I'm sorry I don't know the author.

Probably not peculiar to Aussie.
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That probaby sums up the reasons for the opposition.

David

VKU what ever. and others

More ill informed scare mongering. Pity there isn't a lot of fact in the hyperbole. Just a jingoistic jaundiced view.

One point the author missed was that types like views as expressed in addition to the above flaws they show an underlying principal. To find a scape goat some one to blame for their fears. particularly of ANY change or they might be missing out on something.

Objectively, what is so great about anglo saxon or white? Perhaps, that they are paternalistic self interested wanna be elitists like every other racial colour or hue. Get over your self.

He's at it again. Has Examinator ever posted something in which he does not accuse those who disagree with him, & his fellow bleeders of being "ill informed"? I think not.

He must be a wonderful bloke, to be always right, always know everything, at least in his eyes.

Personally I'm sick of all these do-gooders who want me to pay for their conscience. I wonder what dreadful things they have done for theirs to need so much massaging.

I feel no obligation to a people who started, & lost a very nasty war. I fell less than no oblication to those who have funds to pay people smugglers, after that war. I have to wonder where those funds came from.

Now if Mr Boey, & Examinator feel so obliged to these people, I suggest they sponsor one, & PERSONALLY pay for their expenses until they are self supporting, if ever. Personally, I can think of at least one hundred thousand better uses for my money. Can't think of many worse, actually.

We always have other do-gooders crying that we don't have enough public housing in Oz, for our "deserving" people, as it is, so why fill it up with these failed warmongers?

From what we have seen on the news of these people, they would be about the last we would want living here.

Politics is a fickle mistress, and you are only as good as your last mistake.

John Howard learnt this with work choices after labor painted it as the big bogey.

What is patently clear is that a strong majority of the Aus public is dead set against asylum seekers coming in by boat. The polls vary from 65% to 85% on taking stronger action.

Irrespective of the moral arguments, Rudd has given Turnbull an openning, and the coalition has stuck the knife in and twisted it, both on being too soft, and the poor treatment of those in detention in Indonesia. What is worse for Rudd, is that it is capturing the attention of the public who percieve this as being soft and incompetent. The stellar majority that labor holds could rapidly evaporate before November 2010. It is probably one of the best examples of wedge politics I have seen for years.

Listening to the parliamentry debate there is a huge focus on immigration, and it is clear that Rudd has no answers, is twisting in the wind, and Turnbull is not going to cut him any slack.

Until these issues are resolved, it would be suicidal for labor to even contemplate any further relaxations.

I do not understand, nobody is against refugees coming here. By boat across dangerous seas, emotional backmail for the richer asylum seekers, the expectation of rescue. We are simply not geographically located to morally support this type of passage.

I feel we can take a lot more but the debate is never about that. It seems to offend those that live by TV screens and celebrity culture and think it is Australian Refugee Idol and they barrack for their favourite contestant. So many more face a far harsher reality. Just because they do not get media they are not important? That is what you are saying. Very omplex issues and complete ignorance of the reality of border security..

For eg You say just ask an Aboriginal..

Why don't you ask them, they may not appreciate a boat load of asylum seekers washing up on their Islands and bringing ashore diseases..once again. So yes, go ask them. Please.

Australia has a responsibility as a developed country - I agree.

But I also say that other countries have the responsibility to put behind them the tribalism, superstition, hostility to others and backward ways of looking to attempt to become the sort of countries that will lead people to want to stay rather than leave.

This includes acceptance of the need for birth control programs, for acceptance of democratic principles, for the rule of law and the outlawing of cronyism, patronage and coprruption, and for universal suffrage.

If necessary the peoples of those countries need to rise up and tell their ruling class that the current situation cannot continue.

So it is a two way street, Australia should meet its responsibilities, at the same time that other countries meet theirs.

We shouldn't have refugees coming to Australia - they are coming only because people in other countries refuse to act as people in Australia act.

Just so frustrating at times. We have asylum seekers turning up in the Torres Strait. ok. We do not even go there without an invitation unless TI or Horn.

We have articles here crying that in some detention centres they do not get DEET, when we don't either. We have doctors saying the rate of malaria and TB is high among asylum seekers so they need better health care.

We had one visitor from Indonesia that resulted in 700 cases of dengue fever up here. Now tourists usually stay in highly toxic hotel rooms where survival of mosquito is low, and where war is declared on the baby crocodile in their room aka gecko. Yet see what happens when one stays in the suburbs? never mind the Island or wherever else they may turn up.

So then because we inflicted disease on Indigenous people before ...well then it is just fine to do it again?

I am sorry, ask an Aboriginal? Sorry to burst any lollypop bubble you may live it. But hello? Anyone home?

What the author and many readers do not take into account with this interesting topic is not just that a significant number of Australians strongly oppose illegal immigration, but they are mainly from Labor's heartland. In addition, I would think that the opposition to this would be more important to them than any other issue except possibly paying tax. If Rudd does not wish to be immolated at the next election he will make sure that the will of the people prevails in this matter. Territoriality is such a basic urge that it is older than humankind, with many animals being strongly territorial. Entry without leave constitutes invasion. It is as simple as that. Only a few weeks ago persons of muslim immigrant background were duly convicted of a terrorist conspiracy. This is a fundamental issue of security, and politicians will meddle with it at their peril.

As for myself, it is not so important, as I oppose ALL immigration on environmental lines. Any country that exceeds its sustainable population level is at peril, and nature's solution usually involves four horsemen. The measure of the world crisis that we are in is that there's really only one problem in the world, from which all other problems flow. The problem is overpopulation. The whole world should be forced to implement a one child policy, with the problem of ageing populations being dealt with by steadily increasing the retirement age. This, of course, will not be done, and that is why we face such a terrible future.

