Dear Shadow,

What a lot of nonsense.

I seem to remember that you admired Julian Burnside QC.

Here's what he has to say on the subject:

http://www.thebigsmoke.com.au/2014/04/07/reality-boat-people-solution-asylum-seeker-problem/

Foxy,

In this article, JB has been more than a little economical with the truth for example:

a) No people have died trying to come by air.
b) The numbers coming by air are still a tiny fraction of those coming by boat under the Juliar/Milne regime,
c) while for some getting documentation was a problem, at the end, many if not most were perfectly capable of providing documents such as the Sri Lankans and many Iranians who flew into Jakarta with documents then hopped on boats.
d) finally, the reason that so many people are waiting so long to get resettled is because the queue jumping boat people have filled nearly all the available places.

SM,

Did you miss my figures for 2011-12?

Applications for asylum - Over 7,000 by air....over 7,000 by boat.

You appear to believe those who come by air are all over-stayers or people that just get off and make an application.

I quoted an 11% increase in applications in 2011-12 from foreign students already studying here - that's an "increase of 11%"

The percentage of foreign students applying for asylum would be a much greater percentage.

What queue?

We send people "back" to Syria.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/19/australia-going-to-unthinkable-lengths-to-return-syria-detainees-emails-show

"The lengths to which the Australian immigration department has gone to facilitate the repatriation of traumatised Syrian asylum seekers detained in offshore detention centres has been extensively revealed in departmental emails obtained under freedom of information laws.

Human rights experts have criticised the actions, saying Australia was doing the “unthinkable” by endeavouring to return Syrians.

The emails support reports from Guardian Australia in March, showing that Syrians detained offshore told Australian immigration department officials they would be killed if they returned to Syria, but the department facilitated plans for their repatriation nonetheless. This included sharing asylum-seeker identity documents with the Syrian consulate in Australia, booking flights via Jordan, and endeavouring to issue an “ultimatum” to force them into a decision on repatriation, despite a number of them being severely mentally ill.

At no point in any of the disclosed emails is conflict in Syria, which has seen more than 100,000 people die and 2.56 million refugees flee the civil war, discussed. And at no point are concerns about the asylum seekers’ safety back in Syria articulated."

We do that because obviously we are most concerned for their welfare.

What a joke....

Hi Foxy,

If you are suggesting that all boat-people should be welcomed and re-settled in Australia, then why should they go to the trouble of paying exorbitant fares and getting on leaky boats ? Why not simply accept people who pay for their air fare and fly here direct from wherever ?

Please ask yourself: if that were the situation, then how many of those sixty million refugees would be able to stump up the cost of an airfare ? Perhaps hundreds of thousands of genuine refugees ? Of course, those poor buggers who are utterly destitute in vast refugee camps, dependent for everything on UN aid, won't be among them.

Then we add economic migrants: how many of them could find the fare ? Millions ? From China and India, tens of millions ?

Can you see how impossible that is ? So that is not really an option.

Now that it seems that the government has found a way to stop the people-smuggling business dead, I hope they will increase the annual quota for genuine, destitute, desperate refugees. You know - the people without any means to ever pay for an air-fare ? The ones we don't see ?

Regards,

Joe

Shadow, you do not refute what I say. I never troll anyone, but you admit you do, shame on you. As for a sense of humour, something you sadly lack when expressing your seriously pompous opinions which are nothing more than the regurgitation of clap trap from the Murdoch press. You must be a most prodigious reader of 'The Daily Telegraph'!
It would take a better punter than you to get me "foaming at the mouth" as you put it, you definitely over state your much limited ability. Please carry on, you do at least help make the forum interesting for me, with your "diverse" opinions.

As I said FOXY, how do you account for the number of these so called 'refugees' when they're subsequently apprehended by police, are found to be wanted in the own countries (the middle east) and for crimes allegedly committed whilst on route to Australia ? Notwithstanding the reasons for our raids as a TF operation, were for crimes committed here in Oz ! I'll admit for the sake of accuracy the numbers that I can personally attest, are by no means in the hundreds, but they're certainly substantial. This FOXY is experiential evidence accrued from my own experience as one of the squad leaders taking part in the TF Operations.

If you honestly believe these people are as 'pure as the driven snow' and are all victims of oppression in their own countries, then I guess there's no point in even asking you these questions. As anything I say, or whatever 'DIRECT' evidence I can produce, would not convince you in any event. As you'd probably wheel out another extract, in an attempt to prove your point or disprove mine ? I must say I've always held you in high regard as a clear, unabridged thinker. I have trouble now retaining that view.

I believe this particularly topic has well and truly run it's course. Certainly it has for me, without doubt. Good night.