Yesterday twenty-seven asylum seekers lost their lives when an Indonesian fishing boat carrying them crashed onto rocks on Christmas island in the Indian ocean. This tragedy will provoke endless argument over the legality of " boat people ".
Australia has signed various United Nations agreements with legal binding that obliges us to offer sanctuary to those fleeing from oppression. These United Nations protocols also contain rules that asylum seekers are obliged to follow.
Asylum seekers must declare themselves and seek shelter at the first country of landfall after they exit their home country. Once they do this, they become a United Nations responsibility and will be under UN control as to their accommodation and care - and onward passage to a country that will accept them.
Unfortunately there are more refugees than accepting countries and this usually results in applicants spending long periods in refugee camps - and some never ever find a permanent home.
The people who arrive by boat at Christmas island ignore this UN requirement and pay people smugglers money to transport them to a country of their choice. Before they embark on these boats, they have landed in several interim countries and neither declared themselves - or sought protection.
It is worth noting that the countries they have passed through and rejected do not offer the standard of living their are seeking. They may be avoiding persecution, but they are demanding access to a rich country - and superior living standards.
Death at sea is just part of the risk that goes with flouting the asylum laws and avoiding the UN rules that govern placement in a new land.
Both sides of the argument ignore this mutual aspect - and only dwell on Australia's obligations under the UN agreements. As a result, we will never find common ground for agreement !
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