Posted on 07/05/2010 11:04:10 AM PDT by traumer
Australia’s new prime minister is expected to unveil a tough new policy on immigration in a crack down on the rising number of illegal asylum seekers.
Julia Gillard has called for an open debate on the problem which has seen ‘boatloads of people’ arriving in the country and crammed into an offshore detention centre.
Miss Gillard will meet her Cabinet today to address the influx.
The Opposition blames the Labor party for the rise in illegal immigration that occurred under Miss Gillard’s predecessor, Kevin Rudd, who loosened tough regulations in 2008.
Australia has long been a destination for asylum seekers, with most coming from Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka.
The Christmas Island detention centre, built for 800, has been overflowing for months as more than 2,000 more people have arrived by boat this year.
Miss Gillard, who hails from Wales, in Britain, and arrived in Australia as a ‘£10 Pom’ when her family migrated in 1966, said: ‘For people to say they're anxious about border security doesn't make them intolerant, it certainly doesn't make them a racist, it means that they're expressing a genuine view that they're anxious about border security.
‘By the same token, people who express concern about children being in detention, that doesn't mean they're soft on border protection, that just means that they're expressing a real human concern.’
In April, Australia temporarily suspended refugee applications from Afghans and Sri Lankans, citing
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Now that's a concept!
Maybe we could just pay Cuba to take in our illegals?
Then again, maybe Nauru, an island made of seagull poop. Perfect...
If so, it is a non-starter. PM Gough Whitlam made that pretty much impossible - or nearly so
Illegal is not a race.
Words, words and more words - if I see some action in this regard I will believe it. It is the Labor Government who have in the past been soft on this issue. I didn’t mind much when the people who were coming to our shores were genuine refugees like the Vietnamese people who have thrived in our country and are friendly to boot.
People are afraid to say it but it’s the Muslims who are coming to Australia and yet hate us, hate our laws and hate Christianity and Judaism that we are worried about. There’s way too many of them for our liking and at the rate they breed they will be a problem in 20-30 years. It’s not about race it’s about incompatible beleif systems.
“’Concern about border security doesn’t make you racist,’ “
It sure as heck does in many Western countries - and subject to prosecution, though not in the US (yet).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.