tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post8380239375158329850..comments2024-03-25T19:48:24.624+11:00Comments on Oz Conservative: Rita Panahi on the TamilsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-67455700205161520602014-07-15T06:41:07.952+10:002014-07-15T06:41:07.952+10:00Is this policy something that's forced on the ...<i>Is this policy something that's forced on the rest of the country by the liberal coastal areas?</i><br /><br />It was something forced on the country by the elites in general. Public opinion was usually against it by a margin of about 70:30, but there were no institutions to provide political opposition, so the elites did it easily in the end. Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-40920002243852833752014-07-15T03:38:33.974+10:002014-07-15T03:38:33.974+10:00at least we don't have the issue of our Left p...<i>at least we don't have the issue of our Left pretending they're refugees.</i><br /><br />Oh yes we do. Right now the Catholic Church, among others, is going "waah waah waah the poor widdle children crossing the border are refugees, we must help them."Fehnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-77569058877432523942014-07-14T05:22:24.432+10:002014-07-14T05:22:24.432+10:00Wow, I had no idea that was such an institutionali...Wow, I had no idea that was such an institutionalized system. We get people from Cuba like that sometimes, but it's not a large percentage of illegal immigrants taking that route. It sounds similar to how people come up through Mexico (ie, paying a smuggler to bring them in), but at least we don't have the issue of our Left pretending they're refugees.<br /><br />I will say, I spent some time in the interior of Australia a few years back, and the people there struck me as blunt-spoken on the topic of foreigners/race. I'd had the impression Aussies were more hostile to the idea of mass immigration. Is this policy something that's forced on the rest of the country by the liberal coastal areas?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-50218276717047293962014-07-13T19:09:27.476+10:002014-07-13T19:09:27.476+10:00Thanks. Yes, you're probably right about the M...Thanks. Yes, you're probably right about the M.E. countries.Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-88520441623881274592014-07-13T19:04:44.140+10:002014-07-13T19:04:44.140+10:00I like the idea Mark. Good luck with getting M.E c...I like the idea Mark. Good luck with getting M.E countries to contribute though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-63592101413284811972014-07-13T11:16:26.698+10:002014-07-13T11:16:26.698+10:00Australia doesn't have a land border with anot...Australia doesn't have a land border with another country like the US does. So if economic migrants want to migrate here illegally they usually fly to Indonesia and then pay a smuggler to put them on a rickety boat and land them on one of the Australian islands to the north of our country. We get people from as far away as the Middle-East taking this option. <br /><br />Once they land our court system usually lets them stay, which then encourages an ever larger number of boats.<br /><br />Our Liberal Party (akin to your Republicans) is generally in favour of securing the borders (but having mass legal immigration). And so when in government their aim is to stop the boats from reaching that part of Australia where our court system comes into play. There have been agreements with other countries in the region to take those on the boats (e.g. Papua New Guinea) - given the economic migrants aren't looking to stay in these countries, it's usually quite effective in discouraging the boats.<br /><br />The left is big on supporting the arrival of the boats, so it's a strong point of contention within politics here. Most Australians, however, support securing the borders; furthermore, the boat system leads to cases of boats sinking and people drowning, so it's not easy for the left to claim the moral high ground on this issue.Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-76868195168520234392014-07-13T11:02:05.398+10:002014-07-13T11:02:05.398+10:00Could you perhaps provide a rundown of the refugee...Could you perhaps provide a rundown of the refugee issue? I'll be honest, as an American, it doesn't make much sense to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com