Towing the boats back will be effective.
If they scuttle the boats, Indonesia will still have to accept them
back, they have no choice. The vessel and the crew are Indonesian,
and the nationality of the passengers is not relevant.

They have sent a false SOS in Indonesia waters mostly and the penalty
for that is many years in gaol.

There is the solution for almost all the problem.
It will stop them immeadiatly, once they get the word.

Marilyn Shepherd Quote "Most of the refugees coming from Iraq and Iran today are christians pushed out by the war in Iraq that has sent christian groups running for their lives. Same is happening in Syria."

WRONG AGAIN if that is the case can you explain why most boats are loaded with approx 95% MEN. The ones escaping Syria are nearly all women and children.

"but Australians, apart from the Greens and some on the ALP Left, actually agree on the bones of a common policy."

Just to be a spanner in the works, I am nether Green (though I support some of their policies) nor ALP left, (I don't support any of there's) but feel more libertarian so I support "the boat people" (a pejorative term these days) and wish more of them would come and actually be allowed to settle, by the 1000's I would bid them welcome.

I know, how horrible of me to want a better life for people from the shittiests parts of the world, how horrible of me to want to spend less money killing them with our War machine (I dont; want to tax people more, just spend less on War) and more on helping. I know this makes me some kind of freak, wanting to help the down trodden but none the less, there I am.

The thought of Australians, all clustered around, like a tribe of Golems, uttering "my precious" as they clutch an Aussie map seems to me slightly repugnant.

Valley Guy - I think there would not be a reader of this forum and very few Australians who do not feel sympathy for the plight of refugees. Many of us want to help - and do so through supporting organisations supplying aid. Everyone wishes conditions within the country of nationality or citizenship would improve, allowing those who have fled to return and rebuild.

At the same time our "War Machine" as you put it, can be found in troubled areas, Afghanistan for instance, putting the lives of Aussies on the line trying to protect ordinary people.

In the perfect world we wouldn't need a Defence Force, nor police or judiciary for that matter. Unfortunately this is a very imperfect world. Fortunately we live in a very lucky country where we enjoy a high standard of living and generally peaceful harmonious social conditions. I am one of the vast marjority who would keep it that way.

We can't save the world and his dog. We can take our share of genuine refugees. We DO need to be careful of the people we admit into our society. When we do admit refugees they must be housed, fed and otherwise supported until able to stand on their own feet. This can be a lengthy process which requires considerable resources and forward planning.

Not everyone who comes here is full of peace, love and gratitude. Unfortunately a significant minority of these 'refugees' coming to our shores via people smugglers would view you with the utmost contempt, simply because YOU are not one of THEM.

Don't lose your compassion - just the rose tinted glasses. And BTW - Australia IS precious. It you don't believe that, try living in some other less tolerant societies for a time.

Valley Guy,

Australia does not have unlimited resources to cope with this influx, as can be seen with the system resourced severely strained.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/release-from-detention-provides-small-comfort-to-some-asylum-seekers-20120802-23ih6.html

"THOUSANDS of asylum seekers are struggling to live on as little as $31 a day, less money than the dole, camped in hostels and boarding houses across Australia with no access to government language training or official job schemes. In what threatens to create a new migrant underclass, some people are forced to sleep on the floor without a mattress in share houses after they are given a meagre six weeks to learn English, secure work and long-term accommodation. The chronic overcrowding of immigration detention centres has led to almost 3200 asylum seekers being tipped into the community on bridging visas over the past eight months, putting strain on charity groups looking after their welfare."

Divine,

We don't live in a lucky country. There is nothing special about the soil, the air or the water in Australia. In fact many would classify Australia as unlucky in terms of our natural conditions, that why we all cling to a tiny area of the coast.
What we do have however is a population up until recently that believed in cooperation, the rule of law, giving other people a fair go etc etc. What you and others call our lucky country, is not the lucky country, but directly related to the people we are. If our population was somehow transported to another country I believe we would make that country the "lucky country" as well.
We need to protect our country from others, let others fix their own countries. Most of these problems we see are nothing to do with the soil, air and water in these other countries, but are a result of the people who live there.
By letting other into Australia, they bring with them the problems they have tried to leave behind, including violence, aggression and disrespect. We don't need it.