> Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2014 08:54:45 +1100
> From: "Peter Ross"
> Subject: [luv-talk] Same day news - make a difference

> At least I believe it is as much about as about refugees. It is about the
society we want to live in.

Signing a petition is the atheist equivalent of prayer: doing nothing but pretending you have done something - so you look good at no cost to yourself. Firing off moralistic emails is equally efficacious, in both respects.

Alternatively, if you are serious: donate a significant percentage of your income to good causes, or do the hard thinking to actually come up with a better immigration policy - in detail, with analysis of the consequences (see below).

Tim

Policy

> 1. What measures would you put in place to discourage people arriving by boat or plane, if any?

> 2. What change would you make to the refugee quota? Would there still be a limit?

> 3. Would the arrivals get work permits? How would they be supported if they did not get work?

> 4. To what degree would you vet arrivals to see if a) they are 'genuine' refugees b) They are criminals, terrorists, or fanatics of one sort or another c) They have communicable illnesses? What level of appeals would be possible? Would we pay for legal aid throughout a long-drawn-out legal process?

> 5. When people arrive would they be detained or monitored? Describe these arrangements. Would this depend on the answers to the previous question?

> 6. What would you do with people who are not 'genuine' refugees, or who are otherwise undesirable? Would you deport or detain them?

> 7. What do you do with people whose status is uncertain? People arrive without documentation, they may lie or exaggerate their predicament. You cannot exactly ask, say, the Iranian government "It is true that if this person were returned then you would persecute them?" and expect a useful answer. 

> 8, Would you limit where people could live and what work they could do? How would you enforce this? 

> 9. Would you devote any extra resources to projects such as solving world hunger (as suggested above) as part of the solution?

Impact

> 1. What do you think would be the effect of your policy on the number of unsolicited refugees arriving by aircraft, boat ie refugees arriving without a visa, if any?

> 2. What  do you think the impact of your policy on the total level of immigration to Australia, if any?

> 3, What would be the effect of your policy on Australia's economy, unemployment levels, wages, crime and welfare dependency, if any.

> 4. What do you think  would be the effect of your policy in any other respect on the people who currently inhabit Australia, if any?