"big stick approach" with Indonesia was the answer to what is a very complex problem. This approach failed and failed badly,
Paul1405 et al,
A damn lot better with a lot more foresight that the pander approach of the morons. Foresight is obviously way above your heads as is pragmatism & sense of responsibility.
You're appalling citizens & you're a liability to the rest of us. Get some sense into yourselves.
Give yourselves a reason to call yourselves Australian.

So far the Sovereign borders plan has been a stunning success, with the arrivals dropping by nearly 90% in the first 100 days.

The core promise to stop the boats within the first term is working so well that left whingers such as Sarah Hanson Young are trying to pretend that the boats arrivals have not dramatically slowed, and was caught out in a lie when she claimed that she had no way of knowing how many boats were arriving.

It also appears that the Indonesian military is perfectly happy for the boats to be turned around, and the politicians huff and puff and turn a blind eye.

I would of thought that Sarah and her followers would be rejoicing about the lack of drownings which she and Labour caused while in Government. They really are sick turkies.

579 - Quote "How many are on Nauru and Manus adding to our deficit."
It was Rudd and Gillard that let those people come and in a lot of cases sent the navy to pick them up in Indonesian waters.

The numbers on Manus and Narau & Christmas islands are here

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-25/log-of-boat-arrivals-and-other-asylum-seeker-incidents/5014496

Plus those in detention in Australia leaves some where in the order of 40,000 that labor let in, in houses that could have been occupied by deserving Australians.

Blame Labor for the monetary cost of the 50,000 plus they let in.

At least Abbott is trying to fix there mess now he has put them to the end of the waiting list for family reunions.

Where does all this information come from, no drownings 90 % military huff and puff. We know nothing but a few privilaged no the lot.

579,

You may know nothing, but that hasn't changed for decades.

While the human traffickers and their supporters in Labor and the Greens would love to get the operational information to sabotage Australia's border protection, all information on arrivals is available weekly, and sinkings outside of Australian waters are reported by Indonesia as they have for decades.

The reality is that Labor and the Greens are having to eat crow as the coalition achieves everything they claimed was impossible:
A) stopping the boats
B} Turning the boats around.

I notice none of the left whingers complain when police refuse to report all the facts immediately for "operation reasons".