I share your thoughts .
The Rud Turnbull exercise intolerance / intransigence in particular , reflects Australian intolerance to Islamic People .

The fact that both our Leaders are prepared to condemn those people to misery and very likely death is surprising . I thought better of them .

The other issue I have is their Western Dress and their kids who spoke like English was their first language .

My impression of the Tamils was a gang of murderous Islamic jungle fighters for who War was their mantra similar to the Tali ban .

Those people on that boat looked more like Australians to me .

Have I got this terribly wrong somehow ?

Under Australian Law and International Law a person is entitled to make an application for refugee asylum in another country when they allege they are escaping persecution. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution".
People who arrive on our shores without prior authorisation from Australia, with no documents, or false documents are not illegal.

To suggest that Turnbull and Rudd are vying with each other to be the toughest on illegals is nonsense. Apart from the fact that nobody can be tough about anything in opposition, Rudd (who could) is about as tough as a Sunday-school teacher: he openly invited illegals to come here by dropping any pretence of border security, and he has done nothing since except go crying to Indonesia for help to stop one boat after allowing all the others this year to arrive successfully.

Asylum seekers are not in “a state of desperation and utter despair.” They can “live in their own country.” They are confidence tricksters who have paid a good deal of money to be brought illegally to a country whose streets they believe to be paved with gold. They come because Australia is a soft touch; because of immigration agents; because of do-gooders and others within Australia who are always using the entire Australian society to express their own, personal and childish views of ‘humaneness’.

It IS the fault of these illegals that “…they find themselves stateless and dispossessed.” Like all people who think that they are lovely and kind, Jennifer Wilson ignores the majority of people who do stay in their own countries and endure the hardship that the illegal entrants can pay to escape from. All apologists for illegals are phonies, using people who have no respect for the sovereignty and laws of Australia to sneak in here while their fellow countrymen tough it out.

These weak, naïve people who think that counties like Australia should accept whoever chooses to come to Australia – using the old rich country, helping the poor undeveloped and strife torn country argument – totally overlook the fact that the West is the way it is because the people had the courage and the moral background to fight over a long time for what they have. Undeveloped countries have to work out their problems the same way. We owe them nothing.

No illegals should set foot in Australia, ever!

I think like most Australians, I believe all refugees should be taken in and given appropriate protection, and that illegal immigrants should be immediately returned to their own country.

However, I think the main debate centers around how we distinguish between genuine refugees and illegal immigrants. One extreme would be to treat all arrivals as refugees until verified and provide them with freedom, accommodation and counseling. The other extreme would be to lock them all up in prison and then send them home when possible.

In reality we need a solution which lies somewhere in between. If we debated the important topics, rather than fear mongering or name calling then we will come closer to a solution to this problem.

Btw, can anyone provide a definition we use in Australia to determine if people are genuine refugees?

Stezza, as far as I know there are processes for determining the status of would be immigrants. One is our own process and the other is that defined by the UNHCR. Given that those arriving by boat have no papers, the process is very drawn out. Those arriving under the UNHCR applications have been validated and have the correct papers.

As pointed out in a similar thread, there are some 15 million desperate and displaced persons looking for settlement in other countries, many in UNHCR run camps. Should we as a Nation focus our ability to help upon those we can quickly accommodate and settle, or should we allow our resources to be diverted at the expense of other potential refugees?

Perhaps advocates such as E.Sykes/Jennifer Wilson should be allowed to sponsor boat people. All they have to do is stand guarantor, cover their Medicare, Centrelink and housing costs and ensure they become productive members of our community. These are already the conditions for many visa classes for immigrants to Australia that are non-refugee. They might even make a small profit from the $15,000 per person that would otherwise be paid to people smugglers.

Spindoc,

That is an excellent idea and quite outside the square.

How about if we add the proviso that only UN refugee applicants in camps around the world were entitled to be the recipiants of such uniquely Australian generosity. And their numbers limited only by the numbers of Australian sponsers. Where can I sign up? I'd sponsor an individual tomorrow.

Well done.