SM,

"At least now we have established that you are in favour of paying people smugglers.."

Nice one - do you verbal people often, or is this a special occasion?

"Foxy,

The reasons are many, not least of them the thousands drowning.'

Yes, indeedy...it's "so" obvious that we are concerned for their safety. Here's an example:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/people-smuggler-cash-boat-captain-speaks-20150617-ghprpi.html

"Mr Yohanis also claimed the Australian authorities "didn't care" when one of the wooden boats, Jasmine, ran out of fuel on the way back to Indonesia.

"Panic ensued among the passengers onboard, it was like in an emergency situation, they were going to kill each other," Mr Yohanis said. "At the time I was scared: What to do?"

General Endang asked Mr Yohanis if the Australian Navy and customs ships were still there when Jasmine's engine stopped.

"They were in the back, they already said: 'OK you just head [to Rote Island]," Mr Yohanis said.

"So they ignored you?" General Endang asked.

"Yes, after we were let go, they don't care any more," Mr Yohanis said."

And concern for their welfare must also be the reason why we incarcerate them in filthy camps and inflict all kinds of evils upon them.

It's all very "moral" according to Tones.

Dear O Sung Wu,

May I have a go at this tough, almost unfair question?

"How would you stop these illegitimate people, posing as distressed, genuine refugees, entering our country"?

I would not stop them physically, but on arrival give them nothing, no welfare, no healthcare and no legal status whatsoever, not even police protection - they could come, but Australia owes them nothing.

The use of laws is too crude to distinguish between genuine refugees and economic opportunists, thus government which is reliant on laws, has no chance there - but ordinary people who rely on common-sense instead, can make that distinction and those ordinary people, myself included, will personally adopt and help the genuine refugees and not the economic opportunists, who would therefore learn that coming to Australia is not a picnic.

(understandably, this solution goes contrary to the refugee convention, which would therefore have to be abandoned)

Dear Shadow Minister,

I'm not sure that we've stopped the drownings at sea.
After all the current government only tells us what
they want us to know - the rest is hidden from us
due to supposed "security" and other reasons. And
we haven't really "stopped" the boats. We've simply
re-directed them elsewhere. Making it the problem of
others while shirking our own responsibilities.
The problem of asylum seekers has not been solved
at all. They will keep on coming. They are desperate people.
It's an illusion to appease the gullible in this country.
A political tactic.
And putting people in detention centres in horrific conditions
(especially children) is shameful. Sure the numbers of
children in detention is lower now - but even one child - is one too many.

Dear Poirot,

Our current PM - needs to stop with the rhetoric, and evasion,
and answer the questions being currently asked about
paying people smugglers in Parliament. No one is above the law.
And this is not a matter of national security at all.
That is a bogus claim.

Dear O Sung Wu,

I don't have an answer to your question as to how do we stop
people from abusing the system. There will always be those
who will abuse the system - whether they are from overseas
or whether they're from this country. You as a former police
officer know that well and truly. What I would like to see
is a more humane way of tackling the problem of asylum
seekers within our legal framework and law, and the human
rights and refugee agreements to which we are signatories.
At present - what we have is a disgrace and our reputation
globally is going down the drain. (for want of a stronger word).

P,

Not verbaling you, to quote "That it's better to pay for intelligence and stop the boats..." Perhaps you only approve of Labor paying the smugglers.

The main difference is that labor failed to stop the boats, the coalition succeeded, and the voting public is fully aware of it.

However much that idiot SHY try conflate the issues in the detention camps, it is far better than the thousands drowning under Labor.

cont'd ...

Dear O Sung Wu,

Until people have been assessed through the acceptable
international procedures - there is no way of knowing
who of them is a genuine asylum-seeker and who is an economic
migrant. However, it should be of some comfort to you
that almost all of the ones that have claimed refugee asylum
status in the past were found to be genuine.

SM,

Here's what I said:

"What do you want me to say, SM?

That it's better to pay for intelligence and stop the boats embarking in the first place than playing ping pong with them on the open sea, stuffing cash in their pockets and setting them adrift when they run out of fuel?"

"The main difference is that labor failed to stop the boats, the coalition succeeded..."

If the boats are "stopped, how come we're paying people to take them back? How come we're providing boats to send people back? How come we're holding people on ships before returning them?

I mean, it's a simple question....all these boats that are apparently "stopped"..ie. "aren't there" - apparently "are there"...ie. are not "stopped"?