...I can't believe people "out there" think like this author!

Yes, the delusion is strong in this one. Activists seem to live in an alternative reality that allows them to see themselves as right and good, and assume everyone who disagrees - in this case all the ALP & supporters PLUS all the Coalition and supporters - are so wrong and even evil. This act of manufacturing grounds for a belief is common when the original reasons for supporting it have failed.

Of course, following the ideas of this delusional minority is what led to the disasters since 2007 - tens of thousands locked up in detention, billions of wasted money, over a thousand believed dead at sea, and the ALP government shorn of any hope of re-election as they writhed in useless activity, damaging themselves more at every turn.

Yes, any government should be listening to this Adam Henry and his fellow travellers.

“The betrayal of human rights in East Timor (and elsewhere) by both sides of Australian politics…”.

Both sides of Australian politics are betraying their own country and voters; human rights in East Timor are none of their business; nor are the opinions of this author and a NSW state politician on the Pinochet regime.

The previous government, and now the current government, are guilty of betraying Australia in the matter of the main gripe of Adam Henry’s article: border protection. Abbott, when questioned on TV recently about his silence on how well or not his promise to ‘stop the boats’ is going, compared his secrecy on the matter with the secrecy needed around operations at a time of war. The only thing to be said about that pathetic defence for his silence is this: if Abbott or any other of our shiftless and untrustworthy politicians conducted a war the way they have mismanaged the border protection issue, Australia would be overrun and under enemy management in less than a week. And don’t forget the other betrayal of Australia by politicians – the outrageous reduction in defence spending and the waste of troops in useless, meaningless actions in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Australian politicians should not be spending huge sums of taxpayer money on housing illegal entrants and saving them for drowning at sea. Henry finds this to be “punitive”; well it’s not punitive; it comes no where near being punitive. The namby-pamby way all Australian politicians have mismanaged the border protection/illegal boats situation is purely and simply a betrayal of their country and people. If Abbott keeps his nerve – and if he is really turning back the boats behind his veil of silence – that’s the way to go. No one coming by boat ever touches Australian soil, and to hell with Indonesia bleating about their sovereignty; start thinking about our sovereignty and the ongoing assaults on it by illegals coming from Indonesia.

As for “political tensions with Indonesia”: phooey! They are a mendicant, uncooperative state, taking our money.

Don't worry, Adam, nobody believes politicians. We already know that their only motive is to stay in power and provide lavish jobs for their family and comrades.

As for the asylum seekers, obviously we should not be paying all that money to detain them. All we need is to:

1. Return Christmas Island to Singapore.
2. Not interfere with those coming by boat - neither help nor obstruct. If they drown, they drown.
3. Send the people on those boats that do make the distance to Australia to Tasmania, which already declared that they are welcome there.
4. Those asylum seekers who do not pose a health/criminal risk, may live and work in Tasmania while their requests are processed, provided they find sponsors that are willing to place an appropriate bond on their good behaviour and not leaving Tasmania.
5. Those assessed as genuine refugees, receive a visa that allows them to remain and work in Tasmania permanently.

This article is the best reason I have yet seen for closing down the Social Sciences, Department of History at the ANU.

In fact if this is the sort of garbage it is producing, it is a damn good reason for closing the whole outfit down. It is obviously doing more harm than good.

As I read the comments above, I feel incredibly sad that the writers apparently gained nothing decent and moral from whatever short time they spent in an educational institution. It is apparent that reading for comprehension was a subject that all failed. The article is about a noticeable decline in the standard of journalism in Australia.

The author was probably mistaken in even mentioning “asylum seekers” as all the usual suspects leapt into action, spilling their usual bile and venom and completely missing the point. The author used the example of asylum seekers to demonstrate the narrowing and limiting of reasonable discussion about any major issue. Instead of a polite, deep and considered discussion, we hear instead populist slogans and, usually misinformed, rants where the ranter shows both ignorance of the topic under discussion and a complete unwillingness to listen to any other person.

I look forward to the day that there can be a calm and considered discussion of this and other issues where people keep to the topic, do not go off ranting about side issues and the comments of all are valued and appreciated.

I don’t think I’m likely to get it here, but you never know.