The world according to the BBC; now that's an unrebukable source if ever there was one.

Whilst I personally hold no brief for the Howard government, and despite the bizarre nonsense of the current 'swap' idea, it is hard to come up with an immigration policy that is both humane and viable in terms of our own economic survivable. The vociferous 'let them all in - we are all brothers and sisters together' component of the debate has yet to to suggest the appropriate course of action when fifty million of the world's poor and hungry turn up - and fifty million is a small drop in a very large bucket. This country is presently stretched to the limit in providing adequate food and water supplies to the existing population, not to mention the corresponding provision of services. Many Australians are poor, more than a few are inadequately fed, and in my view deserve priority over the alleviation of misery in other countries. There is simply not enough to have everybody in the world live at the standard that most of us enjoy in this country. Population is the problem, and population control is the only long term solution. The choice is between limiting conception, or allowing natural attrition. These are the only two viable options.

It is not necessary to “let them all in”, as some posters imply, to have a more humane policy towards people claiming asylum in Australia.

This can be achieved by treating all arrivals decently, processing their applications quickly, and detaining only those that seem to be a genuine risk to the domestic community – in other words, treating people who arrive without papers by boat about the same as we treat other unauthorised visitors, such as visa over-stayers. Yes, I know there are differences, but they’re not significant enough to justify prolonged detention of people who are already, in many cases, victims of violent oppression.

Not even the defenders of Australia’ harsh treatment of asylum seekers have sought to defend the swap arrangement with the USA, whose sole purpose seems to be to demonstrate a petty meanness towards people whose entitlement to asylum under international treaties cannot be thwarted.

The vicious subtext of Australia’s asylum-seeker policy is that the worse we treat asylum seekers, the less inclined they will be to come here. This is indeed despicable.

here her Ludwig,

Some sense from you.

They should be detained for a period for Disease Testing, cultural education and preparing them to enter a vastly different culture and way of life from what they've known. it is essential.

Sometimes i read the comments on this website and really despair for the social environment we have fostered in this country. Blatant racism, elitism and little concern for fellow human beings. Some of the views and ignorance in this country really make me ashamed.

I just hope that with the all the talk of Australia struggling to provide water to its population we never find ourselves in the position of millions of refugees and destitute people throughout the world. How will people feel if one day we're forced to search for security and adequate living standards in another country and the kind of arguments and reasoning that have been raised in this forum are used against us?

This aarticle offends me because it asserts that the Howard's government policy is determined absolutely by the motive of pandering to the most votes. This is not unthinkable, but it also implies that most of us are xenophobic and also that the government is entirely political. Of course Mr Howard is political, and of course many of us are xenophobic. But there is also a real issue of whether people who are "smart" in gaining access should have preference over those many refugees who are held in camps awaiting the provision of some reallocation. I am socialistic in sentiment, but realistic - I think - in believing that all refugees shoud wait their turn whilst being sequestered in safe UN locations. The Howard Government (who I personally despise) is spot on in its policy. Refugees shoud be housed, temporarilly, in places from where they can be distributed to nations happy to receive them