The thing about the pacific solution is you only hear about the small amount of boat arrivals. That doesn't count those that died on the way and it doesn't count the boats that were turned back. If anyone has data on the amount of people dumped back in Indonesia by the Howard government they're not sharing it.

Scribbler, I couldn't agree with you more. The approach has to be much more comprehensive than anything being offered at the moment, as well as humane. Of the goods on offer by the two major parties, however, the Malaysian solution was probably going to be the most effective at creating a deterrent. But as you say, it was limited at 800 people.

What I don't like is Abbott playing political games with people's lives. He knows Nauru won't be a deterrent any longer. The architects of the program have said as much. In fact wasn't it Metcalfe that proposed the Idea behind the Malaysia solution? Despite Abbott having been advised of this, he still sticks with it because it suits his political ploy for the keys to the Lodge. It is nothing short of reprehensible. Or as Bernard Keane wrote today: "evil".

Evil is having a solution to stopping the deaths and doing nothing. By David's logic, Labor is evil.

P.S. Only 5 boats were turned around.

There are as many boats arriving every 2 months as there were during the entire 6 years of the pacific solution.

In 2007 there were only 4 boat people in detention. QED the pacific solution worked. Even Labor belatedly admits that off shore processing is required after 10 years of bagging it.

As one writer stated a few days ago:

"If asylum seekers are willing to risk their
lives in the dangerous waters of the Indian
Ocean to seek a better life on our shores it's
unlikely that the threat of detention or
repatriation will have much of a deterrent effect."

The writer added:

"For the hard liners in the Coalition admitting
that asylum seekers can't be deterred is tantamount
to conceding the entire argument - after all the
consistent line of Tony Abbott, Scott Morrision and
their colleagues has been that John Howard solved
this problem and that Labor re-created it by going
"soft" on border protection... For the Labor party
such an admission would also create difficulties -
because it would mean the Opposition is correct
in its accusation that Labor has gone "soft" on
border protection."

The end result ends up with more recriminations,
more name calling, more blame game.

We can only hope that the Independents, and people of
conscience on both sides of politics will succeed in
forcing the hand of both parties to find a compromise
that will be acceptable to all.