, there's no debate. You know you can't abandon people to torment and death.

Almost all the boat arrivals of the last few years have been granted refugee status. Those who aren't of course can be returned and are returned.

All this says about us is that we are so well-off we can't even begin to imagine the circumstances of those who aren't. We just want them to go away.

If you've been homeless and in fear of your life, you know exactly why asylum seekers get on boats. If you haven't, if you are lucky enough to have escaped those life extremes, then you've got a responsibility to your fellow human beings to imagine what it's like, and care about it.
Posted by briar rose, Monday, 12 July 2010 11:55:31 AM
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I agree with Yabby on this and Greg Sherridan has it about right.

Nobody likes to see those in dire need refused, but we do not like to be conned by shonksters either. The problem with the arguments that briar rose puts forward is the difference between the success rate of applicants that arrive by air and those that come by boat. Or those that the UN process overseas. The only reason for the difference is that the boat arrivals destroy their papers so we cannot send them back. When we have a method to seperate the sheep from the goats I will change my stance against the illegal boat arrivals.

Yes Graham it will remain an election issue.
Posted by Banjo, Monday, 12 July 2010 12:21:55 PM
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Banjo, are you saying that if you're fleeing torture by plane you are more legitimate than if you're fleeing torture by boat?

Because that doesn't make much sense.

And it's been said a million times but here goes again: many people who flee persecution do not have the opportunity to obtain papers, and many also lose them. Arriving without papers does not mean the asylum seekers are illegitimate.

By papers, I assume you mean passports?

And what about the 50,000 who arrived by plane with passports and are now illegally in the country, maybe even fraudulently claiming benefits?
Posted by briar rose, Monday, 12 July 2010 1:33:03 PM
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Briar Rose, if you read the Sheridan article, there are around
16 million who would qualify for an Australian passport, if they
could just make it to our border. How many of those 16 million
do you think that we should take?
Posted by Yabby, Monday, 12 July 2010 2:16:55 PM
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Onyah, Yabby. Sixteen million, eh, all ready and raring to go. And here I thought it was a few thousand.

Look, why leave it at sixteen million? Surely all the dispossessed people in the world want to come to Australia and they are preparing to invade us.

At any moment they will flood into the streets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, bringing their malnourished children. They will steal the milk from our lattes, sleep under all the bridges, beg on the streets, steal our washing from the line, rape our children, eat our pets, you name it and they'll do it.

We'd better contact Israel quick smart or the Americans, get them to help us. They know how to kill unwanted people. No one does it better, the jingle goes.

We need to put the cannons back on North Head. No time to lose!
Posted by David G, Monday, 12 July 2010 3:24:27 PM
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Well done David G! You made me chuckle! Good for you Briar Rose.

OLO has always been a difficult place to show compassion. The attacks will be predictable.

PLEASE NOTE: (Right place or not), I have been unable to read your article GY because of the time it is taking to -load? It has gone on for several hours now. With any link.
Posted by Ginx, Monday, 12 July 2010 3:31:18 PM
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