There's a lot of comment in the above that's unrelated to the specific topic of this thread but that's perhaps a reflection of what the critics of the current government's border protection policies are reduced to in this thread.
If we were to scrap the detention network, how do we do that without incentivising illegal people smuggling activities ?
That's the question to which I'm yet to see an answer. What's not an answer is opening our borders as the Greens would like.
You may think they're unrelated, I obviously think otherwise.
Let's expand on it.
Turnbull talks about "conscience" right? That our turn back the boat policies are tough and considered harsh by some but it's necessary for our security and presumably our common wealth. It's tough but it's fair and reasonable and anyone who needs medical attention will get it, so we have a good conscience.
First, what harms a nation's common wealth? What takes away more of its treasure and opportunities to its people? Refugees or big corporations not paying their fair share of tax, or the oligarchs buying politicians and have these elected officials do their bidding?
Recent research found that in NSW and VIC, where electricity has been privatised to be more competitive, to save taxpayers money... in these two states, about 30 to 47% of the bills we all paid for power are purely profit to the power companies, only some 11% of what's paid by all of us are for the actual usage of the electricity itself.
Is that the kind of thing you'd do if it's the people and their money you're looking out for?
Did the refugees cause these kind of privatisation?
Or how about the removal of the carbon tax, the mining super profit tax? Did our power bills come down by much due to those? Has the miners keep people they no longer need because that's what they do or did they axe it the moment things look tough and taxpayers will have to fork out and step up to help the now unemployed workers? So taxpayers get jack all when the miners are doing really really well, and when not so well they fire people and write down assets so there's less profit to tax... and in the meantime, "sell" at low profit to their subsidiaries overseas, pay low tax on those low profits...
This list can go on, but you get the point.
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So now we have real Australians, struggling, not having enough uni places to educate themselves or their kids, having trade policies that favour the corps so that we're more "competitive" and more "innovative"... and we end up with struggling Australians competing with bloody refugees for jobs and for welfare.
We're told by our dear leaders that technology will change the workforce, globalisation will mean more competition for work and skills... and then they bloody defund higher education, saying it costs too much and will eventually privatise it too.. .going the way of the US where graduates owe on average $50 to $100k after getting a degree that might give them a shot at a decent job.
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So on the one hand our natural resources are being sold on the cheap; our taxation are being played around by those who could afford high priced accountants; and our human resources and potential are being vacated and abandoned, sold down the river and very soon only those whose parents are rich could even think about getting the kind of education for jobs that might last half their lifetime and not be done cheaper elsewhere.
So that's one hand... on the other, we sold our national conscience for a very high price to the likes of Transfield services and people smugglers we're all raving on against.
We don't know whether or not they're refugees because we told our patrol officers to not ask about it. Just tow them away or pay the smugglers... or if can't do either, put them on a raft and set it due north. If can't do all that, then let's put them in camps.
So we have struggling Aussies feeling threatened by refugees taking the doles and the jobs from them or their family and friends; or Aussies who are so indoctrinated to believe in the evil of a religion, a culture that anyone that looks like them ought to be lock up or turn around just in case they're coming all that way to bomb us or some crazy thing Arabs do.
Forgeting that research have shown refugees will, within a decade or two, made significant economic and cultural contribution to Australia personally, directly. Before that, they contribute by doing jobs no one wants to, getting paid at wages that's illegal etc. etc.
Meanwhile, the fat cats and their consultants are taking from us and may trickle down a few crumbs here and there... and we're fighting over what again? Muslims and refugees.
Bloody hell, you tax Google and Apple and BHP fairly like you'd tax the rest of the small folks, you could fund all university places and a few non-toll bridges and railways, and maybe could help a few refugees too.