adelcrow wrote on Nov 18^th, 2010 at 5:14pm:


You're right. And there are many on this board who are quite happy to take them in without question. Why?

Because they're "white." That's enough. We likes to look after our own in these parts.

Can you imagine locking up Americans, British or New Zealanders for 7 years in an immigration prison without charge? There would be an international outcry.

The difference, I guess, is that when these nationals DO come to Australia, they won't be escaping civil war. That is, they won't be desperate enough to get into rickety boats and endanger their lives travelling halfway around the world to escape.

Another difference is that we actually grant tourist and work visas to citizens of developed countries, unlike Afghanis and Sri Lankans - the "shoeshiners" of the world.

You have to get up pretty early in the morening to get one over DFAT.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Nov 19^th, 2010 at 10:48am:


Tell us, Android, how long did it take for your alien sister to get an Australian Visa in the first instance: days, weeks, months, years or decades?

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Nov 19^th, 2010 at 10:59am:


So, her visa was granted in a matter of days, owing to her privileged Anglo heritage...

How long would it take for an age and gender matched group of Somali or Afghani friends to get a visa to come to Oz on a 'working holiday' - and is such even possible?

Equitist wrote on Nov 19^th, 2010 at 11:00am:


What are the chances of a Somali or Afghan going home as they are supposed to on working holidaymaker visas?

By the way Britain also grants Australia working holidaymaker visas.
How do you think the arrangement would be made with the war torn nations?

Be sensble. These people come, they take from our tax pool and they never intend to return.
They are jumpers.

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/BN/sp/Asylumfacts.htm

They protest by burning things in the detention centres and deliberately cause strife and havoc in an attempt to blackmail the Australian people into letting them go before their applications have been processed.  They are just bringing their hatred and violent natures here.

Is this really the type of people we want living in Australia?

Australia has a long history of accepting refugees for resettlement and over 700 000 refugees and displaced persons have settled in Australia since 1945.
There is a difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee—asylum seekers are people seeking international protection but whose claims for refugee status have not yet been determined. Although those who come to Australia by boat seeking Australia’s protection are classified by Australian law to be ‘unlawful non-citizens’, they have a right to seek asylum under international law and not be penalised for their ‘illegal’ entry.
Only a small proportion of asylum applicants in Australia arrive by boat—most arrive by air with a valid visa and then go on to pursue asylum claims. However, a greater proportion of those arriving by boat are recognised as refugees.
There is no orderly queue for asylum seekers to join. Only a very small proportion of asylum seekers are registered with the UNHCR and only 1 per cent of those recognised by the UNHCR as refugees who meet the resettlement criteria are subsequently resettled to another country. As the overall number of asylum applications has continued to rise, states are increasingly taking responsibility for refugee status determination.
All unauthorised boat arrivals in Australia are subject to the same assessment criteria as other asylum applicants and also are subject to comprehensive security and health checks.
Claims that refugees in Australia are entitled to higher benefits than other social security recipients are unfounded.
In recent years, the Australian Government has allocated around 13 000 places to refugees and others with humanitarian needs under its planned Humanitarian program.[52] Most of these places have been given to offshore refugees referred to Australia by the UNHCR, but some are given to refugees who applied for asylum onshore.
The number of people arriving unauthorised by boat in Australia, is small in comparison to the numbers arriving in other parts of the world such as Europe. Similarly, the number of asylum claims lodged in Australia is small in comparison to the USA, Canada and Europe.
While only about 20 developed nations, including Australia, participate formally in the UNHCR’s refugee resettlement program, the vast majority of asylum seekers and refugees are hosted in developing countries

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/BN/sp/Asylumfacts.htm#_Toc261256219