it's good to see the High Court come down on the side of humanity and common sense. 'Procedural fairness' was the phrase that did the trick, and perhaps it wouldn't be too much to ask Mr Howard and Mr Ruddock to explain to the Australian public what they understand by that phrase, and why they found it so necessary to turn Christmas Island into a Guantanamo. And also to justify the enormous expense involved.

But of course that won't happen, it might embarrass them, and they'd probably get knighted for all their good deeds in the end.

As former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was wont to say, "Life isn't fair."

My goodness, CJ's back!! Nearly fell awf me chair with shock!!

Welcome back old buddy.

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Hey, this article is entirely the WRONG thing to be discussing here. We should absolutely NOT be condoning onshore asylum seeking AT ALL.

We should be exploring ways to SHUT IT DOWN and to deal with asylum-seekers, refugees and other desperately needy people that can be helped in their home countries, via our official offshore refugee and international aid programs... which we should be greatly boosting, to at least the UN recommended 0.7% of our GDP.

How on earth those people who are so keen to help onshore asylum seekers and facilitate their journey to asylum... and inevitably facilitate a much larger and ongoing rate of arrivals... possibly be so quiet about Australia's international aid effort and offshore refugee programs!?!?

I just don't get it. I've been saying the same thing on this forum for more than five years now. The amount of concern about a wealthy country like Australia putting in a substandard effort to helping some of the world's most needy people is just extraordinary.

Why is there such a huge discrepancy?

The number of people that could be helped with the same sort of money now being spent of dealing with onshore asylum seekers would be much greater if the money was properly allocated. The gains would be much more efficient. People in greater need of assistance would be helped. No domestic strife being caused by ongoing onshore asylum seeking would be overcome, and most people who are highly offended by this reimposition of a problem that Howard had solved and Tudd had totally stuffed up, would be happy to see Australia considerably boost its overseas aid programs and even considerably increase the number of refugees accommodated here through our formal immigration intake, on the condition that we regained control over our borders and adopted a no-can-do policy with onshore asylum seekers, or any sylum seekers outside of our formal immigration and refugee programs.

It this really too much of an ask for the likes of Beth Doherty and Bishop Grech?

Thank you for the Church's and religious orders' moral leadership and affirmation of the rule of law and particularly for the pastoral care being provided now to asylum seekers in unnecessary detention in isolated places, far away from support of Australians who speak their language and understand their refugee claims.

As a Queenslander, I have concerns about the nearly 300 Hazara men now being held in the Scherger Detention Centre, 30 km outside the mining company town of Weipa.It is so isolated that noone from their community can afford to visit and airfares are said to have more than doubled. With the rainy season on us, roads become impassable so the isolation is almost as bad as a Russian gulag in Siberia during winter. I suppose the guys have access to telephones.Makes you wonder why on earth these non criminals have to be treated so cruelly.

I hope they are getting a few visitors from the town to break the boredom and the rising anxiety about what is to happen to them.Detainees have developed mental ill health in Immigration detention for ten years , and still the Government continues to lock up innocent people. Will we ever learn and end the torture - because this is torment and suffering in people who have suffered too much already.

Flo
I agree with your post.

Offshore processing is device to deny full legal rights to asylum seeks and to warehouse them far away from public and media scrutiny. it is expensive and unethical, and should be stpopped.

Ludwig, how would you suggest the Australian government prevent some groups being slaughtered by other hostile groups, in their homelands?
I know we're giving it a whirl in Afghanistan, and Iraq, along with the USA, but we don't seem to be achieving a lot.
Are you imagining a situation in which we revive conscription in this country so we have enough soldiers to protect people in their home countries so they don't have to become refugees in the first place?

And what do you suggest we might do about the refugees from countries from which even the UN has to withdraw?

International aid and asylum seekers are two completely different issues, and it makes no sense to conflate them.

The very simple answer to the ”boat people crisis” is to subtract the number of illegals from the total number of migrants, or even better twice that number and the “problem” is solved.