Why doesn't Australia simply pull out of the treaty they signed with regard to the rights of refugees. I don't believe Japan has signed it(and they're the second richest and most developed country in the world). The government is obviously unhappy at being put over a barrel and I presume a majority of the population are unhappy with the situation as the election was all about this issue(by the way I didn't hear the cacaphony of wailing and sympathy from prominent newspapers like the SMH and previous prime ministers during the election campaign). Basically this whole palava is costing our country millions when there are plenty of good causes in Australia to spend the money on. We know(and can probably understand) that people would want to migrate to this and other developed countries for economic reasons but it's a fact of life that we must look after our own first - it's as simple as that. How people can keep a straight face asking for asylum when they've lived in one , two or three countries since they fled persecution in their original country amazes me. Yes, follow the lead of the non-Western countries like Japan who openly proclaim that their blood lines are 100% pure and come out of any treaties on the rights of refugees. That wouldn't prevent us making adhoc decisions in favour of genuine cases and the long suffering Australian taxpayer(who isn't guaranteed a good life here just because he was born here) wouldn't have to shoulder the burden of the economic migration industry.
