"Quo vadis - Australian people?"
is a question that we all should be asking
regarding the treatment of asylum seekers
by our governments, past and present.

If an asylum seeker was asked:

"Quo vadis?"

It would be very apt to reply -

"To detention to be punished severely - again."

"The Diplomat," gives us the
horrific facts:

"Australia has one of the strictest immigration detention
regimes in the world. Detention is mandatory for
maritime arrivals, detention is not subject to a time limit,
and asylum seekers arriving by boat are unable to access
the courts to challenge their detention."

"...no distinction is made between children and adults..."

"All non-citizens who arrive in Australia by boat are subject
to a regional framework in the following
countries - Nauru and Papua
New Guinea's Manus Island - where conditions are extremely
harsh. Both locations are isolated with small populations
with minimal infrastructure and limited or no community
services."

"The asylum seekers in detention are exposed to a high risk
of developing psychological disorders, including depression
and anxiety, leading to self-harm and suicide.
Critical incidents including violent protests and high rates
of self-harm including lip sewing, self laceration, hunger
strikes and suicide have been directly attributed
to the extended periods in detention coupled with overcrowding."

This is very difficult to reconcile with our "fair-go,"
laid back image. This determination to deny the human rights
of asylum seekers it has agreed to accept under international
laws it has signed, is hard to understand.

We are told that "only a relatively small fraction of the
world's asylum seekers seek refuge in Australia (only around
2 per cent, of worldwide claims) and a high percentage of these
asylum seekers are deemed to be refugees (88 per cent of
asylum seekers are recognised as refugees)."

Given all of these facts it is indeed hard to fathom
"Canberra's official policy of deterring, detaining, and
deporting asylum seekers and its 2013 policy innovation of
transferring maritime arrivals to remote islands of
neighbouring countries for offshore processing
looks even more inhumane."

Years of politicising the issue - creates serious stain:

http://thediplomat.com/2014/02/australias-troubling-asylum-seeker-policy/

LOL, Fox you are incorrigible with that green-left spin.

You must be on Greens senator Sarah Hyhpenated-Hyphen's mailing list, regurgitating all of that spin, but hopelessly jumbled.

otb,

Kindly read the website that I gave
and from which I have quoted in my previous
post. It has no "Greens-Left" connection
whatsoever. It merely gives us the facts
on asylume seekers as well as the sources
on which the information is based.

You can either accept the
facts or choose to ignore them, that is
entirely up to you, your own political
inclination, your values, and your
mental capabilities of comprehension over
which none of us have any control.

However,
you do need to come up with more than the
tactics you are currently using if you want
to be taken seriously in any discussion
otherwise you will end up talking to yourself.

Foxy sweetie, you say, "I'm not worried about my grandchildren". "We've got a healthy economy. & A reasonable education
system."

Yes, well we did have, but please read below, why I doubt our grand kids will have it anything like we have.

In 2003-04, at the start of the resources boom, the age pension cost $18 billion. Last year we spent $39 billion. A decade from now the cost of the age pension will be $64 billion.

In 2003-04, the Government spent $1.5 billion on childcare and parental leave. Last year we spent $7 billion. A decade from now, we will spend $18 billion, a twelve-fold increase

In 2003-04, the Government spent $8 billion on Medicare. Last year we spent $19 billion. A decade from now, we will spend $34 billion.

Future commitments to hospitals, Gonski & the National disability insurance scheme will add an annual cost of $73 billion by 2023-24.

With a rapidly falling income, as our mining income shrinks with lower prices, there is simply no way we can fund these projected increases in spending. In fact there is little chance we can fund our present expenditure let alone an increase of $189 billion a year.

It is no use ignoring the future. We need to personally plan now for a lot less handouts from government, & make provisions for our own & our kids future.

Only those who prepare now will be in a good position in a decade. By then I probably won't notice if my dinner comes out of a pet food can, but many will be in that situation, if they don't take steps now to avoid it.

Dear Hassie,

I am not concerned about my children and grandchildren
as I stated earlier. Both my children are in jobs they
love, they have been well-educated and are achievers.
My husband and I have always worked hard all of our lives
and we have provided for our old age. Just as my
parents did. That was my families ethos. It was
passed down to us.
To taking care of oneself and not expecting anyone else
to do it for you. My children were raised with these same
values. As I am sure - my grandchildren will be raised
with the same values.

As far as the economy goes in this country - there
are reforms that the government can put in place. We're
having discussions on this forum on that very subject at
the moment on another thread

o sung wu,
On the same note as your last post, I noticed an article from the UK where the parents of the 3 girls that went to Syria are saying they knew nothing about the girls plans and are blaming the police for not informing them of the risk.

One wonders just where people expect government intervention to stop and where personal responsibility comes in.

Same with the young ones leaving here and going to the ME. It is the parents job to guide their kids. I shudder to think how they end up with so much hate and what conversations took place at the dinner table.

Mostly I think we should let them go if they are that stupid and keen for 'adventure', but forgo our citizenship in doing so.

There are plenty of stupid people. Like that woman, at the muslim riots in Sydney, who let her toddler hold the sign calling for beheadings. Claimed later she did not think beheading was violent.