Can't we have a sensible debate on this subject.
I think it is important we talk about the
isues throughtfully and rationally without
personal attacks and accusations like "cherry-pick," when
citing the facts from a very reputable website.

This should not be a contest of which government did what
(and at what cost to people). But an attempt should be made
to try to solve the problems that still exists. All sides of
politics should work towards this end instead of trying
to get political mileage out of it. Australia has signed
agreements and does belong to the UN and has to comply with
international laws. Globally we are being judged - especially
since we take in such a small amount of refugees and 88 percent
turn out to be genuine.

"Globally we are being judged - especially since we take in such a small amount of refugees and 88 percent turn out to be genuine."

This is an interesting statement as it is insinuating Australia is being judged negatively, but that all depends who you are asking? Sure the UN has its viewpoint and the UN is always happy to chime in when called upon for a favour from a like-minded group, political party or humanitarian organisation. For example when Helen Clarke's Labor Government was trying to ban spanking and the general populace was totally against government intrusion into family life decisions, UNICEF conveniently wrote a letter to Helen Clarke denouncing New Zealand's out dated children's rights, which she then used as 'proof' the world was watching NZ.

My guess is for the citizens of the USA, Great Britain, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and Greece who are aware of Australia's stance on illegal immigration and the successful control of its borders, 88% or more are applauding in envy.

The majority of people in Australia are indeed comfortable with the current level of immigration control. If we still believe in democracy, then the current immigration policy is aligned to will of the people. (well most of us)

As no more illegals are arriving by boat the number of children in detention will eventually be cleared. Perhaps the blame for the children's plight rest with their parents bad decision to sneak around the correct process.

Dear ConservativeHippie,

The following links may clarify things for you:

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

And -

http://theconversation.com/the-boats-may-have-stopped-but-at-what-cost-to-australia-30455

And -

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/12/abbott-has-stopped-the-boats-heres-what-we-need-to-do-now

When I did my trip to Europe & SE Asia I made a point of asking as many people I could what they knew about Australian Politics & Policies. Believe it or not only one person in Ireland had heard something & it was wrong anyway. Politician in the wrong Party. Recently I went on a 18 day boat trip to Hawaii. There were many different nationalities. Same Questions. Same answers, especially the Yanks. Some of them didn't know we spoke "American" before they came on the trip. I told them we don't we speak English. They said, Whaaat does thaaat Sooound liiiirke? Shakes head & walks away.

Hippy you are right the majority of people in Australia like the present Boat Policy & think it should be harder. Other stuff they mightn't like so much, like the Budget, but that's another Subject.

All we have to do now is palm the others off to somewhere else. Most of the kids there now belong to Parents that are a bad Suspect Terrorists & aren't allowed into Australia anyway. under UNCHR Rules.

What's the matter with turning over the facilities over to the UNCHR to look after? It is their job.

@Paul1405, Friday, 13 March 2015 4:31:44 AM

Would I care to comment? But I already have done so. Read to the post you are supposed to be responding to. This one,

onthebeach, Friday, 13 March 2015 1:37:08 AM

You and Fox are adept at totally ignoring the evidence and argument dispelling or even questioning your own posts. Instead you shift the goal posts and bowl up the very same stuff again. Fox always goes one better by claiming the high moral ground and lecturing other posters. Then regurgitates the same stuff.

It is only to be expected that Fox and you would want to ignore the article I linked to from the site that Fox recommends. It doesn't suit your political spin and Abbottophobia.

The simple, incontrovertible fact is that Abbott and his government solved the very difficult mess created by Rudd's stupid, ideologically driven abolition of Howard's Pacific Solution. Labor and the Greens have the blood of hundreds on their hands. - You know of course that your arrogant, insensitive, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young shrugged her shoulders when asked about the hundreds of drownings at sea.

I'm sorry Foxy but those articles didn't clarify anything for me in regard to who's judging Australia's immigration/refugee/illegal boat people.

What those articles did reveal is that the authors have no concern about letting thousands of uneducated and/or unskilled people come into Australia and go straight on the dole. The last article actually stated our welfare system could handle the additional burden.

There was also no mention of the real elephant in the room - being the boat people are from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which means most of them are Muslim.

It's uncool and politically incorrect (racist in the view of Paul1405, Poirot & Suseonline) to ask "Do we need more unskilled uneducated Muslim immigrants that will fail to assimilate and most likely never get off the dole?" It is not racist of course and it's what most Australians are asking, with a firm answer of NO already in their heads.

We need to be selective with our intake of Legal immigrants and send the cue jumpers packing. I fully support admitting and caring for our quota of legal refugees; hopefully people that will be thankful rather than arrive with a chip on their shoulder and a determination to change us after they arrive.