elfman

Nobody's ever going to take you seriously in a debate if all you can do is go "there's a lot of 'em about" and be obnoxious to people who take the trouble to find and post credible statistics that don't happen to fit your personal preconceptions.

NedKelly

I see the Government have let in another 200 asylum seekers on the basis that they will return to their own country when it 'becomes feasible'.

I am sure 'becomes feasible' is a phrase that legally aided lawyers will argue about for many years costing millions of dollars to the Australian Taxpayer.

bondipom

It is cheaper to let them in the community and work than detain them on Nauru. Sorry to dazzle you with facts again.

http://www.nauruwire.org/countries/Nauru/visa.htm

However, an indicative allocation, taking into account likely outcomes for 2003-04, would be around $18m for Christmas Island, $3m for Manus Island, $36m for Nauru and $1.5m in indirect costs.

bondipom

Reliable figures from the UNHCR the www is irrelevant. What are you overwhelmed by in your experience. I was in Shephards Bush the other week and had no feeling of being overwhelmed by any group. A brief experience but from what has been posted around one could expect to be overwhelmed by immigrants in London. Not it my experience nor in that of my friends who live around London.

NedKelly

You missed the point. The point is the government have come up with visa which has an ambiguous basis for ending it i.e 'becomes feasible to return'. Lawyers will find ways of arguing that point and feeding of the system until the cows come home.

Regardless of the costs, what price do you pay to preserve your society and it's values?

bondipom

Australia has never stood still in its makeup. Thankfully this place is very different to when Australia was overwhelmingly Anglo Celtic. I believe 110,000 is current the planned migrant intake.

I think most governments would like a system that is unanswerable but luckily we live in a democracy with an independant judicial system. I'd rather have a few greedy lawyers than do away with that. JAJ who is works in the "industry" would have a more informed opinion.

Badge

I applaud some of the contributions of BP and Jayr to dismiss Daily Mail hysteria, nonetheless;I go for the pragmatic approach, if a country that has observed Christmas for 2000 years cannot hold Nativity plays then something is wrong, make no mistake. No amount of politics, do-gooding, or some of the other considered or not so considered discussions here make any differance.

Sometimes I have to wonder about Muslim teachings. On one side they are very proud and non-wavering - on the other hand I doubt the integrity and strength of a religion that is so touchy about erosion. Can a Muslim community at a school really dictate that Nativity plays be cancelled? In a multi-cultural school, you'd expect to have both. At the risk of sounding facetious, it is a fact that visitors to strict Muslim countries cannot observe their lifestyle or religion. There really is a double standard, anyone can see that. And it does cause resentment and ignorance. In any case, Muslim teaching is the same as Christian teaching, they have more books tacked on to the end - if my Muslim relation tells me right.

The issue just needs a bit of pragmatism.

Badge

jc_hoops

The other week ? Wow that's a long time to have an understanding of being "overwhelmed"...

Your friends in London, what nice suburb do they live in and how many kids ?

Like I said before, you don't live here, so have no understanding of what I'm saying, your just happy to print figures gained on websites that clam to be reliable. You see, I don't know no one working for UNHCR living on my estate, or come to think of it, there children going to my children school, so how do you define "reliable" ?

Most of figures gained for UNCHR, and similar types of groups all seem to come from similar back grounds, either "left of centre" political groups or Government Departments, and both seem to have there own agenda for stretching the truth.

I've no problem with you having your own opinion, but I do live here, and know of the issues that affect my life "first hand", not have friends that "live there" or been there for a week last year, sorry, but I find that very condescending.

jc_hoops

Whats wrong with "theres a lot of them"....are we not allowed to tell the truth ?

As for your personal perceptions comment, I would argue that the "boot is on the other foot" regarding that statement !

bondipom

UNHCR handles the misery these people go through. Something you seem to know nothing about but you just deal in raw emotions whipped up by idiotic right wing tabloids.

jc_hoops

No, just issues that affect me and where I live......

NedKelly

The UNHCR does not handle the "refugees" (Mainly single men in their 20's) who travel across 5 to 10 safe countries, camp out near Calais, and hide away in the backs of lorries and trains to get into soft touch UK.

bondipom

But all you have used is words like "lots of them" "overwhelmed" etc. That is neither an experience, a fact and it means jack all.

bondipom

The UNHCR handles refugees who are fleeing the same conflicts the people you mention above. There are other countries that proportionally to population and income that take in more assylum seekers.

NedKelly

You are seriously mixing up asylum seekers and economic refugees. So what if some countries take proportionally more than others.