Ending the RAN on-demand happy-cabbie service

In The Australian weekend edition, Greg Sheridan points out an important fact about the illegal boat people problem.

That is, that the U.N. treaty related to this mess only states that illegals shouldn't be sent back to their original country of origin if they are claiming reasons of political asylum.

To go along with that, when a ship makes a distress call, that doesn't mean those under alleged distress, have to go to places like Christmas Island for example, to seek process for Australian citizenship.

The illegals are queue-jumping for citizenship. They are cutting in front of other justified asylum seekers around the world. The motivation of an illegal boat person is to get onto the welfare system.

Those that say the boats can't be turned back are dangerous people. The main goal of any military is to protect our borders.

Australia is now hundreds of billions in budget distress. We can't pay for people trying to fraud their way to citizenship.

Any priority list for military procurement of hardware, staffing and sustainment--in a defence white paper or elsewhere--should put border protection as a high priority over any other kind of military mission.

Right now, the military does not need high-end defence gear until this most important problem of repelling illegal boat people is solved.

The days of the RAN on-demand happy-cabbie service must end.

Rent-seeking or Defence?

The opposition wants to do something about illegal arrivals via boat. Good idea as in this area, the Howard plan worked.

The Opposition would fast-track plans to buy new Offshore Combatant Vessels (OCV) - a multi-purpose warship displacing up to 2000 tonnes and capable of long-endurance border protection tasks.

However, some are a little confused. They would consider a defective U.S. requirement built in part by an Australian effort:

Senator Johnston said he was particularly impressed with the US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a cutting edge trimaran designed by WA-shipbuilder Austal.

Maybe someday we will actually get some politicians that study warfare instead of rent-seeking.