Steele,
Your link to an ABC site is not credible. The 'so called' professor is a refugee advocate who is spinning to benefit the illegals. Even the ABC itself has now lost all credibility after suggesting there was evidence the RAN sailors tortured some of the illegals.

The sole reason we can detain the illegals is because they have broken Australian law. We cannot detain persons without valid reason and that reason is they have acted contrary to our law.

That is fact and you can spin it whatever way you want it still will not alter. Please explain to posters here on what grounds can we detain the illegal arrivals, if you claim they are lawful.

There is no doubt all you illegals advocates are thick and act against Australia's interests. You know as well as I that arrivals, without a valid visa that come by air, are refused entry and promptly sent back to the place of embarkation.

Dear Banjo,

I'm afraid on this occasion I am a little reluctant to take your word for it.

I have given you quotes from both the Refugee Council of Australia and the ABC Fact check.

All you have furnished at this stage is the claim that some information, in some form, that used to be on a website, at some point, spoke of Asylum seekers breaking Australian laws by arriving on boats or without authorisation, and the fact that you had discussed it a number of times on OLO and had come to the conclusion your assertion was the correct one.

Forgive me but I'm going to need a touch more than that.

Steele,
You know it does not really matter any more.

The illegals have broken our laws and that is why we can detain them. We do not detain those who enter lawfully.

But it does not matter if you accept that or not, because soon the illegals will have no incentive to come and that will be the end of the matter. The actual disappointment is the fact that so many (50,000 I think)got here during the last 6 years of incompetent government and they got here by bribery, gate crashing and lying to our officials. The folly of the previous government was indeed costly.

As I recall, it took years for the Howard government to get tough enough to stop the boats coming and all that was stupidly undone for ideological and silly reasons to appease some bleeding hearts. Quite a few of the shonks died because of it.

Now we can look forward to the problem being resolved again.

"What an vacuous and petty statement to make. Made even more so because of the fact the Indonesians have nearly 30% more tonnage of Naval Vessels than Australia. While we might have 1 more Frigate, 12 to their 11, they have 56 Corvettes to our 14 and 10 Patrol boats to our 6."

What you forgot to mention, Steele, is the severe lack of backbone in Indonesia's Armed Services.

Some time here on OLO we can only laugh at some comments.
Those even thinking we should risk conflict with Indonesia, even counting our boats vs theirs.
Amuse at best, a country of many millions they do not need a Navy to invade us.
Just round up the old rusty boats that make it to our shores and?
Of course we will not destroy our relationship with that country.
Hopefully.
And just as hopefully we will learn to ignore constructed lies used to try to weaken our resolve.

C'mon people, I haven't got all day. I'm still waiting for an answer to rehctub's question as to how are we going to pay for it all.