Don't just say:

A policy discussion based on liberal values would assure Australians that border security does matter yet is not an either/or proposition, that immigration policy has to be informed by values such as fairness, equal treatment, global responsibility, and balancing the interests of sovereignty with the advantages that come to Australia from migration. This would be a policy whereby cruelty and unjustifiable hardship, such as inflicting destitution on asylum seekers, have no place because they are counterproductive and, more importantly, utterly inconsistent with liberal values.

Give us the details of your plan. How specifically would you meet these lofty liberal values? It is so easy to chatter from the sidelines about fairness and equal treatment but you need to give us the details of an asylum seeker plan that would provide these while still preventing an influx of new boat people.

You say that these policies have been chosen because they are populist, but you haven't given us your plan to compare with so we can decide. Just saying it's populist doesn't mean it's good or bad. What is your plan?

Firstly,

The assertion that both major parties are shifting to the right is bollocks, the Labor party has shifted markedly to the left and is particularly under the sway of Sally McManus that wants to "change the rules" back to 1960s type legislation to save the ever shrinking union membership, and to raise taxes left right and center.

Considering that it was Hawke and Keating that started to liberalise the economy that led to 3 decades of rapid growth in GDP and living standards.

The only area that the labor party has notionally moved to the right is on its faux conversion to border control (looking dubious after the latest free pass to detainees.) after killing 1200+ and facing the outrage of the voters.

Similarly in the UK we have Jeremy Corbyn that wants to fleece the rich and nationalize major industries as was done pre Thatcher and nearly bankrupted the country.

There are not many justified phobia but Leftist Sillinessphobia is.

I never did figure out what the TAMPA affair was all about. When parents throw their kids into the water so the nearest boat's crew is morally obliged to scoop them up, how did that make the then Govt bad ? Why does human life blackmail make the Right bad ? When drownings between Indonesia & Australia become weekly old news again will it be the Shorten Govt that is so bad as was Howards ?
Or will the next flotilla head for PNG instead ? After all it is much closer to here than Indonesia & PNG has no resources to accommodate refugees. Whichever way it goes, it'll be Australia's Right taxpayers who will be fleeced again. The Lefties in the public service will just stand there & hold out their hands for humanitarian medals !

Dear Armchair Critic,

Wait a second, you pranced on in here claiming victim status saying “I only get 350 words to refute all this crap and I'm not sure I could do it in less than a thousand.”

When it is rightly pointed out that you had 1050 words at you disposal you then went with a series of pathetic excuses.

Then to top it off you claim to be 10th generation Australian. Hat will need a little more substantiation before you get a pass on that one my friend.

Dear individual,

You wrote;

“I never did figure out what the TAMPA affair was all about. When parents throw their kids into the water so the nearest boat's crew is morally obliged to scoop them up, how did that make the then Govt bad ?”

You can't figure it out because you have a patently bereft understanding of the issue.

Tell me please when did parents throw their children into the water during the Tampa affair?