YOU PEOPLE ARE STUPID..!
THEY ARE HEADING TO CHRISTMAS ISLAND LOOKING FOR SANTA TO RETURN UNWANTED GIFTS..!
ITS 98% MEN BECAUSE THEY ARE BROW BEATEN AND PUSSY WHIPPED AND ARE TOLD TO GO.
THE UNACCOMPANIED KIDS ARE JUST LOOKING FOR THEIR F*&KING BIKES...!
Boats - Say 50 a year, 50 people on each = 2500 plus 150 crew. Illegal
Normal migration = just under 300,000 per year - Legal
Population - approx 22,000,000.
Boats = 0..01204%
Migration = 1.35%
The bulk of the arrivals will head to a major city. For arguements sake there are 5
Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane.
An attractiveness index might distribute them..
Perth 25% = 75000/ year or 1442 / week
Adelaide 5% = 15000 / year or 288 / week
Melbourne 25% = 75000/ year or 1442 / week
Sydney 30% = 90000 / year or 1730 / week
Brisbane 15% = 45000 / year or 865 / week
Are you confident that the infra-structure (civic) is keeping up with this in your state?
And how much incentive would be valid to encourage a 30 - 50% of intake (and any locals for that matter) to move into non-capital city zones.
So the point here is heh - keep the defence on their toes - keep the concept of boarders intact - but lets balance the equation financially and not waste alot of $'s on a small problem (triple the number of boats it is still only 7500 people).
If you want them off-shore well park a few liners off-shore to handle a few more.
The capacity and strategy to handle the volume of immigrants is less transparent then the hospital system - she'll be all right mate is not good enough if the numbers are going to keep running at the current level. No one in their right minds wants to go 500+ kms inland in most of Australia as a new migrant - there is no infra-strucutre - there are alot of small towns but most of them have the main road / highway zipping thru' the middle and they only grow up when there is a bye-pass - and since there are not many of those there needs to be alot of growing up - fast.
PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS - just punctured the balloon - rant over.
Happy & Safe easter break
A boat carrying suspected asylum seekers who last night made a triple-zero distress call to WA Police were stopped near Christmas Island.
HMAS Broome intercepted a boat last night, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor said today.
He said initial indications suggested there were 64 passengers and three crew on board the vessel.
The boat adds to a record for monthly arrivals set in March.
Sixteen boats had been intercepted in March, one more than the previous record of 14 set in November 1999.
The latest arrival takes to 1555 the number of asylum seekers to reach Australian waters on 33 boats so far this year.
WA Police said the emergency call was received in Perth just before 5pm asking for help and stating the vessel was close to Christmas Island.
It is understood the boat made several emergency phone calls and the caller spoke in broken English to police.
The calls were passed on to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority rescue centre in Canberra, which police said had confirmed them as genuine.
Border authorities were contacted at 5.44pm, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said.
"HMAS Broome was tasked to assist while the RCC attempted to gain further information on the vessel and its status," the spokesperson said.
"Based on the information provided by the caller, the RCC determined that this was not a vessel in distress."
The boat was boarded at 8.48pm.
Last year a boatload of Sri Lankan Tamils were picked up by Customs vessel the Oceanic Viking in Indonesia’s search and rescue zone after making an emergency phone call to rescue authorities in Canberra.
C'mon people, can we get global warming into this debate now? the country is sinking you know
GD says she doesn't want people arriving here in boats ... (snip lots of posts) ... Consensus is she's wrong.
There, that saved a lot of wasted hot air on us all saying the same things all over again.
OH GOD! NOT GLOBAL BLOODY WARMING!!
There's a doco about a sudoku championship on telly tonight, y'know.
The latest boat intercepted in Australian waters on Friday will add to the chaos on overcrowded Christmas Island, the federal opposition says.
The vessel, carrying 79 passengers and four crew, was intercepted by HMAS Larakia, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, about 1.40pm (AEDT) near Ashmore Reef in the Indian Ocean.
The group will be transferred to Christmas Island where they will undergo security, identity and health checks, a statement from Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says.
