[motto]

Although this thread seems to have wandered around a bit, there is a common theme - that of national sovereignty and national identity.

I had hoped that we Aussies were mature enough and secure enough in our own identity to accept the Union flag in the corner of our own as nothing more than an historic link as the Hawaiians apparently do with theirs.

As regards illegal immigrants, Diana, I think you are wrong. Although far more arrive by air than by sea, those that arrive by air, if apprehended, are treated as being illegals. Those that arrive by sea, however, are somehow magically transformed into being 'asylum seekers'.

The term 'asylum seekers' is the only one used to describe them as if an edict had been issued to this effect. This is in spite of the fact that they have already passed through other countries where they were already given asylum or it was there if asked for.

They obviously set out with Australia as their destination. Why should this be? Could it be the same reason they travel right across Europe to get to the U.K. because of the generous handouts and lavish assistance? Bingo, you've got it!!

Yesterday, it was announced that the cost to the Australian Government to provide security and detention/processing for these people will be in the region of a billion dollars and this is only one aspect of the total cost involved. There seems to be an industry set up here to assist these people that has unlimited funding, despite the fact that our health and education systems are struggling to maintain standards.

Australia is a large country (a huge percentage of which is inhospitable) but we only have a small population of twenty-two million that could easily be swamped or overwhelmed and already the impact is being felt. We have long been an island of tranquility in an increasingly chaotic world but this is changing . The recent spate of drive-by shootings in Melbourne and Sydney are openly acknowledged as being attributable to a particular ethnic group described in the media by a high-ranking Victorian Police officer as being 'of recent import'.

Some come here seeking shelter from the storm. Some come here as part of it. If only we could sort them out.

David.