Illegal Immigrants

The illegal immigrant debate raises its ugly head once again and once again it's a clear debate with the "fill out the right forms" on one side and the "you poor darlings" on the other.

Folks, this is serious. There are many, many countries in our region and beyond with serious poverty and political issues and understandably they want to find greener pastures at any cost. Many other western countries simply won't have them because of their own population issues and let's be honest, because they don't have any sort of welfare system available to them, and don't want to create a new class of homeless people.

Australia doesn't have a population issue coupled very nicely with a generous welfare system. So if you're asking why they are aiming for Australia, you probably have your answer. Add to this the fact that we're also pretty good at criticising ourselves in the public domain for being a bit "mean" about illegal immigrants. When the spin doctors think our image is suffering a bit much, they do their best to "soften" our public stance, it is interpreted in these countries as such and they start packing once again.

So what's the solution? A tough stance or a welcome mat? When you consider it, don't just think emtionally, think financially and think culturally. One can't think about one without considering all three. This is a huge emotional and financial decision for Australians, remembering that the government will collect all associated costs from you as a taxpayer. In addition, large intakes of migrants can results in cultural confusion for years and possibly decades through further generations. Consequences of this could be cultures living separately, cross cultural hatred continuing, religious hatred continuing, female degradation continuing, language issues, etc, etc, etc.

Obviously this issue is a difficult one. The question is do we need to control the immigration system more than we presently do or be more welcoming and less lenient to people that come in boats at a huge risk to their finances and lives? Are they ill-informed, plain desperate or just cheeky and impatient? And what should we do with the actual smugglers? After all, they are equivalent to the drug dealers here...

So, Have I got YOU thinking? What are YOU thinking? I would love to hear your thought through view. Get Blogging!