runner,

"....their idea of a humanitarian approach."

You mean it's a bit like this approach?

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?

And the King will answer them, "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers you did it to me."
(Matthew 25. 35-40 ESV)

Runner, in no way do The Greens encourage asylum seekers to undertake the perilous journey to Australia in boats. If Labor and Liberal were truly concerned with the plight of these people they would stop the political point scoring and find a humanitarian solution to the problem.
We still remember the Howard lies about "children overboard", shows the depths that a person will sink to make political capital and its still going on. There is no real concern from Gillard or Abbott about these people, they are political pawns to be used to win a few votes, then cast off when of no more use.

Can anyone give an answer to this hypothetical? A chartered jumbo jet from Miami with 487 supposedly American millionaire tourists arrives at Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney. When they disembark they proclaim they are not tourists here to see Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef after all, but rather political refugees from the States. Pointing out its election year over their and they need to escape the constant nauseating rantings from republican politicians. What do we do with them?

(a) Put them up at the nearest five star hotel whilst JG and TA prepare their speeches for tonight's welcoming banquet.

(b) Ship them off to Heard Island while they wait for processing.

(c) Your answer.

individual
I would have to agree about 'service' in name only in lots of areas within the public service. And there is no doubt there is huge room for improvement. The reason why I support Greens is that I believe they are the only party that would put the 'service' back into the public service and ensure that there is a proper safety net while not kowtowing just to the interests of big business (of which a lot of the tax dollar goes). Why do businesses get so much out of the public purse often while paying less tax than the ordinary person (in 'real' terms). Both the major parties are wedded to the global free trade system and are too influenced by the wants of business than what is good for the citizenry.

We might even get back a nationalised bank where instead of the banks sticking their thumbs up to an interest rate cut, a government owned bank would make the move and the others would follow. Same with essential services. I don't believe many of them should be outsourced to the private sector. There are just some things that should not be at the whim of the profit motive, that also does not provide service.

Cont...

cont/....

I know it is not black and white and there are grey areas. Jobs have been lost with Liberal and Labor governments, especially in manufacturing. The Greens are not against mining - we all need goods - but not at the cost of everything. We are not just a mining pit but a farming community and humans wellbeing depends on protecting the environment. It has to be a mix. Most corporations, who hold influence over government, are not ethically wired. They are beholden to shareholders first (and themselves), the consumers and the citizens have been programmed now to expect less for more. I think there are inherent problems in this sort of economic thinking.

It is funny, watching Executive Suite the other day a good old black and white movie, about just that very principle. People used to have pride in their work and in creating quality products. The Greens may not be perfect and they have not been tested in leadership, but at the moment for me, they are better than the other choices. The false accusations of communism and the like are just from people who are scared they might actually be onto something.

Otokonoko
I would not read too much into that link about Christine Milne. The media is not generally fair and balanced when it comes to the Greens. Look at the nonsense trotted out about communism and global government.

If Milnee did say those things publicly then perhaps there is a lesson there to be learnt for her now as leader.

Personalities are not totally unimportant, especially when they impede governing (Rudd) but they are not as interesting as policies.