Re: We can't stop the boats
 

We have two boats from sri lanka off the west coast of canada as we speak. The boats have been boarded by the coast guard and being brought to shore. We are preparing to house these folks in containments until they can be thoroughly checked out.

I have no problem with those that are seeking refugee status and have no record or ties to terrorists staying in canada.

Its called compassion. Anyone remember during ww2 when boats of jews came from europe and were not allowed to land in either the US or Canada? Hopefully we have learned from our mistakes. It was a very dark period in canadian history which I hope will never be repeated.

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

Surely not. He doesn't have a politcal bias...that's why he chooses not to vote remember.

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

http://www.news.com.au ?

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

Maybe you Canadians take the illegal immigrants from Christmas island as well. They are mostly Sri Lankan.

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

As someone who does not live in Australia I don't think you grasp just how many of these boats come to our shores. You have 2 boats from Sri Lanka and it's huge news across the country. We are now getting boatloads every week and it's no longer news. Our containment camps are full so they are now being housed on the mainland in brand new homes provided for them by our federal government when services in the towns they are in are non-existent for our citizens.

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

There are 500 people on one of those boats though - I guarantee that would be big news here too.

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

The thing is, it's not an issue. It's a massive media beat up, mostly created by John Howard. He successfully put into the minds of the Australian people back in 2001 shortly after the Tampa Affair as well as the September 11th bombings that the two were somehow related. He didn't actually say those words, but he sure did make certain people got the connection. Since then Australia has had an irrational fear of anyone arriving by boat. The actual figures of people arriving by boat compared to any other means to apply for asylum are so minimal (1.5% in '09) that it has been used as a political football by both parties and the media to drum up support and fear.
It's really quite pathetic what the politicians are getting away with here. I have come to expect it of the Aussie media, but the Pollies spreading these types of lies and fears is completely irresponsible. What's even more pathetic is the number of people who believe this bullsh!t

http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/23321/

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

mate, if we don't see this as a problem today it sure as hell is gonna be a problem tomorrow.

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

enlighten me. It's only a problem, because you have been told it is by irreputable sources (Abbott, Howard, Gillard and the Right Wing Press)

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

Go to Bradford, UK. That should give you all the enlightening you need.

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

soooo, that's because of boats, is it?

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

yeh, like I don't challenge politicians or the press and their motives :rolleyes:

There is none so blind as those who will not see...........

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

I'm genuinely interested to know why there will be a much larger issue if we do not stop the boats.

It seems some on here are getting the issue mixed up. Boat people arriving in 2009 was 2,700 people. How are those people going to seriously affect the future of this country. On the other hand I can see how a total of 180,000 asylum seekers that arrived in the same year (via a number of forms of transport) would affect the future prosperity of this nation.

The truth is, for the sake of 2,700 people a year, the govt and prospective govts are spending an awful lot of our money and campaign space on an area that will have only a minute effect on us. By sending "Boat People" out into the middle of the Pacific to Nauru, this is wasting even more of our money. On average 90% of all "boat people" are found to be legitimate asylum seekers and are therefore granted access to Australia. All Abbott is proposing is to spend more of our money to ship them off while they are being processed. The result will be no different. 90% of them will still end up here and likely to claim benefits while they are set up.

Remember, all of this for the sake of 2,700 people a year!!!!! Neither Abbott, or Gillard are offering any solution to managing or reducing the 180,000 asylum seekers that are coming here every year. Don't be fooled by some political spin that is only designed to take focus away from much larger issues that they know they cannot fix.

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

Of course it's pointless just focussing on the boat people, they are just part of the problem however none the less they are a problem and can't and shouldn't be ignored.It's the thin end of a wedge.....

Mate, I respect your views - they're not mine though;)

Re: We can't stop the boats
 

but they are the one percenter of the problem (1.5 to be precise). When tackling a problem you need to look at what is causing the biggest part of it (ie: highest proportion). In this case it is certainly not "Boat People". This thread, much like the press and the pollies has taken aim at "Boat People" as being a massive problem for this country. Yet I am yet to see any evidence of this being true. As I said, I could see how the total number of asylum seekers entering each year could be an issue, but not "Boat People". But no one here, much like the press and the pollies people are offering any solution to this.