NZ Asylum

In the case of Australia, concerns over ‘unauthorised’ boat arrivals or ‘boat people’ (also referred to as ‘irregular maritime arrivals’) have occupied successive governments since the 1970s. However, many argue that the number of boat arrivals in Australia is very small in comparison to the significant flows of ‘unauthorised’ arrivals in other parts of the world over the last few decades.    —aph.gov.au

Well, sure.  Compared to the Iraqis fleeing their country before Desert Storm, or compared to the mess that’s Dafrur, I guess that would be true.

But that’s really just hiding the true problem among bigger numbers.

Australia publish  a quarterly report on their immigration problems.  In the latest one, IMAs (Irregular Maritime Arrivals, remember?) , presents some scary looking numbers:   Read more »

(There is a poll at the end of this post)

New Zealand are to accept some of Australia’s “Boat People”.

First a definition

The term ‘boat people’ entered the Australian vernacular in the 1970s with the arrival of the first wave of boats carrying people seeking asylum from the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Over half the Vietnamese population was displaced in these years and, while most fled to neighbouring Asian countries, some embarked on the voyage by boat to Australia.   Read more »