P.S. I considered this piece as satire. So it does not imply that one of the politicians is a dog, or I am a Nazi. It is an allergic reaction of another round of this bizarre "refugee politics" started this week. As always, it is not about solutions, it is about political gain. Russell pointed to the U.S. election, asking "What's wrong with that country?" As a German migrant I ask this question about Australian politics for a while by now. Since 2001 the Australian politicians go to extraordinary lengths to make us believe that we still follow some basic law. Here one example, The Australian migration zone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_migration_zone "The Australian migration zone is a legal device created by the Australian government for the purpose of Australia's visa policy and immigration policy. .. On 16 May 2013, Australian Senate passed a bill to excise entire Australian mainland from its migration zone" http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2015/5.html ( Vogl, Anthea --- "Over the Borderline: A Critical Inquiry into the Geography of Territorial Excision and the Securitisation of the Australian Border" [2015] UNSWLawJl 5; (2015) 38(1) University of New South Wales Law Journal 114) "As a result of the reform, an ‘unlawful non-citizen’ entering Australian territory ‘at any place’ by sea is designated as an ‘unauthorised maritime arrival’ and as a consequence, may not make an application for asylum in Australia or for an Australian visa of any kind..." The article reminds us of the varying of reasons cited for this voodoo device as well. Australia is a signatory of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_Relating_to_the_Status_of_Refugees). The "legal device" of the Australian migration zone was willfully created and redefined (the latest installment in 2013 was implemented by the Labor government under Rudd and with Chris Bowen as responsible minister, btw). It created the legal background to "allow" the detainment of arriving people on Nauru and Manus Island. It created a lot of issues which are highly problematic for Australia. It includes - an ongoing problem of practicly indefinite detention without a way out (in that regard it is our Guantanamo) - high financial costs - a range of badly designed contracts to third parties, mainly for the purpose to abandon responsibility - a reliance on third countries - strained relationships to our neighbours - a continuous chain of additional and highly problematic legislation to hide the effects of the implementations - continuous conflict with international agencies as the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner - attack on national agencies and staff in public service fulfilling their duties, as the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs - a moral justification for xenophobic parties which poison the political landscape even further - an overall poisoning of the political climate - a lack of peace of mind for every citizen when he feels forced by association to justify moral bankruptcy of his elected government I do not even mention "complications" as the involvement of our army in foreign countries where a high proportion of refugees is coming from (With war involvement comes some moral obligations, one can argue. It mattered a few decades earlier when Vietnamese refugees were resettled) The latest round of "ideas" complicates the resettlement of refugees even further. New Zealand, e.g. has no interest in complications related to the free movement of their people. Besides of Nauru and Manus, our detention centres on the mainland are keeping asylum seekers behind bars for a long time, and their treatment is far away from what somebody can consider as reasonable. Even given a simple present becomes a high act of bureaucracy. It is legislated cruelty and unworthy of a country which claims to be free and democratic. Internationally our reputation has gone to the dogs, no doubts about that. There is no way of getting this right, without a proper U turn which is starting with the basics : the compliance to our obligations and accepting responsibility and moral duties. The current concept of "Border Security" is as dumb as the Berlin Wall. The world is simply a little bit more complex so Australians should be educated enough (and be educated by the politicians) to know that you have to engage with it and look for practical and humane solutions instead of hiding behind some painfully constructed concepts to avoid this. Personally, I have given up on the idea of becoming Australian citizen for the time being. Good night Peter