Being tough on refugees is pretty weak

This article was published in The Age 18 October 2009

Those who believe in liberty should be against harsh border control, not for it. We're all just like Pavlov's dogs. Last week, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave the Pacific Solution a quick polish, rebranded it the Indonesian Solution, and immediately everybody started yelling at Philip Ruddock.

Yep, if it wasn't clear by now, ideological and partisan divisions over asylum seekers and boat people are deeply entrenched. But here's the problem. Even from a liberal, libertarian or even conservative perspective, the case for being tough on border control just isn't that strong.

Immigration is a good thing, for migrants and for the places migrants go. Aren't people who are willing to risk their lives on boats propelled by motorbike engines to get to a society with social and economic freedom exactly the sort of people we want in Australia? (I can think of a lot of Australians I'd rather kick out.)