(no subject)

"So here we are: Australia will have to fund and administer any Nauru or Manus or Malaysia solution. Everyone we send there will be able to appeal decisions Australian officials take in Australian courts. And when it is all over, the only country where those found to be refugees can reasonably expect to start a new life is Australia.

At this point there seem to be two alternatives: either claw out of the Migration Act the protections put there by the Howard government in 2001, or do what other countries in Australia's position do: deal with these people on home soil."

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/the-bottom-line-its-australias-responsibility-20110901-1job0.html

Personally, I suspect the government that finally stops punishing refugees is going to benefit by turning the whole mess into a non-issue - something their opponents can't use.