Pauline Hanson, for the love of God, come back and protect us from this insanity. Her trip to Europe and UK has opened her eyes even further as to what disaster Oz is heading towards. Go Pauline!

Why would anyone with any sense in economy want to set up overseas processing centers simply to make political points?
It has to be excessively expensive and in the end over 90% of the detainees are brought back to the mainland and admitted.
The centers should be set up on the outskirts of the main cities, utilizing unemployed labor and providing jobs for locals to operate.
Lets face it, it is all political sham to build up the handful of boat people as a threat to Australia when the real threat is the enormous number of so called “legal” migrants.
We cannot afford to waste this money on this foolishness. It would be better spent on education and the health service.

What we need is a nice quick 5 minute processing system, undertaken at sea, where boats are found, before turning them around, with a rocket up their tail if necessary.

I'm with you there peter piper.

There is the most enormous opportunity for Pauline Hanson to re-enter the political arena with the simple platform of stopping this insane onshore asylum seeking business, while upholding a high humanitarian standard by redirecting the same amount (or perhaps half of quarter) of money and effort that is currently going into dealing with onshore asylum seekers into our our official offshore refugee and international aid programs.

<< Mere political expediency is no justification for detaining such people in remote areas, and we have much to answer for in how we treat people who flee persecution >>

I completely agree with the good Bishop, and indeed with sarnian above. What would be "insane" would be to support the likes of the populist rabble rouser Hanson.

As far as I understand, Mr. Howard set up the off shore processing for one reason only. He wanted to deny the refugees access to the legal system. This is the same reason that Mr. Bush set up Guantanamo Bay.

The argument that the courts will be overrun and the expense too great do not hold water. To begin with, only a small number being those denied a visa would make the choice to approach the courts. Precedence would soon be set and only those likely to get a positive outcome would be allowed to proceed.

What is a fact that the system set up to avoid the courts is expensive and unfair that causes unnecessary suffering.

All people seeking asylum, whether they came by boat, plane or swim should be treated exactly the same. The way that the system has worked since 2001 is expensive, cruel, inequitable and can only lead to mistakes being made.