It's the 34th boat intercepted off Australia this year.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said it was clear the message about Australia's soft borders and rapid processing to permanent residency was reaching more people smugglers.
"In July 2008 there were just six detainees on Christmas Island," he said in a statement.
"Today there are more than 2000 and the `house full' sign is up.
"The Christmas Island detention centre was built to accommodate just 400 detainees.
"It was not built to accommodate Kevin Rudd's policy failures and weak decisions which have led to the flood of asylum-seekers arriving in Australia."
anyone else find it kinda ironic that someone that calls themselves 'GypsyDrifter' is so dead set against these other world travellers?
funny.
Who's afraid of 4500 boatpeople?
* Peter van Onselen, Contributing editor
* From: The Australian
* April 03, 2010 12:00AM
BOTH of the main political parties are keen to display their toughness on border protection, so much so that they seem to have lost sight of the plight of the people who are trying to make their way here in rickety boats.
While Kevin Rudd has softened elements of Australia's system for handling illegal boat arrivals, he isn't keen to advertise that and his rhetoric on boatpeople has been anything but soft. The opposition, meanwhile, is seriously contemplating a policy response that includes towing boats that enter our waters back out to sea. It's extraordinary.
Why are we so concerned about the 4500 or so boatpeople who have attempted to seek asylum in Australia since the ALP was elected about 2 1/2 years ago?
Yes, the numbers are higher than they were during the Howard years, as the Coalition nauseatingly continues to point out. And the upsurge may well be a consequence of a softening of the assessment processes since the Pacific solution was removed from the political lexicon.
But these numbers hardly suggest we are being inundated. We should remember the much larger number of refugees flowing into parts of Europe and Asia because of their proximity to conflict zones. Australia's refugee numbers will always be low because of something called the ocean.
The fact remains that the overwhelming majority of people who try to enter Australia illegally by boat are ultimately assessed to be legitimate refugees and are therefore included in Australia's annual refugee quota of 13,750.
Some commentators point out the unfairness of boatpeople taking up the places of asylum-seekers who have done the right thing and taken refuge in UN-sponsored camps awaiting placement (as if there is always an orderly process for escaping persecution that should be followed).
If that is the concern that needs to be addressed, what's wrong with increasing the annual quota so boatpeople don't take places away from asylum-seekers waiting in camps? We are constantly being told that a big Australia is an important economic goal, so perhaps we could do with the small number of extra citizens.
Despite the recent increase in boat arrivals that the opposition is determined to highlight for political advantage, many more people continue to arrive illegally by plane and far fewer of them turn out to be legitimate refugees.
Yet I don't see too many press releases from the opposition attacking this problem (probably because it has always been a problem, including when the Coalition was last in government).
And let's not forget that right now Australia houses about 50,000 visa overstayers, mostly from the US, Britain and China.
But the political debate is centred on boatpeople, partly because it plays into people's (inaccurate) fears about hordes of arrivals from underdeveloped countries who threaten our way of life, and partly because opinion polls continue to show that most Australians oppose illegal immigration.
The 2007 Australian Election Survey asked respondents to agree or disagree with the proposition that immigrants who are here illegally should not be allowed to stay for any reason. Fifty-six per cent agreed while less than 20 per cent disagreed. Of course the poorly worded question includes some of the other categories of illegal entrants mentioned, but respondents were likely thinking about boatpeople.
Since 2007, opinion polls continue to show that most Australians worry about illegal boat arrivals. Politicians are elected to reflect the public's will. But they are also elected to lead. Showing more compassion for some of the world's most marginalised people might not play to the masses, but a leader who encouraged the population to think that way would morph into a true statesman.
I find it disappointingly inconsistent that both of our political leaders, Rudd and Tony Abbott, wear their religion on their sleeves, yet neither of them practises the compassion that Christianity extols when it comes to boatpeople.
This is especially the case for Abbott, as the opposition is talking far tougher on how it intends to stop boat arrivals if elected. While Rudd talks tough, at least some of his actions on refugee policy have been compassionate.
