Wol

I would really like to know where the logic of the "accept all refugees" folk leads them.

Depending on how you define a refugee there must be several billion of them on the planet. If they all managed to turn up on the borders of one country do you let them all in? Or one in 100? or what?

And in the greater scheme of things, if a population is being tyrannised by a ruling clique, is it not better for the long term outlook for the population to evict them, rather than for dissidents to leave and reduce dissidence by doing so?

Just curious....

ex_exile

At the risk of being dragged back into this conversation

• I don’t believe that you should allow in all refugees, I used to live in Britain and can testify that this is not a good idea

• I do believe that the immigration process is being abused (subverted) by some

• I do believe that there should be some humanitarian element to Australia’s immigration intake, I make no judgments as to which countries this intake should be from

• I don’t believe that politicians should demonize sections of the population in order to stay in power

• It's easy for people who have never faced the barrel of a gun being held by someone authorized to shoot your ass dead no questioned asked to say that you should stay and fight (look at Burma, lots dead, no change)

auspal

This issue was brought up late August but has recently resurfaced. I think that the government is being honest ( for once) enough to say that at the moment the program is not working, and until we can get it right, lets stop and think what we can do better before we continue.

Here is an excerpt from the "Australian " last August.

The Australian recently ran such an article. Reporter Carol Overington produced a typical warm and fuzzy piece on how well the Sudanese refugees are settling in to the Queensland town of Toowoomba. She started her piece with the story of Thomas Thiik, a recent refugee from Sudan, who had just been released from jail after serving three months for repeat driving offences.

In an insult to our intelligence Overington reported that Thiik did not understand our laws relating to driving, notwithstanding that he had received numerous warnings, fines and even a suspension.

Hang on a minute. How is that these same people only need one lesson at a bleeding heart, government funded church group or social agency to learn how to apply for the dole and all the other taxpayer-funded benefits?

The real reason Thiik broke the law so many times is explained by a senior teacher at a Perth northern suburbs high school that caters to a large number of Somali and Sudanese students.

"Refugees from war-torn countries such as Somalia and Sudan have been brought up in a brutal, totally lawless society", the teacher told Australian News Commentary. "They do not follow rules. They have no respect for Australian law. In fact they have no respect for human life. Death means little to them."
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I would hate us to get in the same position as the UK, where racism and political correctness seems to have overshadowed everything else. How about a bit of balance between the two.?

GSNR

This is spot on!!! Australia need to be very selective on who they allow in, to protect the Australian communities!

killamarsh

Perhaps if the governments around the world stopped sitting on the fence and watching things unfold into anarchy we wouldn't have such an issue with people escaping countries. Having said this, it won't stop the economic migrants coming under the facade of fearing for their life. I think it's about time a country stemmed the tide a bit. If we appear easy to get into or a soft touch every will try and get here.

As I have always said; if someone is chasing you with a knife and there are a row of houses ahead of you with their light on, which door do you bang on for help? The first house or the tenth house? Why travel such distances to get somewhere when passing other safe havens?

Perhaps it would have been more helpful for the Fed gov to say we are going for a quota system to ensure it is fair as the African sector are forming a large proportion of those coming in. Sometimes it's the way you say it.

balkanghost

Immigration Minister, anecdotal evidence, putative lies etc. just pandering to racists in Oz, especially with election coming....

elfman

Too right! If I was in charge of immigration to Australia I'd never allow in some of the bigoted fools that infect this site.

Dom the Pom

As a politician and elected representative of our government, Mr Andrews must make decisions based on what feels serves the populist opinion.

Therefore if his opponents are accusing him of 'playing the race card' with an election looming, surely this criticism backfires on them.

hevs

Perhaps they should all get involved in a few more conflicts then? Lets face it they've all done a great job in Iraq

killamarsh

I was referring to areas of the Africas where they have let things turn into anarchy and now they are saying oh dear. They then wonder why countries around the world are experiencing such a deluge of migrants who are asking for refuge be that genuine or not.

Vegemite

Don't worry about Howard Ex, he's on the way out...blind freddy can see that Howard is totally out of touch with the rest of real Australia down here in the actual world. Just remember at the ballot box, "Australian families have never been better off" !

I agree with you, it is very easy for us, from the privlege of our arm chairs, to judge others who are facing unimaginable hardship in their home countries. Stay and fight? Well that's hard when your sister has been raped in front of you, your mother shot, and you have no-where to go. I worked with young asylum seekers from different parts of Africa (including Sudan), and I found them to be very genuine, law abiding, sensitive young people who have been through a hell of a lot. The last thing they need is racism on top of their already traumatic experiences and dislocation from their family (for those family members that are still alive).

ige

You write like one of them.
Being a racist is a disease you need to cure it.
Which means you have problems with yourself.
The question is don't other people do wrong in the society?

orange&

Luckily some of Elfman's more inflammatory statements have been wiped off this thread. Let's hope he gets the message.

Wol

It's very interesting how the epithet "racist" is so easily chucked around.

There are an awful lot of things in this world that we don't like but burying heads in the sand and ignoring real or imagined problems isn't actually going to help much in the long term.

Enoch may or may not have been a racist, depending on how you choose to define it. But a lot of people believe that what he forecast is coming about. Stating the truth as you see it, right or wrong, shouldn't automatically exclude one from being able to make a point. The very people who would attempt to silence those who *they* define as racists are often the same as those who aggressively defend their freedom to demonstrate.

Sudan is a good example: having been there several times I can see the inequalities, the poverty and the - not unconnected - ruling administration's tactics and hardline beliefs. I feel immense sorrow that people live like that. But to excuse antisocial behaviour amongst refugees from that country doesn't do anyone any good. There appears to be evidence that certain sections of refugee communities are pretty lawless, and to ignore that patronises the majority who are not, makes the job of the law enforcement agencies next to impossible and certainly doesn't persuade "racists" to change their opinions.

ige

http://ninemsn.video.msn.com/v/en-au...mediaid=110349

Please take a look at this and look at the video
titled:- Racial comment blamed for attack

How can you attack someone on a wheelchair