Dear Siller,

You first wrote;

“It would seem there is some sort of conspiracy to fill Australia with Muslims. Indonesia would prefer an Islamic neighbour so is not going to do much to limit fellow Muslims coming to Australia by boat. I am sure they would deliver them by plane and ship if we are stupid enough to accept them.”

Then had the sheer audacity to lecture me with;

“Most of us appreciate a more dogmatic expression of views preferably those offering solutions. Cynicism and word play should be confined to the fields of politics and law as little else happens there.”

Lol. This was after giving probably the most cynical portrayal of the current refugee problem I have read.

Take your hand of it mate.

Dear runner,

You really are a Pharisee aren't you. Do you really think that Australia is living up to any Christ based ideal by putting families in concentration camps?

Dear o sung wu,

Sorry mate, you bad young thing you. Hopefully we all had a chance to be bad and young at some stage, though I'm not sure runner ever had that joy. Once you get to my age being bad just doesn't seem to be worth the effort. Thanks for the welcome back though I will correct you, I have far more than one failing.

Now let us talk about your previous post. What on earth is this?

“I reckon you're right on the money with your insightful appreciation of this situation. Indeed, Indonesia would much prefer to have a Islamic neighbour, a neighbour with a bountiful, almost unlimited amount of resources close at hand, of just about everything they could ever possibly need. So indeed, it would be highly desirable if we were a fully Islamic country ! With a ready made perspective of Islamic militancy and fundamentalism ! It's recognised as taking Australia by stealth. Without ever a shot being fired.”

I might be wrong my friend but this just seems like such a swing into the loopy land from someone I remember as perhaps a little more even handed.

Cont...

Cont...

Look. I'm fully prepared to listen to an argument that says we really need to take action on people risking their lives to get to our country. Whether that desperation is born of fear of persecution or of dire economic straights is almost irrelevant. Unlike the Greens I think our resettlement program per capita is one of the most generous in the world and we should be proud of it. I think a regional effort is probably the way to go and Gillard's Malaysian solution, while in many ways inadequate, had the seeds of a workable policy. To have the opposition block it because Malaysia was not a signatory to the UN convention on refugees then once in government be returning boats to Indonesia which is also a non-signatory is gutter hypocrisy.

But if we are not prepared to accommodate the numbers making the perilous journey then we need to express that policy without the rancour and demonising. As a country we should be able to say we understand that many of these people come from blighted, war torn lands and express our sorrow that at this time we can not take more. They need to be assured that they are not illegals nor do we consider them the vanguard of an Islamic takeover of our country, and that God forbid given the same circumstances many Australians would be striving to seek better lives for our families.

Cont...

Cont...

So when you say “you do tend to entertain a rather deleterious self-belief that you're predominately, cognitively superior” or Siller claims of me “You seem to talk down to us lesser people as if you enjoy some elevated locale.” you really need to have a look at the attitudes expressed in this thread. They are all about dehumanising those who are risking their lives to get to our country. Many have been through far worse than many of us will ever be able to imagine. The last thing they deserve is the superior, sneering vilification being expressed by you lot.

I don't mind some Australians taking a pragmatic stance, but without the debasing rhetoric on display here. And o sung wu I think if you paused and thought it through, would consider this as being fair, and dare I say it the decent thing to do.

Thank you STEELEREDUX...

I appreciate your comprehensive response, apropos this impenetrable question of 'boat people'. We've previously embraced this question (at length), at another time, and I believe it's still yet to be satisfactorily resolved ?

Apart from the usual arguments, our legal responsibilities, pursuant to the UN Charter for Refugees; issues of humane treatment of displaced persons; juxtaposed with the efficacy or potency of their individual claims of persecutions. I believe we all have a fundamental appreciation of the plight confronting many of those detained.

My problem, without being too facile, and sounding like a broken record is:- Why is it when most of them arrive, they are completely devoid of all documentation, that will unequivocally establish exactly who they are, and from where they've come from ?

To enter the sovereign nation of Indonesia, everybody must be in possession of adequate documentation. Yet, the moment they leave Indonesian waters, they wilfully discard these documents and repudiate any and all efforts made by Oz authorities to identify them ? And in so doing, they knowingly defy all efforts made, to establish their bona fides as legitimate refugees, fleeing for their lives.

I and many others believe, this duplicitous manoeuvre is calculated to deceive the Australian authorities from making a positive identification and determining whether or not they are in fact genuine ! Being a humble ex copper, I find their actions and motives, to be highly suspicious indeed.

If they prove to be genuine, they should receive all the succour and protection they need.

<< If Australia was serious about this it would remove it self as a signatory to the convention it helped draw up and have no obligation to take anybody for any reason. >>

Too right Rache.

We need to remember that Australia has for a very long time had a formal refugee intake as part of our immigration program, and international aid programs, both of which are admirable by world comparisons on a per-capita basis.

We absolutely MUST shut down onshore asylum seeking. There is no reason why we should be beholden to any agreement that obligates us to take ANY asylum-seekers / refugees outside of our formal immigration program.