Quoting "Mike Mitchell" <m.mitch@exemail.com.au>:
That is NOT the point I made. Refuge is a privilege not a right.
Australia signed the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. By doing so, we do not give refuge as a privilege, the convention comes with obligations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_Relating_to_the_Status_of_Refugees ---- snip ---- Responsibilities of States Parties to the Refugee Convention In the general principle of international law, treaties in force are binding upon the parties to it and must be performed in good faith. Countries that have ratified the Refugee Convention are obliged to protect refugees that are on their territory, in accordance with its terms.[6] There are a number of provisions that States who are parties of the Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol must adhere to. Among them are: Cooperation With the UNHCR: Under Article 35 of the Refugee Convention and Article II of the 1967 Protocol, states agree to cooperate with UNHCR in the exercise of its functions and to help UNHCR supervise the implementation of the provisions in the Convention.[6] Information On National Legislation: parties to the Convention agree to inform the United Nations Secretary-General about the laws and regulations they may adopt to ensure the application of the Convention.[6] Exemption from Reciprocity: The notion of reciprocity- where, according to a country's law, the granting of a right to an alien is subject to the granting of similar treatment by the alien's country of nationality- does not apply to refugees. This notion does not apply to refugees because refugees do not enjoy the protection of their home state.[6] ---- snip ---- None of the two big parties "cooperate with the UNHCR" at the moment. The UNHCR raises concerns frequently, and none of the proposed solutions will end that because all are based on mandatory detention. Here one example: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refdaily?pass=463ef21123&id=4df1b5535 ---- UNHCR steps up Australia refugee criticism Publisher: AFP, Agence France Presse Story date: 09/06/2011 The United Nations stepped up criticism of Australia's refugee detention policy Friday, warning there was "no empirical evidence" that locking up asylum seekers deterred irregular migration. ---- Only few countries, world wide, implement mandatory detention. It is a ridle why there is so much fuss about refuges in a country that is far away from the rest of the world, isn't a main destination of refugee movements and has plenty of room and material wealth to deal with a few thousand people arriving at its shores. Someone must be on drugs to believe that this is a major issue so both major parties rely on its "solution" to win elections. Regards Peter