Pardon my ignorance Mick, but what policies are you advocating? I didn't see anything concrete in your piece, just a lot of waffle about what we should not do.

David

"They can return to the policies they implemented in 2008, but this time instead of doing it quietly, they can adopt a whole new narrative - one based on compassion, and human rights, and all the other things that make the Labor Party progressive in the first place."

Tried that and failed miserably, with about 300 drowned and 5000 in detention.

"They can return to the policies they implemented in 2008, but this time instead of doing it quietly, they can adopt a whole new narrative - one based on compassion, and human rights, and all the other things that make the Labor Party progressive in the first place"

That's it? That's your solution? "there's only one solution" .. more talk, more waffle, more scolding of the populace for not thinking the way you do..

"What's so horrendous about the idea of allowing the poor and the persecuted to share in our wealth? If they were arriving in their millions we might have a problem, but they're not."

We don't like it, it's sneaky and it avoids the usual method we have, we have a process and these people have decided, because they are wealthy, to sidestep it, to not wait in a queue, to use their wealth and influence to bypass everyone.

It may not be millions now, but when will you say, oh hang on, when it is 10,000 or 100,000 or 1 million? What's the number that you reckon is OK and what's the number where it is not OK?

Why do they decide how many we take and not us, the taxpayer?

You're very cavalier with OUR money, I don't remember voting for you or your ideas.

"A policy that relies on brutalising asylum seekers (well that's you opinion, they know the risks and have decided to come anyway) to deter others following suit is inherently, unavoidably flawed. It's horrible, and nasty, and there's no evidence that it actually works."

Yes there is, Howard reduced the boats to a very small number .. so you're wrong, it does work.

Keep dreaming.

Everybody knows that the only reason Labor got enough support to beat the Liberals was BY copying their refugee policy, and opposing WORKCHOICES.

The Liberals believed they could still force Workchoices on us and win, simply because Labor were stupidly opposing the border policy (for the sake of opposing no less- just like what Tony Abbot had been doing as opposition leader).

If you think Labor are stupid enough to drop the policy that effectively kept the Liberals IN for 12 years until Labor caught on and started following suit- your answer will be voters seriously considering whether a Christian fundamentalist in government (Abbot) is worth a few thousand more Islamic fundamentalists in our cities (each year), in terms of which negative scenario we'd rather face.

Vk3UU, Shadow Minister, rpg

The difference between Asylum seekers and those who come with by airplanes is money

Skeptic,

Yes it is cheaper to come by plane. Except then you cannot destroy your documents and make up a story.

Oh, & those who come in by plane disappear into the community, where they support & house themselves. Quite different to the bludgers claiming refugee status.

If you can't please everyone, you must please yourself: it is a pity that Julia can't find the guts to stand up and say "This is the right thing to do and we are going to do it!". If Kev had had the courage to say this about climate change he probably would still be in office. There is a problem however with this formulation and that is that we do not know what the PM really thinks about it all. I asked an old friend who is a solid Labor supporter this morning what she thought that Julia really would like to do with the asylum seekers. The answer was "Shoot 'em" and this is the core of the problem: I do not think that Julia, in her heart, wants any "boat people" in this country.

The amount of money being wasted on these illegal immigrants is unacceptable, when it is remembered that they could be processed in 15 minutes using established, time tested techniques. All you have to do is require them to sit for the dictation test.