Who says the Rohingya People is Australia's problem? What makes it Australia's problem? Let's get this straight from the start. It's NOT Australia's problem.

As Rhrosty says, these people are squatters from Bangladesh in Myanmar anyway. They have no right to be there & should be shifted back to Bangladesh where they came from.

They have a abhorrent Religion that is totally incompatible with Australia's Lifestyle, Culture & Prevalent Religious practices.

Doubling the number of Islamic adherents in Australia would exponentially increase the problem with terrorists Australia didn't have 20 years ago, not double it.

I feel sorry for them, but its not Australia's problem. Let Turkey take them in if they are that concerned.

If this author wants leadership of & for Muslims she should go back to a Muslim country.

The western world has finally realised, rather belatedly, that Muslims, & especially semi literate Muslims, are a poisonous lot, who have no place in a civilised society.

Perhaps she should join ISIS, they are a progressive Muslim bunch, They probably won't value her as highly as she does herself. I gather the bride price among that lot is about A $10. A bit hard to prove any more value, after they have taken your keyboard, stuck a bag over your head, & belt you seriously, if you speak.

Still they do represent most Muslim values, so she should feel right at home.

Alice drowning at sea is the least of their problems. The talent for self deception and denial of context in all matters found in the bourgeoisie never ceases to amaze and amuse, they'll never understand that people smugglers are gangsters in the style of Joseph Kony's LRA or the Mexican Los Zetas not TV characters like Walter White or Tony Soprano. See that's exactly the problem, bourgeois gadflies like Alice Aslan get all their political views and opinions from TV drama, movies and novels and all their news from authors like Clementine Ford and John Pilger rather than actual journalists.
The people who get involved with such groups or hire them for their services are just as bad as the criminals, what happens to an Australian citizen who hires a member of a !% bike gang to solve a problem and it all ghoes pear shaped? Of course if I hire a bikie and he screws up or rips me off or extorts more money with menaces it's my fault and I'm responsible for not only my own misfortune but in all likelihood the actions of my servant, if a crime ends up being committed. The bourgeois Cat Ladies and White Knights actually don't see boat people as real human beings with agency because they hold them to a much, much lower standard of responsibility for their own actions than they do Whites. Rohingya must certainly know that the gangs are extorting raping and killing their customers because the hostages are forced to phone home with the ransom demands, so there's no excuse at all for getting oneself involved with such brutal operators.

Well I will be the lone dissenter from the rest of the commenters :) The continuing acts of bastardry by Australia in treating refugees badly seems unfortunately well supported

We finally get to the crux of the matter. Those supporting turning back the boats, this supposedly "cruel to be kind" policy was never really about preventing deaths at sea. If that was the case then we would be doing everything we can to help these stateless refugees, including children, who are at risk of dying of thirst, hunger, exposure or drowning at sea.

Instead we have the real reason - we don't want Muslim boat people here. They don't "belong" here.

The so called bleeding hearts have been proved correct. Our policy hasn't stopped the boats, it just turns them back and they go elsewhere. And now other countries are following our lead, and they are now turning their backs on these people. The result isn't pretty.

As the Refugee Council of Australia has pointed out, if the rest of the world followed Australia's lead and changed their laws to prevent asylum seekers who arrive by boat from claiming refugee protection, the international refugee system would collapse. Is that the sort of leadership we want? It seems this is the case.

We have to ask how civilized we really are if we turn our backs on innocent men, women and children who are fleeing persecution, and allow them to die on our doorstep? Are they not human beings? Are some humans more equal than others? Do we believe in universal human rights, or are they only for some people?

It appears our media and government have successfully demonised and dehumanised these people to a majority of Australians. We no longer feel anything when we hear of their distress, except a need to close our ears, minds, hearts and eyes. To feel anything is weakness.

I'm ok Jack - that is all that matters. If anyone feels the need to give a helping hand to boat people, then you are a fool - that is the message I get loud and clear. If you help one boatload of people from drowning, you don't know where it will end! It just encourages them apparently.

You're right Cobber, Rhrosty, thinkabit, Leslie, Jayb, J of M, ttbn and Hasbeen

Tony Abbott got it right, after all.

1. This is because it turned out most of these alleged refugees were not refugees at all, but male, Bangladeshi labourers attempting to exploit concerns about Rohingyas.
Most of these labourers are illiterate. Do you think Australian society would benefit? Note this http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-affairs/boatpeople-labourers-not-rohingya-indonesia/story-fn59nm2j-1227366019824

2. Abbott's firm stand encouraged ASEAN countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to act responsibly and accept the minority of genuine Rohingyas. Malaysia and Indonesia are already mainly Muslim so any real refugees would be more at home.

3. Abbott's stand prevented many Rohingyas, instead of being pushed out to sea by other Muslims, from drowning during long voyages.