Abbott has described the teaching of the Jesuits during his schooling as the greatest influence on his life. The Jesuits are part of the Catholic religious order founded by St Ignatius hundreds of years ago. The Australian Jesuits' website highlights that Jesuit spirituality "offers us a way to deepen our desire and commitment to help others, especially those in more urgent need and [with] less hope of help".
What class of people would be a more obvious contender for that category than boatpeople?
What's more, the Jesuit Refugee Service is one of the world's leading not-for-profit entities focused on helping refugees.
Abbott's combination of social conservatism and his Jesuit upbringing should make him a perfect candidate for being a more compassionate conservative. The term was first used by one of president Ronald Reagan's advisers to refer to the idea that there was a natural fit between conservatism and being compassionate because of the importance conservatives placed on family values.
Abbott's generous paid parental leave scheme fits into the compassionate conservative ethos, as would a more tolerant stand on asylum-seekers arriving by boat.
Instead Abbott has been applying the rhetoric of former Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson to asylum-seekers when he says that he will do whatever it takes to stop illegal boat arrivals, including restoring the Pacific solution.
With some predictions suggesting there will be as many as 70 more boat arrivals before the next election, the boatpeople issue won't go away and Abbott's rhetoric is designed to make this issue an election-winning one for the Coalition.
Right-wing American commentator P. J. O'Rourke adopts the sort of thinking about boatpeople that conservatives in this country should consider. He says he can't think of a more hardworking group of people who would contribute to the prosperity of a nation than individuals who are prepared to risk their lives in unsafe boats to get here.
Such people, if given the chance, often turn their attention when starting a new life to small business, a core Liberal Party constituency.
Australians shouldn't be afraid of boatpeople trying to come to our country. Our geographical position means that their numbers will always be small compared with refugee migration in other parts of the world.
It's time our politicians started to lead public opinion on this issue instead of following it.
Basic Obligations
Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and other South Pacific states in the region are signatories to many of the international human rights instruments, including the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
What is the Convention and what obligations does it place on the State and the refugee?
International Obligations
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, is a statement of the basic rights and fundamental freedoms owed to all human beings. As a declaration, it does not have binding force, but it is internationally recognised as a cornerstone of human rights protection. Article 14.1 states, "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution." This principle is at the root of refugee rights world-wide, and forms the basis of the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Refugees' Obligations
Under Article 2 of the 1951 UN Convention, every refugee has duties to the country in which she/he finds her/himself. In particular, the person must conform to its laws and regulations as well as to measures taken for the maintenance of public order. Refugees have equal not preferential treatment before the law.
States' Obligations
1951 UN Refugee Convention, the 1967 Protocol and UNHCR
The 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol is a legally binding treaty and a milestone in international refugee law. The majority of member states in the UN have accepted responsibility in providing protection for persons obliged to flee their country because of persecution. Australia ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention on 22 January 1954, and the 1967 protocol on 13 Dec 1973. New Zealand ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention on 30 June 1960, and the 1967 protocol on 6 August 1973. PNG ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1967 protocol on 17 July 1986.
Unlike other human rights instruments that came later, there is no monitoring mechanism or committee that examines countries to see whether they are complying with their obligations under the Convention. It is up to the signatory State to implement its commitments faithfully. UNHCR provides a supervisory role in this process.
States not signatories to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol do not have treaty obligations but still have obligations under international law regarding the treatment of refugees.
States that are party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol undertake to accord to refugees the legal status and minimum standards of treatment as outlined in its text.
Article 33 – the principle of non-refoulment
This is a state's most important obligation because it prevents return of a refugee to a situation of serious risk.
Under Article 33, states shall not expel or return ("refouler") a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership or a particular social group or political opinion.
Other important State obligations are:
Expulsion
"(The) State shall not expel a refugee lawfully in their territory except on grounds of national security or public order…" Article 32
Travel Documents
"(The) State must issue refugees lawfully staying in their territory travel documents for the purpose of travel outside their territory…" Article 28
A State is not obliged to assist any person who:
* has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity;
* has committed a serious non-political crime, outside their country of refuge prior to his/her admission as a refugee;
* has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Taken from the UNHCR website.
UNCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is an impartial, non-political humanitarian organisation mandated by the United Nations to lead and co-ordinate international action for the world-wide protection of refugees and the resolution of refugee problems. With headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and branch offices in 116 countries, UNHCR has two key and closely related aims: to protect refugees and to seek ways to help them restart their lives.
Right on PR.
I'm sick of hearing how Australia is being over run by boat people. Its a load of BS. If people are worried about being over run then close down the airports. That will fix the problem up.
Of course that won't happen coz people are too used to flying to Bali and Hawaii for their holiday. So lets pick on the bastards that can't even get through an airport.
USCRI (US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants ) says that Iraqis are currently the fastest growing refugee and IDP (internally displaced persons) crisis group in the world with nearly 2 million people having fled the country, and 1.7 million internally displaced. In Sudan, more than 5.3 million people left their homes in an attempt to escape the genocide by the government-backed militia in the western part of the country, which the world community knows as Darfur. And an on-going armed conflict in Colombia internally displaced 2.9 million people.
Those are just three “tips of the iceberg” in a long list of countries and regions impacted by this human tragedy. USCRI statistics show that 26 conflict-ridden nations, predominantly in Africa and the Middle East, have an IDP crisis. And, since new and emerging conflicts are constantly creating a new wave of refugees and IDPs, keeping track of the numbers is a challenging task.
What the current USCRI figures show is this:
* The Middle East has the highest number of refugees and IDPs: a staggering 4.2 million. Palestinians, Afghanis and Iraqis make up the majority of the uprooted population.
* With 3.2 million refugees and IDPs, Africa has the second highest number. Refugees from Sudan are the largest group, scattered throughout the camps in various countries.
* Almost 2 million refugees and IDPs live in south and central Asia, with over 1 million Afghanis in Pakistan alone.
How many refugees did Australia get um errrrr.......4500
anglo australia has always needed someone to pick on and bully- the chinese during the gold days, the italian and greek WW2 refugees, the vietnamese refugees in the 70s and 80s, the lebanese in the 90s and early 2000s.
now its the turn of the "muslims" and the africans.
I didn't see any boat people all week.
Most of the meetings I attended were over 50% foreign born (including myself).
Will Anderson's view
"We're not full. Even if we are, I'm happy to swap a few"
Has anyone see Idiocracy?
PM names Burke as 'population minister'
a wth minister...I wonder if this guy will deal with the so called "boat people" ?
"Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has been named as Australia's first population minister.
He will retain his other responsibilities, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced on Saturday." 
Man charged with people smuggling
Thursday, 18 March 2010
An Indonesian man has been charged with people smuggling offences after an alleged attempt to facilitate the arrival of 48 people to Australia.
The 19-year-old man will appear in Perth Magistrates Court today.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) charged the man with one count of facilitating the bringing of non-citizens into Australia (of five or more people), contrary to Section 232A of the Migration Act 1958.
The man arrived on 29 December 2009 on a vessel that was intercepted by the Australian Customs Vessel Ashmore Guardian, operating under the control of Customs and Border Protection Command, near Ashmore Island.
The Indonesian man brings the total number of people charged by the AFP with people smuggling offences since September 2008 to 118.
The maximum penalty for people smuggling offences is 20 years imprisonment and/or a $220,000 fine.
'There is nothing to fear except the persistent refusal to find out the truth, the persistent refusal to analyze the causes of happenings.'
D.Thompson
Did somebody say Global Warming?
I'm with AquaPlow on this, I don't see a problem.
I would let them land and try and make it down to a major city... if they make it; "Welcome to Australia Mate, here's a beer".
Instead we intercept them 1/2 way, then imprison them in Christmas Island or fly them to a major city... wtf!
@GypsyDrifter: How did the boat call 000?
Hello, hello, hello is this Australia? Please pick us up 120km NW of Christmas Island.
