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I'm out. I won't be called a liar. :)

I made no false statement; I'm pretty careful not to, and if I make a mistake, I correct and apologise. If you're referring to my statement that non-signatory countries don't accept refugees, it's accurate. Which countries offer the benefits of permanent residence to refugees? The fact that...

Right, condemned to living forever stateless and without access to education, healthcare, work, and so on. Often even without housing, living in tents. Not a long-term solution, is it?

Indeed. None of those countries are signatories to the UN Convention on Refugees, and thus do not accept refugees.

Right, they're ineligible for Indonesian citizenship and are in Indonesia illegally. As well as having no access to healthcare etc., they run the risk of being deported. That might be survival, but it's not an acceptable permanent resolution. It does prevent you flying to Sydney, actually...

TC seemed to suggest they should be staying put where they were. None of Pakistan, India, Malaysia, or Indonesia are signatories to the UN Convention on Refugees, so there is no way to apply for refugee status in any of those countries. I'm glad you asked! You have to have a visa to enter...

Precisely. :confused: They're not claiming asylum on economic grounds, but on personal safety grounds. How does $5K in your pocket stop the Taliban shooting you, precisely? :confused:

I think you're confusing migrants and refugees. We have a quota for refugee intake that's smaller than comparable first world countries, so we certainly aren't taking a disproportionate share of the world's refugees. If you're talking about migrants who want to come here for lifestyle and...

Are you serious? The whole problem could be solved if they just allowed the whole family to fly straight to Australia to have their status determined. Because the Australian government has the draconian policy of prohibiting that, their only option is to send one person - because the...

I don't know that it annoys me so much as is an opportunity to educate, as it's ignorant. :) It's not possible to apply for asylum from within your home country. International conventions define refugees as people who are outside their home country and cannot safely return, and thus you won't...

Yes. Australia is one of the only countries in the world that prevents people from entering Australia if they even suspect they're going to seek asylum. It's near-impossible to fly into Australia if you're travelling on an Afghani, Sri Lankan, or Iraqi etc. passport. (Unless you have Australian...

Both parties are responsible for many deaths for having policies that are the only reason these people are put in danger in the first place. We should do as every other first world country does and just allow them to fly in for processing. It's so much cheaper than paying a people smuggler we...

It's lovely to see some of his family here on Somersoft. :D

In case there's anybody who hasn't yet seen it, this piece by John Oliver of Last Week Tonight about Tony Abbott is gold... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3IaKVmkXuk

It's not about the knighthood itself; it's what it represents, i.e. that he has absolutely no idea what the people of Australia are thinking. He's completely out of touch with mainstream Australia. Seriously, if he'd asked any person on the street, tea lady, or cab driver, they would have...