The point that you have made John, which should have been the primary focus of commentators, is that for all the rhetoric, no actual solutions are being proposed. Endless detention on Nauru is not a solution, but neither is endeavouring to resettle never-ending numbers in Australia - else we would (and actually are due to plane arrivals) creating the same conditions people are trying to get away from.

Instead, what we need to do is focus well-targeted aid where it will do the most good as highlighted in this piece penned by William Bourke of the Sustainable Australia party:

"William Bourke, President of the Sustainable Australia agrees, saying “Whilst an increased intake should be considered, the current game of moral one-upmanship by politicians is unhelpful and regrettable. The government’s plans to increase the intake by 12,000 will cost a conservative $500 million, or around $40,000 per refugee.[2]

[26/01/16 Edit: Figure later confirmed to be $700 million, or around $60,000 per person.]

This is now “How many people would $40,000 per year help to live safely in UN camps? According to the UNHCR, a donation of $300 per annum ‘can buy an Emergency Assistance Package to give a family the essentials for survival and shelter’.[3] If we conservatively assume a family is four people, that’s $75 per person. For every one person Australia resettles, we therefore forego the opportunity to help over 500 people in what World Vision’s Tim Costello calls ‘the main game’. Given the scale of the Syrian crisis, $500 million would be better spent helping over 6 million people than 12,000.

”Rather than simplistic moral posturing over increased permanent resettlement numbers, we align with Reverend Costello’s overriding aim to help people live safely now, and ultimately sustainably in their homeland. To achieve this ultimate goal, we also need to address underlying drivers of resource scarcity and conflict in Syria, including rapid population growth.

http://www.votesustainable.org.au/refugee_posturing_by_politicians_morally_misguided_sustainables

For all the bleeding heart Lefties promoting open borders, here's the reality of what is happening in Europe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yfuPgMTgEs

Add to that the unconscionable suppression of information on the invaders' atrocities in Cologne, Sweden, France and the UK.

European nations built up their wealth over centuries. These scum from the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan or wherever have just turned up and demanded 2000 Euros a week play money, a car, a house. They are simply stealing the wealth of Europe. With no resistance to speak of from gutless politicians such as Merkel. Au contraire, with the support of such politicians, bureaucrats and police, as the video above shows.

Aidan,

"What is the evidence for that?"

Here....http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/asylum-selfharm-ends-after-family-travel-ban/news-story/98df1c069cd66bd677d17639018b4661

"Late last year, Mr Dutton ­instructed the Immigration ­Department to bring only the person needing medical treatment to Australia, not the whole family, unless there were ­“extenuating circumstances”.

In the three months after the virtual ban on family members was introduced in September, there was a dramatic fall in self-inflicted injuries.

In January last year, there were 15 threats of self-harm by asylum-seekers on Nauru and 14 self-­inflicted injuries and in May there were seven threats and eight incidents of self-harm, representing 2.4 per cent of the asylum-seeker population.

But in October, the month after the new policy, there were only one threat and seven self-inflicted injuries.

By the following month, this had dropped to two threats and two incidents of self-harm.

In December, there was only one threat of self-harm and no self-inflicted injuries."

Now a curious person would wonder whether, given that the self-harm habit was clearly contrived, what else might be contrived? Perhaps 5 yr old being raped?

By the skin of our teeth and due to the good judgement of people like Howard and Abbott, we have largely avoided the horrors now engulfing Eurabia. But to protect ourselves from those horrors we need to be constantly vigilant against those who, for whatever purpose, seek to demonstrate their virtue at the expense of our future. Thankfully it seems, the good sense of the Australian people has prevailed whereas the willingness of the Europeans to let their political leaders do as they wished has bought them to this dire stage.

Okay, let's go through it all again, from A to Z - pick your preferred position:

A. The Australian government should allow people into the country who come here on leaky boats, after paying exorbitant sums to people-smugglers.

Okay. But then, why 'leaky boats' ?

B. All right. The Australian government should allow people into the country who come here on seaworthy boats, after paying exorbitant sums to people-smugglers.

Okay, But why should they have to pay exorbitant sums to people-smugglers ?

C. All right. The Australian government should allow people into the country who come here on seaworthy boats, after paying standard commercial fees.

Okay. But why should they have to come here only by boat ? Why not allow people to fly ?

D. All right. The Australian government should allow people into the country who come here on commercial flights, after paying standard commercial fees.

Okay. They should be able to jump the queue (ahead of sixty million other refugees, many who would have applied on the proper forms in the proper sway, and waited. And waited) on ordinary commercial flights from anywhere in the world. And why just bona fide refugees ?

E. All right. This should not be limited to refugees: anybody who wants should be able to fly here at any time.

Is that it ?

Where's YOUR cut-off ?

IS there a cut-off ?

Joe

Before John Bilger writes a joint article with Waleed Aly for the ever-gullible British audience, we should remember that :

* Australia does have a refugee intake -14,000, soon to rise to 21,000, if I'm not mistaken. The humanitarian Abbott government committed to taking another twelve thousand from Syria; that's up around 33,000, the equivalent of Britain taking in 100,000.

* Australia does have an immigration intake, of ?something like 180,000 annually?, the equivalent of Britain taking half a million.

* close to half a million foreign students are currently studying in Australia. You do the maths, it's Friday afternoon.

* there are close to that number of tourists, backpackers and 451 visa-holders.

* there are reputed to be quite a few illegal visa-overstayers in Australia.

Just getting in before the usual Bilge reaches New Matilda. Oops, too late.

Joe

The left have certainly dumbed the getup group etc down enough where we see clearly that the 'ánti racist are by far the most racist, the peace protestors the most violent, the feminist the most sexist , Islam is a relgion of peace. Certainly Christophobia destroys people's rationality. Waly is just smart enough to exploit the naive and brainwashed.