Greetings to all,

i&i will take the liberty of responding before my country-man Blair. Our current government here in Australia is a very conservative one, headed by a little toad by the name of John Howard. He has been consistently opposed to refugees (mainly from indo-china, and the middle east, and most recently Afganistan) coming to our country by anything other than "proper channels". Never mind the fact that these people are often fleeing for ther lives and persecuted in their country of origin, and that under the UN conventions that we have signed they are perfectly able to come BY WHATEVER MEANS to Australia and wait to be processed.
The government here now locks these people up in hell-hole detention centers in the most bleak and inhospitable parts of the country. The people being locked up are all brown, or black folks. The tens of thousands of white people who come here and overstay their tourist visas are ignored and left to their own devices. It is without doubt a racist policy.
The detainees have become so desperate that they are doing things like going on hunger strike, sewing their lips together, and attempting suicide. It is a truly evil situation. The worst aspect of what is happening here is that the vast majority of the population seems to support the government in its downpression. I&I am ashamed to be Australian...

Hope this helps to explain what is happening. Blair will no doubt also get back with is own take on the situation.

Peace, Love, and Respect from the land of Oz

Paul