The rioters must be prosecuted and jailed and yes yabby the UN refugee provisions needs rewriting.

However we have to stop the boats from coming and the way to do that is not to give them what they seek. i.e. permanent residence visas that enable them to bring their families here by 747.

Doesn't really matter where they are processed, it is the PR visas that are the key. Stop that and the incentive to come is removed.

Don't expect this government to do that so it will continue as is. Another nail in the coffin for Labor.

"These people have had their applications REJECTED! That is why they are upset. "
Upset enough to start assaulting people and burning down buildings?
Sorry- as far as I'm concerned even against an asylum rejection coming from a dangerous country that's overkill and an incredibly poor example of character that we are supposed to be letting into our communities to supposedly not go apesh1t when they don't get their way once again.

In fact, one could indeed say that the people that do this kind of thing are little different from those they are fleeing- quick to resort to violence to get their way.

Let the right to safety start with those who aren't prone to violating it for others first.

Villawood's SERCO's manages to come in at 25% under what a government run detention facility costs and still make a profit. How? This is one way. A former employee on ABC news; "Serco basically got rid of the six-week course using staffing levels as an excuse and basically threw the staff onto the floor and expected experienced staff to train them as well as do their normal jobs."

When are we going to wake up to the fact that there are some things that need to be kept out of the hands of the private sector?

Privatise the Australian Wheat Board and you get hundreds of millions of dollars paid in kickbacks or use contractors to return the bodies of dead servicemen and they get switched.

If our government wishes to deprive people of their liberty then it need to have full control over every aspect of their detention.

Nearly two years is an insane amount of time to take to process a refugee claim. If you locked me away from my family for that period and only then rejected my claim I would be pretty bloody cranky as well.

Eddie McQuire agrees, http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/flames-blast-at-villawood-detention-centre-as-detainees-protest/story-fn7x8me2-1226042553065

As it is nearly ANZAC day I think we should reflect how some of us are prepared to send young men and women over to die in these places, supposedly to secure the future of the people, but when asked to make small sacrifices here to help those people fleeing that very country and all we get is whinging. Why shouldn't it be called cowardly?

Claims need to be processed far more quickly and we don't need cost cutting corporations in charge of our humanitarian responsibilities, especially when we are dealing with such emotionally charged circumstances.

Well said all posts csteele.

I saw a fb post by an OLO aboriginal person who put up the newspaper article about the riots and under it his own comment about how they should kick them all out.

I’d reckon his people been saying same thing a few generations now.

Nice to know Aussie has one firm tradition.

*These people have had their applications REJECTED! That is why they are upset.*

So they refuse to accept the Govt's decision and now burn down
buildings? Come on Csteele, if their claim was rejected, they
should have been on the next plane out of here, ages ago.

Csteel- obviously the answer is to:
-Nationalize the detention sector
-Withdraw our military from these countries and take a neutral foreign policy (as in my opinion they should not have been there to begin with)
-Ensure no cost-cutting operations are undertaken
-Process claims quickly and immediately deport those who fail to qualify before they get a chance to riot

Simple really-
I don't see the need to wind up some gigantic web connecting refugee applications to broader conservative policies or problems when it is clearly very easy to separate them.