Hasbeen, I don't have any grandchildren yet, but if I did, I would rather they showed compassion for their fellow human beings than displaying the ugly traits of bigotry and selfishness.

I can't believe that we, as Australians, are willing to stand by and watch what is unfolding in the seas near us, and not do something about it.
If it were 6000 white British or American citizens in those boats, we would all be falling over ourselves trying to get help for them....

Above all, do no harm.

Though commendable, no one should be required to sacrifice their expensive shoes in order to save a child.

If people drown at sea, it's OK to say "that's their problem": it may not be nice, but it's OK.
But if you forcibly tow away a boat without the consent of its occupants, or if you capture and lock them up, then you are a PIRATE.
If we fail to protest when others who claim to "represent us" do this in our name, then we too are... guess what... PIRATES!

Though I gave my preference in the last elections to the Liberals over Labor, it had nothing to do with this issue - it was in order to stop the NBN. Governments do what they want, they don't care for any of us anyway - nevertheless it has now become my duty to proclaim: NOT IN MY NAME!

Dear Yuyutsu,

Thank You.

The Australian Civil War? And they say the climate change mob make some far-fetched predictions... I think we can file that one in the same category as Mayan apocalypses and the Rapture.

Tony Lavis, it's entirely possible that there will be violence among the descendants of the European settlers, at the moment the levels of hostility toward "progressive" ideals are rising and both sides are pitching their case to potential migrant allies.
Legal immigrants and especially their children absolutely hate boat people, if you're horrified by this discussion you've obviously never had it in real life. We don't have many football hooligans or "Ultras" here but there are equivalent street gangs, the main White gang in Melbourne the FBS are now allied with Reclaim Australia and they will bring in whichever of the more "vibrant" ethnic hoodlums they are allied with.

According to a recent poll conducted by the
Australian National University (ANU) posted in
the Sydney Morning Herald
more than 80 per cent of Australians think
immigrants are good for Australia despite what
a small number of ranters would have us believe.

And of course as Peter Costello pointed out -
outside Australia's Indigenous people, we are all
immigrants or descendants of immigrants - some
earlier than others - but all with an experience of
immigration during the foundation of modern Australia.