I really doubt that they living in 5 star accomodation but the numbers of asylum seekers now is disconcerting.
ok maybe not five star but I lived on Christmas island around the time they opened the new detention centre and conditions there were pretty damn good.
During the day the kids went to schooland the adults were very often out in the community doing things, or having relatively unsupervised time. Not a lot of places you can go on christmas island outside of the main settlement.
healthy diet, entertainment and pretty good conditions. Lots of locals had their houses broken into by these people, though I was not one of them living at the top of the hill and all (the hill is steep and loooong).
To be honest it was way better than how many people in the Kimberly and the Pilbara lived when I was working up there, particularly places like Fitzroy Crossing, Derby, Newman and particularly Carnarvon. I am guesing it is significantly better than the places some of the people live (I live in Uzbekistan currently and some people live ROUGH here).
so it isn't five star but it is safe. yes we signed the geneva convention and have a somewhat legal obligation to asylum seekers,however given the UNHCR, The geneva convention define "refugees" differently, the extent of the halp we are required to give is unclear. One thing that is implied is that a refugee should be a refugee only if they are seeking safety in the nearest friendly nation (or words to that effect) this means only PNG and NZ sould have refugees in our nation, everyone else can be seen as an asylum seeker.
asylum seekers are different from refugees in what we are required to give in terms of process and aid.
anyway you get the idea.
The main point is however, that as "stateless people" they are not granted much protection under our law. Nothing legally stopping "them" being turned around if the nation sees fit.
Then we could re allocate the funds to solving our own social problems, without adding to the list of the lowest socioeconomic, lowest educated and most needy we struggle to provide for anyway.
