it is not a solution to the refugee problem. that requires work done with and by the countries of origin and it would include all those who travel to australia air or sea, with or without documents
what i am proposing is merely a solution to the boats. if you want to stop the boats, then remove the necessity for them. if you make them irrelevant you will save lives and cut out the smuggler trade
neither party's policy attacks this issue - they are not proactive - they react and they react very badly and waste millions
the boat people (from iran, iraq and some kurds this time i see - not afghanistan or sri lanka) appear to assemble in indonesia and pay money to the smugglers
so - give them somewhere to go in indonesia where they can register with australia and send ships over to pick them up. bring them to australia where they can be processed and their refugee status determined.
it is not really different from what is actually happening but it takes out the danger, cuts out the crooks and saves millions in these obscene offshore detention centres
current and past policy is no solution - it merely pushes it to one aside where it can be dealt with out of sight, out of mind. in other words, it is a political ploy to appease the target voters but does not deal with the problem in any sensible way
what i am proposing would save money, recognise reality and deal with it on a permanent long term basis treating all asylum seekers in the same manner
