Dear Shadow Minister,

The greatest number of refugees come from the following
countries - Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Columbia, Sudan, Vietnam,
Eritrea, China, just a name a few.

Trust in our political system has started to ebb away.
Finger-pointing achieves nothing constructive.

@ Thinker2,

Maybe you need to give some thought to changing your name Thinker2, because all you appear to be doing is regurgitating what the advocacy groups have spoon fed you.

1) <<Then you would have to hark back to the numbers Austin, and also realise that the numbers arriving by boat here are small compared to other nations offering and providing safe asylum>>

Here the key words are: “safe haven”. Many nations offer temporary safe haven but few outside the (gullible) West offer permanent residency with all the trimmings of lifelong social welfare thrown in.


2) <<As to the issue of formal identification, it is fair to say that if you were fleeing a war zone in a country that provides little in the way of citizenship papers anyway, that you are not likely to be able to provide paper work.>>

Funny thing they have NO papers – yet they seem to have a good supply of mobile phones along with a list of emergency contact numbers in OZ

3) << In addition the numbers of illegal immigrants arriving by plane and overstaying their visa, massively outweigh those arriving by boat in this country>>

This one has been answered to death so many times to bring it up again and try and pass it off with the comment:“No one it seems is doing anything about that.” Shows either you have not been listening or not thinking (probably both!) .Please go back to earlier threads on OLO where it was repeatedly answered.



@Lexi,

<<Trust in our political system has started to ebb away...>>

But judging by the number of illegals we attract, trust in our welfare system is going gang busters!

Dear SPQR,

There will always be people who will try to abuse
whatever system exists - be they locals, or others.
However, I believe that our welfare system works
surprisingly efficiently. If you've got evidence
to the contrary - we'd all be interested in your
supplying us with the link.

@Lexi,

My point wasn’t so much that the welfare system was being "abuse[d]" (though that may be the case also).
My point was more that, the benefits (welfare, and others) we generously bestow on "refugees" is a major draw factor.

Can there be any wonder why, so many are trying to pass themselves off as belonging to those groups we regularly (and blindly) rubber stamp as “genuine” refugees –see below:
"Insiders say refugees in Pakistan are going to extreme lengths to be able to come to Australia...while immigration officials often detect the fraud, in many cases they are overruled on appeal. A former employee at the Australian High Commission in Islamabad, who wishes to remain anonymous, says she witnessed visa fraud in her office ‘on a daily basis’.’Definitely, in fact I would say just about daily, a large percentage of my caseload would've been Pakistanis claiming to be Afghan refugees or Afghan asylum seekers,’ she said.”
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-05-02/australian-immigration-workers-claim-widespread-visa-fraud/937278

Add to the benefits, the fact that they can: blow-up boats (endangering life), burn down processing centres and regularly escape lawful detention, and be immune from prosecution.

And you have the reasons why so many illegals are voting with their feet –or, rather, their oars – and coming to Oz.
Oz must be a people smugglers dream location; one of the people smugglers easiest sell locations.

Incidentally Lexi, we're still hanging out waiting,waiting ,waiting for prosecutions on the following incidents –any idea as to when we will see prosecutions and deportations?

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4359#110561
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4618#121354

Lexi,

In none of the countries that you mentioned that we are getting asylum seekers has the situation changed dramatically from 2008, yet the numbers have increased 50x.

The lack in trust in the government is largely due to the corrupt and deceitful way labor is behaving.

Dear SPQR,

There's been a series of allegations in the media
about asylum seekers and refugees. Boat people have
been accused of queue jumping, being criminals, presenting
health risks, attempting to deceive and mislead immigration
officials and so on. Nothing new there.

After the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001 -
the then Defence Minister even suggested that there could be
terrorists threatening Australia's National Security. This
claim was well publicised at the time.

What was not publicised was an appearance before a Senate
Committee by the Director General of ASIO.

The Director General was asked how many security checks of
boat people ASIO had conducted and what were the results
of those checks. His reply was that ASIO had checked close
to 6,000 ( at that time), of whom not a single one presented
a security risk.

As for the Christmas Island and other riots - the following
link may clarify a few things for you:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/most-asylum-seeker-rioters-turned-out-to-be-refugees-20120306-1uief.html

I feel that as with any complex issue - it's always best to
research and examine the issue from more than one source,
and certainly from more than one perspective - before making
any judgements. Things are very rarely black or white -
and we sometimes need to remove our blinkers to see the
full picture.