How much sway will the Asylum Seekers question have in this 2010 Federal Election ?
What is the real Question about asylum Seekers ?
It isn’t, as some people think, about the total numbers of refugees arriving. Australia takes a specific number, about 13,000 per year, and that’s it.
Julia Gillards policy on Asylum Seekers has changed.
Whilst in Opposition she was against sending the asylum seekers to independent islands for processing, and managed to have the centre in Nauru closed down.
But now, with 62 per cent of voters supporting the previous Liberal policy of processing asylum seekers in countries outside Australia’, she has changed tack, especially with an Election looming, and proposed her own solution, but using a different island.
Who gets hurt by the rising numbers of boat people arriving ?
Australians still pay out the same in benefits, so whether all 13,000 are boat people or none of them are boat people, there is little difference to that side of things.
The refugees in United Nations camps waiting for processing are the ones who suffer. They don’t have the funds that these boat people have, to jump the queue, so they have to wait just that little bit longer. For every 100 boat people jumping the queue, those waiting patiently drop back another 100 places.
I feel for those who can’t afford to jump the queue. I dislike queue jumpers at the best of times, and that is just in the shops. But when money talks, and people get pushed back, because others have money… well, how do you feel about it ?
The numbers…
Average Weekly Boat People Arrivals by calendar year during each government term.
- Liberal Government
| Per week | Year |
| 13 | 1996 |
| 7 | 1997 |
| 4 | 1998 |
| 72 | 1999 |
| 57 | 2000 |
| 106 | 2001 |
| 0 | 2002 – Pacific Solution became effective |
| 1 | 2003 |
| 0 | 2004 |
| 0 | 2005 |
| 1 | 2006 |
| 3 | 2007 |
ALP Government
| Per week | Year |
| 3 | 2008 |
| 53 | 2009 |
| 151 | 2010 to 19th May |
A Morgan poll was carried out in July 2010, with regard to the question of Asylum seekers, and the specific question of those arriving by boat.
The question was:
Should asylum seekers arriving by boat be allowed to apply for immigration as now, or should they all be returned and told to apply through normal refugee channels?
The answers were:
64% Be returned and apply via normal refugee channels.
26% Stay as now
5% Other
5% Can’t Say
http://www.abcdiamond.com/forum/australian-important-topics/morgan-poll-on-asylum-seekers/