The portion of my taxes that have gone to helping desperate people fleeing from war-torn and oppressive lands
david f,
very noble of you. But, wouldn't you rather see those Dollars of yours tDollars to show them so that they can live like we do & we won't need to feel so over privileged.
I rather send those people tools & crops etc & help them fight off their oppressors then send my Dollars to their countries & let the oppressors take most of it. I think monetary aid is actually highly irresponsible & more than likely the primary cause of so many oppressors rising to their positions of power. Let them try doing that with wheel barrows & shovels.
Aid must be responsible & smart not irresponsible & without foresight. Bringing the people here is fostering the dilemma , not solving it.

This string has made it evident that the government and opposition have succeeded in appealing to hate, fear and prejudice in regard to the boat people. In this world with the destruction of the environment we cannot continue with uncontrolled population growth. However, the number of boat people are a small percentage of either the normal immigrant intake or the Australia population. The politicians in the major parties have succeeded in making it a problem. The Greens who have been derided in this string want Australia to follow the conventions on refugees rather than stoking the fear, hate and prejudice in this area which is apparently the stock-in-trade of both the government and opposition.

In the past the United States has been welcome to oppressed people seeking a new life. These words are on the base of the Statue of Liberty:

The New Colossus
by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

P...you're the one who consistently rails against government money going to those who might require some "care".

You're wrong, all I complain about is the way it is allowed to be wasted. HUGE DIFFERENCE, but nice try anyway.

Lexi, while my attitude may appear to be, sink or swim, which it's not, my concerns with welfare, is not so much that it is there, but more so that it is allowed to be taken for granted, wasted and, that much of the burden of welfare has been shifted from governments, to business, which is simply unfair and has made us non competitive in the global market.

Unfortunately, we have now climbed the hill, kicking and screaming all the way, but we have now given up, and are on the way down. There is no saving it now.

As for government policy, so much these days is linked to other reform, so one can't vote for one reform, without being forced to accept another, much like the GST.

David F ...Apparently some inmates have even become mentally ill as a result of being locked up in one

As if being locked up in a SAFE detention centre could be any worse than the fear of being bombed at any time. You're kidding!

As for what to do, simply remove what it is they are coming for. Once the carrot is removed, the people smugglers, THE REAL PROBLEM will have nothing to sell.

As for the likes of the US and Canada, they are accepted and used as slave labor, because unlike us, it's a case there of work for what ever, or starve.

Then .....Meanwhile, you apparently are upset because the government feeds people and provides them with beds in the detention centres. How terrible!

As I say, once our own are looked after, go for your life. Remember, of the hundred thousand plus homeless we have, not one is a boat person in a DC.

Continued

David F, continued

As for the casualization of our workforce, now there's a joke. Brought on by labor and the unions who simply can't accept that for every action, there's a reaction, and casual employment is the reaction to their he'll bent plan to protect workers rights,at any cost and with little or no regard for the risk takers who provide, or should I say, PROVIDED the secure jobs. A plan that has simply backfired, big time.
Y
You wanted it, you got it, so you now have to deal with it and believe me, it will never change until these ridiculous IR laws are banished for good.

When a person wants a job, and another person wants to provide one, why should big brother have to step in.

As I say, your problem, as you and your beloved labor/unions have caused it.

At least with a casual, pushed from pillar to post, doing irregular shift/hours, not really knowing where their next shift is coming from, a business owner has the freedom to pick and choose staff, when a better one comes along, much the same way as a worker can pick and choose a job.

If only governments were capable of running a business, they may have picked up on this before they acted. But, it's simply to late now, as casual/contract is the new norm.

Better get a grip on that one mate.

Dear rehctub,

I appreciate you. You do not denigrate the people you argue with or put them down. You do not use insulting language or imply that your opponents are deficient in any way. I wish you well.

In the past the United States has been welcome to oppressed people seeking a new life.
david f,
Nothing wrong with offering people a new life but that's not what's happening here now, is it ? When Customs boat crew asked several people what bad conditions they escaped from, the answer was "none really, we just want to go to Australia.
We're not talking about refugees, we're talking about agenda driven people forcing their way to Australia under the pretence of refugee status.
David if you feel you can handle living in the noise ridden life style that many of these people want to impose upon us you'd better try a month in their country first.