I believe that Australia is a very generous country that has helped the tsunami victims more than any other country.We can help the victims more if we assist them in rebuilding their lives instead of moving them away from their homeland and the places they are familiar with. I have thought about the orphans of the tsunami and thought about adopting a child if it is possible but by moving them from their countries we are in a way stealing their future and also changing their faiths-so would that be helping or destroying in the eyes of the ones left behind.

The surest way of damaging relations with our neighbours is to move hundreds of thousands of villagers with little or no concept of how an advanced industrial nation works into such an advanced industrial society. Within a short time the inability of Australia to absorb such numbers and the inability of the displaced villagers to adjust would create huge social tensions that would undermine our relations with our neighbors for generations.

On a practical level, where are the schools, jobs, housing and medical care going to come from? Many left leaning commentators while espousing such moves as giving a home to huge numbers of refugees seem to forget that in practical terms, it means that some Australians will be waiting even longer for a hospital operation and that rents will increase (in the short-term anyway) and it is the battlers who will suffer. Many of us want to help but when the cost of such help means but not at the cost of one’s Gran having to wait an extra six months for an operation because the hospitals are now dealing with an influx of refugee families—one suspects that perhaps providing assistance that enables people to stay in their own country might be a more attractive option.

And far be it from me to suggest that the social pain of a large refugee influx will be felt at the bottom end of Australia society and those who pen left wing social commentary may not necessarily suffer from long hospital waiting lists, increased competition for jobs and a lack of affordable rental housing.

Greg Barnes needs a reality check.How are you going to employ so many people on mass.Is Greg going to pay extra taxes for the rest of his life to keep them?Indonesia is far richer in soil,water,and forests than Australia.They can find a better quality of life with our help and some family planning.

Greg...have u noticed that ALL the feedback so far is AGAINST what u suggest ??? getting the message ? you are OUT of touch.. with reality and with the community. Your also politically and socially naive.... or are u ? (political agenda meter is whacking the TEN. full scale deflection point)

Did you have lunch recently with Waleed Aly ??? who wrote in a similar vain in the Age but probably from a more focused political/social agenda.

Greg.. wake up, move out of Southbank and Lygon street coffee shops into the real world, it does actually exist and its NOT like you seem to assume it is.

BOAZ