Why do we accept anyone when there are Australians unemployed?

no it is not fair. if i am in afgahnistan stuck between the trigger happy idiot americans and the taliban, i am getting to australia any way i can.

Where's the outcry of Racism that was leveled at JWH when he brought in the Pacific solution and TPV? This act by Chairman Rudd is nothing short of discrimination and he should be taken to the High court to have this decision overturned. In saying the above, i do not condone discrimination in any form BUT i 100% agree with you Jeff, the real refugee's are stuck in camps in Sri Lanka, Kuwait, sudan, Zimbabwee. The country shoppers are the ones in Indonesia spending many thousands of dollars to get a free handout from the Australia taxpayer. They start their time in Australia as criminals by Illegally entering this country while leaving their wives and families back in suposed harm's way. If they are prepared to break the law while leaving their families in the way of what they say is certain death, why would we want then in this country in the first place.

who is it exactly that doesn't want them ? funny this subject always gets a good run near election time. why not give this one a rest mr rudd and do as the americans do when they want to be elected. execute a few retarded people. much more emotive than refugee policy.

I agree Jeff. I'll say up front that I believe that Australia (and all developed nations) SHOULD take on their fair share of refugees. My problem with boat people is that if you apply a test that says 'hey, the first to get to Australian waters gets asylum' its just encouraging people to give it a try, costing everyone millions and resulting in deaths etc. In many cases, these 'refugees' are actually NOT running from anything - some have lived for years in Indo and Asia, in perfect safety - my issue is that by permitting boat people to arrrive, from a safe harbour in Indo, we are accepting people who are already in a safe place, rather than accepting some poor bastard who has been in a camp somewhere who does not have ten grand to spend on people smuggling! It's much the same in Europe. IN Calais, the French government provide housing, food and services to hundreds of 'refugees' who are awaiting smuggling into Britain. These refugees have fled across 10 countries, they are safe, they have health and food services and accommodation - so why should Britain accept these safe people at the cost of someone who ACTUALLY NEEDS HELP!

Also, I am sure someone on here will comment that we should accept akk refugees because we are a wealthy nation - this is simply failing to have an understanding of the issue. There are tens of millions of refugees - Australia simply cannot accept every one of the worlds refugees - its impossible. And even if we could the rate at which new refugees would appear means its an ongoing problem. So we then have to decide how many we can accept, and how we go about selecting those that are to be accepted. If the 'TEST' for acepting refugees is to accept those from a safe place, that have the money to pay for people smugglers, then so be it, but in my opinion, the test should be about greatest need, not about accepting people who are already safe location and who could use those resources to provide for their family. As a secondary action we need to start, as a nation, looking at the source of refugees and assisting to stop the problem.

we have debated this problem at home regularly. what to do is hard to answer becasue its a complex problem. its not just that we don't want them. its the fact that we really don't know who they are. the taliban have openly stated that australia and australians are on their hit list. who knows how many terrorists they are trying to sneak into aust in the guise of being a refugee. it's hard to understand how some of these countries get to be in the mess they are in. usa involvement? greedy countries trying to take over their neighbouring countries? greed everywhere... i know this may sound harsh, and as much as i understand where catlicker is coming from, at some point the population of a country has to stand up for itself and not just run away, lured by the propaganda from a people smuggler who is ultimately only wishing to make a quick buck. i also reckon that the world is currently over populated for its resources. aust is the driest continent on the planet. with current technology and without greater impact on our environment i doubt we can actually accommodate too many more people. zero population growth is required. the chinese had to do it. we should too.

I am just waiting for the first plane load of refugees to turn up!

Are we debating refugees or persons of unknown background illegally entering our country. There is a vast difference between the two parties. A possible solution is to send the illegals back from whence they came, arrest and jail for minimum of 2 years the crew of these boats and the captain or person/s in charge a minimum of 5 years. Also confiscate any monies or valuable found on the boat. Then sit back and see how many boats illegally come to our shores. This may seem draconian to the vested interests and bleeding hearts but so is the $680M it is costing us all at the moment. If they want to come here, get in the queue.

Assume some people have seen this email getting around.. quote IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR. IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY. IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT. IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE JAILED. IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN. IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED. IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT. IF YOU CROSS THE SOUTH AFRICAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOURE AN IDIOT. IF YOU CROSS THE AUSTRALIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 1 - A JOB, 2 - A DRIVERS LICENSE, 3 - SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, 4 - WELFARE, 5 - CREDIT CARDS, 6 - SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE, 7 - FREE EDUCATION, 8 - FREE HEALTH CARE, 9 - A LOBBYIST IN CANBERRA, 10 - 5 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE 11 - THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT unquote