Howard’s much quoted few words about Australia actually deciding who is allowed to come to Australia had nothing to do with “Scare mongering”. Howard’s assertion was just common sense and perfectly right; all countries should be deciding who is allowed in, and they generally do. It’s just when people of cultures who have no understanding of the West and its ways and rule of law start trying to breach our borders as if they had a perfect right to do so that that Australians start taking exception.

Scare-mongering has nothing to do with objections to illegal entry to Australia.

And, whether or not illegal arrivals are “miniscule” as many people other than this author like to tell us, the number of people attempting to gain entry to Australia when compared with Europe and other places is entirely irrelevant. Just because we have fewer illegals arriving than another country somewhere else in the world does not mean that we should not be concerned and try to keep them out. We have a far too large immigration programme as it is, and we also have an orderly refugee programme. We do not need any more people who are of no use to us. This author and others bleating about ‘inhumanity’ can always go to the countries the illegals are coming from and try to improve their lot there, if they are such wonderful, caring people.

The author’s claim that the Rudd Government should do what he and other soft-headed do-gooders should do as he wishes because the ALP got 58% of the vote, while the Coalition gained only 42%, is daft. Nobody in his or her right mind thinks that the Government won office because it was softer than the Coalition on illegals; and nobody could claim that the vote would remain at 58% if the Government started listening to the loony-left. They want to get back in next election.

The ‘ one-third’ of people who would turn back illegal boats is a little on the wild side too! The last Newspoll showed 75% of voters for turning them back.

Nice sentiments, K. C, Boey.

Unfortunately, they attract the usual "I'm alright Jack" haters, who post the same old misanthropic crap that they always do. Sometimes I'm ashamed to be an Australian, and I find the current actions of the Rudd Government and its excuse for an Opposition, not to mention the heartless muttering of this mob quite depressing.

I'm going fishing with friends for the weekend. I really couldn't be bothered with any more of this hatefest for a few days.

The obligations of a developed economy, would be to have fair,
intelligent and cost effective policies, without risking the
trashing of our own country in the longer term.

That is certainly not the case right now and the present situation
just highlights the fact that the Geneva Convention is 50 years out of
date and needs updating.

The present 78 people rescued, when they rang Australia for help
and now refuse to leave the ship, clearly shows that they hold
us for the suckers which we seem to be. If I was being persecuted
in fear of my life, I would frankly be relieved that I had
escaped the persecutors. Clearly this is not the case with this
lot, who are now country shopping for an Australian aka cushy
lifestyle.

Meantime genuine refugees in refugee camps around the world, will
have to wait, as we give preference to a corrupt boat race system
and whoever has the money to pay. A developed country would have
more intelligent policies then that.

Nobody here has argued that we should take no refugees. Australia
should take its quota, whatever the nation agrees on, but in an
orderly and fair way, taking the most deserving, not those
who seemingly want to hold our country to ransom because we are
seen as a soft touch.

I disagree- it's not fair on Australians to be held to such obligations because they represent a rich-ish country.

I personally find myself in the middle (some boat peoples I've endorsed being let in and given residence, others not so much....)

The public in many parts of Australia would indeed be generous to welcome asylum seekers, others are not.

I believe there needs to be a debate-
a REAL one, not the usual where one side lambasts the other for being 'selfish' and 'mean', while the other makes up nonsense excuses because it doesn't want to admit its prejudice towards some of the people that come here (be it for racism or wider fear of letting fundimentalist fanatics (from a less popular tribe) in- both are possible).

But I do believe we DO have a right to decide policy on our own borders- although the current group I think, should simply be given character and psychological evaluations, and IF they pass both, just let them in (but do it in secret, while telling the world we threw them in prison so we maintain our discouraging stance)!

What do you guys think?

perhaps K.C. Boey thinks we should adopt the more humane policy of the Singaporians.

What do you think CJ?

Might it work? It's certainly humane.

Yes the Singaporians have a policy of nil refugee immigration. They intercept boats with refugees within their region, refuel them, top up their water supplies, replenish their food stocks, wish them well and actively assist them to continue their passage.

Hell why don't we simply ask Kevy to ask the Singaporians to stop helping them! Nothing inhumane in that?

Looks like its Australia that has become the rubbish dump of the region. For some reason Australia is hounded for not accepting what no other country in Asia wants to accept. Yet we hardly ever hear any official lines critizing these other countries. Good old Australia, fast becoming a third world country.
A third world country has nothing to do with the soil, the water or the air, but has everything to do with the people who inhabit the land. Swap all the people in Australia and Indonesia around and within a few short years Indonesia would be like Australia and visa versa.
Who we bring to this country determines exactly what type of country we will have. Its that simple. Its time the average joe in the street started to talk his mind on these issues and not be bound by the PC minority who will label you hateful and racist. I would strongly urge all Australians to speak their mind loudly on this issue. Our country is too good to let these PC bullies destroy it with their lies and propaganda. I also believe we are in the great silent majority. Speak much later and it will be too late.

Ozzie,

Yes we should keep it up. I remember the press before the Iraq war. They had weapons of mass destruction, terrorists and all sorts of nasties. We must destroy.

Seems they are doing the same with Sri Lanka. The difference being they did have terrorists and they did defeat them. Oh what bad people. They think we are stupid, LTTE know we are and exploit it. The war is over. Camps over crowded and poor response from the government. Same as US government after Hurricane Katrina. The screening camps are retricting freedom. We did the same in Iraq to screen out terrorists though there really wasn't any there to begin with, we created that environment. How idiotic do we look. If the Sri Lankan Government is doing bad things we need to be a little more specific and credible rather than repeating what an asylum seekers may suggest. Journalists seem incapable of questioning anything.

So it is up to us.