Foxy,
"Any person as you well
know (because we've been over this many, many times),
who applies for asylum is not breaking any
laws whether they have documents or not, whether they
arrive by boat or plane. They are not unlawful, until
they have been assessed as such"

Absolutely correct, under Australian law, we have the "Usual Suspects" revising the law to suit their own purposes, or are they simply ignorant. In fact its unfortunate that it is Australia who is guilty of breaking international law and convention by towing boats back from Australian or International waters to Indonesian waters regardless from where they come.

Paul,

Unlike the greens I am not crass enough to interject with irrelevant statements. Secondly it would appear that I am significantly younger than you. Secondly the greens meetings that I attended were in separate areas. I thought the group was intellectually very lightweight.

Foxy,

What Janet Phillips states may be true, but there is much that she deliberately leaves out such that her article can in no way claim to be balanced.

The boat arrivals that she covers does not include the period before 2008, nor after 2011 which would make her argument specious.

She does however admit that the term illegal immigrants is the technically (if not politically) correct term.

Paul,

The Australian navy has never towed boats into Indonesian waters. They are towed to just outside the 12 Nm limit.

No international law is broken.

Paul1405,
Sorry old sausage but I cannot recall saying that the party threw poofs into the Parramatta River.
That was my own personal pleasure whilst a member of the NSW Police "FORCE" Sorta like sport I guess.
That was when we weren't kicking the crap out of "offenders' to get their confessions. More sport I guess.
Actually I was a card carrying member of the ALP back then and a good unionist.
Funny how the truth turns your head.
Read the front page of the QLD Courier Mail today and prey your kids aren't so called "Tradies"

Foxy,
You and Susie are deliberately spinning and trying to deceive the posters here. While it is not against the law to apply for asylum, they first have to get here and they are breaking the law on entering without a valid visa. All non-citizens require a valid visa to enter.

The DIAC confirms this fact and is the reason we can hold them in detention. We do not detain asylum seekers who arrive by lawful means. i.e. with a valid visa. These lawful asylum seekers are free to go about their business.

You deliberately and wrongly claim that asylum seekers can go wherever they like and enter contrary to our laws. All non-citizens must have a valid visa to enter.

If you google Janet Phillips you will see she is employed by Swinburne University and not by the government.

The mere fact that the Parliamentary library hold her writings does not give her credibility. The library exists to provide information to members and their staff. If a member wished to gain info on what Mike Gibson, Andrew Bolt, Phillip Adams or Paul Sheehan had written on an issue, I am sure the library could provide same. However that does not make it any more credible.

You and Susie both have used the information from the library to try and boost the credibility of the author of your choice.

Again I say the best information on illegal entrants is from the DIAC.

Banjo my boy, let me educate you. I'll keep it extremely short and simple so you can comprehend.

Point 1 ..... according to Australian law the "entrants" are NOT illegal

Point 2 ......according to Australian law the "entry" is illegal.

Do you now comprehend? Probably not, I bet. Oh well.