Well, so far we’ve got six posters who are right on the ball and one article writer who just doesn’t get it!

" ... two decades of mandatory detention erodes Australia's human rights record. ... "

The above statement goes to the "delusion of benevolence" that some australian's hold about themselves.

The reality is is that the crown is a genocidal institution, and its knowing and obliging servants are filth. Indeed, the crown has a centuries old history of abuse, including in the post WWII era, not limited to the theft of children and the destruction of families.

Of course, when considering how best to deal with the child abusers has the potential to lead us to a very dark line of thought.

..

Amongst the rationale and the reasonable, there is no question that health and security checks need to be done, but that is an entirely different matter to prolonged detention in circumstances evidenced to lead to adverse health outcomes.

..

As for the destruction of id documentation, that is often a necessity in order to escape, which the stultified morons in this place well know, but simply choose to ignore.

Bull dust Dreamer. If they can get money out, they can get ID out. In fact most of them fly out quite openly.

As for long detention, that is their choice. They chose to break the law by coming into our waters without a visa. I suggest you try doing that into Indonesia, if you think we're tough.

Then of course, we fools that we are, will pay for their repatriation to their claimed homeland, any time they wish.

The title of this article and the one-sentence brief are misleading. They are about the policy of mandatory detention, but the article is then entirely about children in detention.

Two quite different things.

Mandatory detention for asylum seekers is essential. The idea of them just being able to move freely in society is crackers.

But for children, it may be different, sometimes. There may be merit in moving them out of detention centres, although I doubt that it is as clear-cut as Jo would have us believe.

As is so often the case, a huge part of this story is entirely missing from this article. That is; the need for a strong deterrence factor so that we can bring onshore asylum seeking to an end, or at least start discouraging ever more people from jumping on rickety boats and risking their lives, and start reducing the simmering discontent in Australian society, which is very likely to give us a government that clamps right down on asylum seeking, thus trapping thousands of people in the middle of major policy changes.

Mandatory detention is necessary, not only until people have had their refugee statuses determined, but as a fundamental part of this deterrence factor.

Jo, please argue for ALL Australia’s refugee intake to happen within our formal immigration program and for onshore asylum seeking to be terminated quickly and decisively, for everyone’s sake!

That would be surely the best way to address your concerns about safety, stress, psychological trauma and the like in the longer term, wouldn’t it?

I wonder where we’d be now with this whole issue if Australia had never had a mandatory detention policy?

Dreamon said;

As for the destruction of id documentation, that is often a necessity
in order to escape, which the stultified morons in this place well know, but simply choose to ignore.
-=-=-=
Please do not insult us with such ridiculous statements.
How could they get to Indonesia without a passport ?
I suggest that you face the fact that there is a high level of illegal
actions, destroying a passport is in itself illegal.

Careful there Steven, you haven't thought that one right through mate.

Let the kids out, no matter how kindly, or in what you may think beneficial manner, & you're headed for a big problem.

I can see it now, the headline in 15 years time. "Stolen Generation of[what ever boat people you like] Demand Compensation".

You know I'm right, don't you mate? You don't really expect any kindness to be recognised, & received gratefully do you? No way anyone you help will not use it against you, if they get a chance.

What we need is a good supply of small rubber duckies. We could drop all boat people off, in their own rubber ducky, just off shore of where the boat came from.