Shadow minister, I am opposed to indefinite mandatory detention of refugees, and our punitive treatment of refugees while in our "care".

I do not deny we need to do more to stop lives being lost at sea. How can we do this in a humane way?

We could work with countries like Indonesia and Malaysia and help more refugees enter Australia in a more orderly and timely manner. This in the end is both practical and humane.

We also need to think about why we had a sudden spike of drownings in the last few years. In one coronial inquest into the drownings of over 100 people in 2012, the coroner was highly critical of the lack of response from Australia to repeated calls for help. The first call for assistance was received by Australian Rescue Centre on 19th June, but these calls for help were dismissed as chatter and ignored. The boat sank on 20th June and survivors were retrieved on 21st June. The Maritime Safety Authority was monitoring the boat the whole time. It is sad to say, but you have to ask why was this allowed to happen? Why did we ignore cries for help?
Coroner's report: http://sievx.com/articles/Kaniva/20130731Hope.pdf

Instead of humane treatment we hurt and punish people who need help most - ie people fleeing persecution - we lock them away on remote islands or if we do find them at sea we put them in lifeboats and send them on their way with no guarantees they will arrive back on land safely. What if it crashes into a reef or lands on a remote island with no water? I don't hear any concern for these scenarios.

We use the excuse of military operations to keep everything secret. Oh and our government is so concerned about the human rights and welfare of refugees that it has exempted sailors from criminal sanctions. Maybe our inhumanity is why so many naval personel are complaining of being traumatised themselves because they are the ones who see these people and have to implement these inhumane policies.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-02/navy-personnel-open-up-about-border-protection/5933260

Australia is a pirate state, hijacking boats on the high seas then locking up their passengers.

Give them back their boats and let them all go.

If they drown then it's their own business, at least they then die free with dignity.

<<An indigent state such as PNG, with limited infrastructure and facilities to process refugees, let alone resettle them.>

This is where the open-border types & their pawns the illegals reveal their real MO.

Refugees are supposedly seeking a safe haven -- not 5 star facilities. Yet its clear when people like Binoy Kampmark write it is all about the lifestyle the pawns want -- it is never over till they con their way into an affluent western country.

It's not an easy problem and as several people have pointed out, it's all the harder because of the several different agendas being pursued by groups not directly affected.

The core of the problem in-country is that PNG is not a nation, it is a fragmented collection of tribes, many of which are still essentially neolithic. Government is corrupt not because the people are bad, but because the tribal cultures demand that those who are elected must look after their wantoks first and the ones who promise most to their wantoks are the ones who get elected.

There is also a lack of education generally and a sharp distinction between the small educated class, many of whom have studied in Australia, and the rest.

The refugees have more in common with the educated class than the rest and if they were to embrace PNG as an opportunity they could do pretty well, while PNG could use their contacts and the drive that lead them to take the risks they have in getting to where they are.

Those groups that are stirring up trouble and fear among the refugees and the locals are not doing anybody any favours except themselves.

"How can we do this in a humane way?"

BJ, it costs nothing but money. Perhaps if you, and everyone who agrees with you, were to fund it, you could then then accommodate all incoming asylum-seekers at the standard that you think appropriate?

That would be a complete solution to the whole problem, wouldn't it? You could just indemnify everyone else against the costs - all of them.

Hand-wringing about how humane you are is actually just fake moral superiority. Fake. Pretending how much you care when you know perfectly well you're calling for other people to be forced to pay for what you want and they don't.

SPQR - how can PNG be called a safehaven for refugees? PNG is a poor nation with its own social problems. It is not a safe place for refugees. If refugees can be killed inside one of our compounds during violent attacks which the PNG police allegedly participated in - how can we guarantee their safety outside the compound?

Indonesia and Malaysia are not signatories to the refugee convention - there is no real protection there. Refugees are supposed to be safe here - but this is sadly not the case. We treat these people with so much contempt they have set themselves on fire, gone on hunger strike etc - they have tried words - they don't work - we refuse to listen with compassion or humanity.

These people are human like us. I am glad I was born in Australia - I have never had to leave my home to escape persecution. We are Australians purely by luck. Why do we fear and hurt people who come to us for help? We share our humanity - it is a shamful we don't show much - we have hardened our hearts - having a heart or being a do gooder are now derogatives - how/why has this happened?

People who aren't refugees should be sent back to their countries, but people who are in danger of being persecuted, have a right to expect to be treated humanely if they reach Australia.

Despite 10 years of propaganda that they are illegals - they are not. The worst you could say is they are unauthorized - but they have a legal right to come to our shores and ask for asylum. I don't blame people for believing the lie that they are illegal - if you say a lie often enough it becomes the truth - our politicians and media have much to answer for as they allowed this lie to be told for so long.