Poirot,

Under the PNG arrangement asylum seekers will gain asylum and safe resettlement under Australia's purvey. It is designed to be a disincentive to boat arrivals. It stands to reason that the disincentive will be greatest for those seeking economic betterment who are not fleeing in mortal fear from their countries, while for true asylum seekers it would be seen as a satisfactory outcome, but not their ideal.

There would be no turning back of dangerously unseaworthy boats, only safe escort in, health and needs checks, interim accommodating then transfer to PNG. Australia is addressing the needs of asylum seekers, so what is your problem when compared with the status-quo, which is not deterring boats because Australian residency is the attainable goal?

How else do you propose we deter arrivals by boat with their accompanying deaths? Should we open up the alternative of flight arrivals of those who clearly have no business or tourism purpose for arriving here, so creating a massive influx of genuine and non-genuine asylum seekers we would not cope with processing or accommodating?

We can now accept a higher number of those seeking economic betterment under a raised immigration ceiling but Australia alone cannot save the world.

SPQR, "if the new PNG arrangement only applies to *single males* --as Shadow Minister indicates --it will be less than useless, every male that lands hereafter will be a certified family man --I guarantee it!"

As is always the case with Kevin Rudd he makes promises on the fly and doesn't stop to consider the unintended consequences.

Why women, children and married men shouldn't be sent to PNG escapes me.

Actually here is the real story concerning
women and children and families folks:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07/20/asylum-seeker-boat-intercepted-off-wa-coast/4832886

It appears that the only reason that single men are going first
is that there are no facilities to house women, children and
families. They may remain on Christmas Island until the
facilities on Manus Island are ready to house them.

And as Immigration Minister Tony Burke as stated - all this will
take acouple of weeks - beginning with single men but later
including women and children.

Lexi, you don't expect SM and his mob to report the facts do you?
from ABC news, a commie organisation.
"He (Rudd) says single men will be sent first, while children and families may remain on Christmas Island until facilities on Manus Island are ready to house them."
Please go easy on SM, all his "news" comes from Uncle Rupert's fish wrapper. Its his job to pass it on to the rest of the "knuckle draggers"
Oh! SM what will we do with all those terrifying women and children? I know hand them over to SPQR and Beach for resettlement in the east.
"I (SM) am an atheist" Well why do you believe the Mad Monk Tony Boloney is god, for heavens sake?

Dear Paul,

You continually make me smile.
Thank You.

I've still got the earlier image in my mind
of the big penguin in Antarctica. ;-)

Manus Island?

Yeah, we wouldn't want to send the more vulnerable refugees until we had "facilities" set up.

Like these, for instance....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-16/manus-island-tents/4632714