Refugees, Immigration and Politics

It will be interesting to see how the current wave of Boat people are handled by the Rudd Government. While most Australians don't want refugees to suffer inhumane treatment, including years spent in detention camps in prison-like conditions, I would argue that most Australians also don't want to have thousands of people landing on our shores no matter how parlous their home conditions.

To those of us migrants who have found jobs and lives in Australia, we are very thankful for the ability to fit in without much trouble. I at least had the advantage of speaking English and a recognised qualification when moving to Australia. Many of my work colleagues are migrants from all over the world. Many also realise the problem of controlling immigration particularly as the flood of migrants fleeing war and poverty again swamps the "first" world's resources.

So it is ironic to see Indonesia as our bulwark against the tide of migrants. I wonder how long we will or can pay to turn the flood into a trickle. Will there be a deterrent effect? Or will the people just keep coming? And the climate change advocates will tell you this is just the start of the problem. If the temperature keeps rising then millions more displaced people will be seeking their little bit of earth to call home. Its just too hard to solve!