The author is of course, quite correct. The UN Convention is
60 years out of date, so today, rather then help the most
deserving, we are suckers for anyone who can tell a good sob
story. Meantime genuine refugees without two bob to their name,
are left stranded in refugee camps.

Given that the human population keeps increasing at the rate
of 250'000 people a day and as the planet becomes more crowded,
the problem can only get worse.

Our feelgood Kumbaya crowd might take the high moral ground,
but they refuse to answer the question of how many millions
Australia should take, to satisfy their emotional needs. Far
easier to ignore that question.

The reality is that Australia cannot save the world and its
pointless trashing Australia by overcrowding. We are an arid
country with extremely poor soils, we forget this at our peril.

Withdrawing from the Convention and applying or own rules makes
perfect rational sense. But so do abortion and euthanasia. Yet
politicians do their best to avoid these topics, for they know
that the political onslaught of the emotionally engulfed will be
so great and so risky politically, that its easier to apply
another sticky tape measure and kick the can down the road for
the next lot. So we have the mess that we have now and clearly
that will continue, as everyone keeps kicking cans for another
day.Call it political expediancy if you will.

So right Divergence. Lack of a private property is one of the main reasons that places like PNG are such a failure.

They have the onetalk system. Their 700 languages, with 1100 dialects mean you have a limited number of onetalks, [people of the same dialect]. You are obliged to give anything you have to a onetalk, if they need/want it. Your private property is only what you can carry in your little coconut fond woven shoulder bag.

No one aspires to more than a portable radio, when your car, if you had one, can be used by anyone in the village.

This is a very good system in a near stone age population, with interdependence best for most, but it is an utter failure in a modern society. It is a bit hard to be a merchant, when you must give your stock to any onetalk who asks for it.

I congratulate, you, Yabby.
Please take his ideas seriously,guys and dolls.Everyone thinks he/she has the real insights.Yabby is the realist.
Good on ya Yabbs.

socratease

He is wrong on every level.

1. people who are refugees in other countries were once "illegal immigrants' who arrived to ask for asylum, therefore once they have refugee protection in that country they are double dipping by asking to go to the 20 nations with resettlement.
2. there is no quota under the refugee convention in any country and as only 0.0001% come here I don't understand why Sid and others think we should exchange an obligation for a voluntary scheme for double dippers.
3. we spend almost all the money on jailing innocent people, not on assessing anything - we could save $1 billion a year if we were not so racist and ignorant.
4. we will not withdraw from the convention and all the whining and nagging that it was for post war Europeans forgets the protocol ratified in 1967 which extended the convention and it's rights to all refugees in any situation.

For heaven's sake, Australia is so pathetic and whiney - but the sickness only extends to the minority who come by sea.

The vast majority are the frauds who fly here and are not refugees, most who come by sea are refugees so we would be denying safety to refugees who ask in favour of those who ask some other nation.

Honestly I do wish these prattling nonsensical racist articles would stop being written.

Last year just 4500 people arrived here by sea - 103,000 go to Yemen without them whinging like we do.

[Deleted for abuse.]

And Syd, the EXCOM is only for signatory nations, why do you think they would bother with the only nation on earth to ever decide to give up on refugee protections.