Should Australia accept asylum seeking boat immigrants?

War, famine and many other issues are causing millions of people to look for a better life and home. In fact, many refugees are travelling to the shores of Australia in search for this. This federal issue involves other international laws as most refugees are citizens of other countries, but as soon as these people enter Australian waters, it becomes Australia's problem (Miragliotta, Errington & Barry, 2013).

Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers
Source: Herald Sun, 2015

According to Barlow (2014) there are over 1,200 people in the detention centre on Christmas Island. An ever growing number of refugees that causes the Australia government to pose a question: what do we do with them? McKenzie & Hasmath (2013) explain that the majority of asylum seekers come by boat and will usually end up in danger. In most cases, the boats are too crowded, are over taken by pirates or will sink causing the Australian government to take control of the situation. The Australian government puts a lot of effort and money into looking after people that are not even Australians, but if Australia doesn't do this process, then the country would see thousands of refugees sneaking up on our shores and blending into society illegally. Every year, there are thousands of Australians going through all the paperwork and requirements to become an Australian (Foye & Ryder, 2014). So there is no explanation as to why refugees should not have to go through all these requirements as well. 

There has been countless times in Parliament where the government has decided to 'stop the boats' and every party has promised that they will if they were elected, but there are still numerous attempts to cease this. Interestingly, Martin (2015) argues that the most recent campaigns to deter 'boat' people from arriving in Australia have all the hallmarks of a class moral panic, which have been successful because they resonate with deep rooted anxieties about Australian's national identity and way of life, relating, among other things, to fear of Asian 'invasion' and concern with multiculturalism.

If the Australian government does not come up with a solution to asylum seekers, the detention centres will become over crowded. There will also be much more health problems among refugees which will cause the government to spend more money. If the government were to allow refugees into the community, it could cause more segregation in the community, further language and cultural barriers and over crowding. 

References:

Barlow, K 2014, 'Asylum seekers: Many children on Christmas Island reportedly sick and distressed, wetting the bed, having flashbacks', ABC News, viewed 17 August 2015, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-24/christmas-island-children-asylum-seekerswetting-bed-flashbacks/5620202

Foye, J & Ryder, P 2011, ' Cries from Babylon: the problem of compassion in Australian refugee policy', Global Media Journal: Australian Edition, vol. 5, issue 1, pp. 1-12.

Herald Sun 2015, 'Asylum Seeker', digital image, viewed 17 August 2015, www.heraldsun.com.au

Martin, G 2015, 'Stop the boats! Moral panic in Australia over asylum seekers', Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, vol. 29, issue 3, pp. 304-322.

McKenzie, J & Hasmath, R 2013, 'Deterring the boat people: Explaining the Australian government's people swap response to asylum seekers', Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 48, issue, 4, pp. 417-430.

Miragliotta, N, Errington, W & Barry, N 2013, The Australian Political System in Action, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.