Yabby

Treating people in a humane manner doesn't mean abandoning all reason. In fact I'd go further to say that you have let your rational cap behind when describing people smugglers as business-men.

As for Rudd's so-called softening on boat-people, please read the following BEFORE reacting as you tend to do.

The “border protection” policy hasn’t been watered down so much as dribbled on, the Rudd Labor government has maintained the core of the Howard government’s policies — mandatory detention, offshore processing and excision of islands from Australia’s immigration zone. Labor has also continued the deterrence and punishment for those who attempt to arrive “unauthorised” on Australian offshore islands. That is why Christmas Island has been retained.

The ‘new’ policy still has no time limit on the period of detention and no independent review of people who are detained. The independent immigration ombudsman can only recommend, not order, that a person be released from detention.

Keeping people offshore in the Christmas Island detention prevents them from accessing the same rights as other asylum seekers (the ones who arrive by the planeload).

This policy remains in breach of the refugee convention, which requires protection without discrimination for ALL refugees, regardless of how they enter a country.

It is extremely difficult for refugee workers, lawyers and community members concerned for the health and well-being people incarcerated on Christmas Island to gain access, information and assist with claims.

This IS the reality.

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Somewhere between 10 to 15 years ago a report was published warning about the invasion of Australia from the north. It was not a military invasion, but an invasion of people seeking a better life.

A middle eastern colleague said he could not beleive the benefits that the Australian government gives to people, for example in his country, if you do not work, you do not eat. In Australia the government gives people money for doing nothing.

He said Australia is the land of milk and honey.

However, the question remains should large numbers of people be accepted as refugees, how is this country going employ them, supply transport, housing.

Just as agriculture is not managing to supply enough food for the population we already have, and the rapidly dwindling water supply. How is Australia going to manage. Our health care system is serverely stretched already.

More and more cars are being added to the roads, because of very poor public transport systems in the major capital cities.

More cars equal more green house gases added to the atmosphere, as people spend more time travelling too and from work, because of the additional motor vechiles.

Maybe this is just the kind of pressure that politicans need to have applied to them.

But then again I don't beleive in mircles.

How lenient to be on asylum claims is a really vexed question. It boils down to the right of individuals to flee persecution and squalor and to find a better life versus the right of a nation state to control its sovereignty and culture as well as the quality and integrity of the lifestyle of its citizens. These are pretty weighty issues that deserve plenty of thought. The difficulty is that truths lie on both sides of the equation.

A problem is that when foreigners come into the country unannounced, it is the psychological equivalent of “the Barbarians are storming the gates” as the resident population instinctively mobilises to meet it. This reaction comes from deep in the human psyche and is not easily changed.

On the one hand, Australia should be willing to take refugees to pull its weight internationally in light of the UN Convention on Refugees. On the other hand, if Australia is seen by those that are most likely to exploit the situation that it is an easy touch, there might be no end of asylum attempts if the cost-benefit ratio is seen to be improved by a relaxing in Government policy. There’s no doubt that this relationship is a fluid yin-yang one.

Your view is dependent on who you are. If you are doing well personally and are reasonably easy-going, you'll probably be happy to let asylum seekers in more easily. If you are in a position to have to make some hard decisions, like the PM, or are doing it tough personally, you will more likely maintain a minimalist asylum seeker policy for as long as possible.

One thing for sure is that if the Government takes the wrong decision on this or gets the timing wrong, it will have profound consequences on the country. I just hope, whatever they do, the Government gets it right.

Actually what it really "boils down to" is everybody's need to attribute blame to somebody for every single thing they don't like.

Arguing over the symptoms won't eliminate the cause will it?

These forums are becoming a lot like the "outrage/end-of-cilivilisation-as-we-know-it" talk-back radio.

<”Many asylum seekers from Iraq and Afghanistan actually prefer to go to Europe. They often have no idea where they'll end up when they jump on those boats and many have never heard of Australia. Most have no idea about the change of government, let alone the change of policy.”>

Now that's bit far fetched, the boats leave from Indonesia, thousands of klms from Iraq and Afghanistan, in the opposite direction to Europe. These people have to travel through at least 4 muslim countries to get to the place of embarkation in Indonesia, it costs them huge amounts of money so they are not poor.

It's all well and good to say it's only few hundred or thousand people, but why do you think 95% of them are men? Simple, they buy their way here then under our stupid family reunion policy they bring 10-20 of their relatives here, breed like flies, set up ghettos and demand their culture and religious laws be implemented for them.

There's a simple solution, all those jumping queues by flying here under false pretences and by boat, should be send back to their place of embarkation and told to join the queue. That will stop them pretty quickly. The most sensible thing to do is withdraw from the refugee convention and get our own house in order first.