For God's sake stop Brexit. For God's sake, welcome people who want to come to the UK - and Europe - with open arms. For God's sake stop this NIMBY attitude to humanity (mildly closet racism). Times are changing; we should stop pretending the Empire still exists. The only decent, humane way to avoid a Channel tragedy and stop the Mediterranean tragedies is to behave like human beings and open all borders.

Perhaps you're right.

But it can't be just the UK - to open our borders would alone be disastrous, in so many ways.

It's only just talked about at the United Nations.


France, Germany and Italy have accommodated much more than us - to the cost of their political leaders' futures.

As a result, those against such benign immigration policies have become extremists.

Which we have seen so often recently, on the streets of our capitals.

It won't be popular to start with; humans have a nasty side.

There would be an enormous strain on the NHS, housing, roads, public transport, but if you are living in an ivory tower with private health care and chauffeur driven cars then you will see little of this.

Heard London is a Utopia for migrants don't they make the NHS?

There is good immigration eg the legal way and illegal routes.

Why the hell come to the UK, when there is Jersey and Guernsey.

How about South Africa and New Zealand open up their borders.

Some reason or another they don't like people with criminal records for petty theft. Hence having worked visas turned down for them countries.

Hedda - is Australia still open for me or don't they take thieves in any more ?

Depends what your crime is Green Man.

In fact..in a country now of 25 million sods there were only every 164,000 convicts in total.

But if you are a corporate raider, a tax avoider etc etc there is always a place for you here. Just ask Rupert..

personally the one thing I love about this place is that when you walk out into the street, go to the supermarket it's a myriad of different colored and looking faces from over 100 countries.

There are a handful of racists here but they must go through hell when shopping.

I reckon JK is right.

Bizarrely- most people (and Australia is a perfect example) from all over the world are pretty much the same in what they want and what their values are.

GREEN MAN'S mention of "thieves" brings up an important matter of how prisoners are treated and shows up how disastrous the UK prison system is.

In 1810 a Scottish born British army officer Lachlan Macquarie was made Governor of NSW and introduced the most enlightened (very Scottish) notions of treating convict prisoners such as allowing them to marry, have jobs outside the jail and actively work on building a possible career for release.
It was so successful that many former convicts become leading citizens, merchants etc and even judges!

hedda wrote:
in a country now of 25 million sods there were only every 164,000 convicts in total

Comparing figures from two totally different eras is meaningless.

On a per capita basis, at the moment, Australia has about 25% more prisoners than the UK.

The cost of prisoner incarceration is also much higher - so perhaps they're treated better.

It's true Australia used to be a land of convicts, but now they seem to be taking the same path as anywhere else. They were one of the first to introduce a sex offender register and they recently took the unprecedented step of banning sex offenders from leaving the country. Absolutely evil idea.

hedda wrote:
Depends what your crime is Green Man.

In fact..in a country now of 25 million sods there were only every 164,000 convicts in total.

But if you are a corporate raider, a tax avoider etc etc there is always a place for you here. Just ask Rupert..

personally the one thing I love about this place is that when you walk out into the street, go to the supermarket it's a myriad of different colored and looking faces from over 100 countries.

There are a handful of racists here but they must go through hell when shopping.

I reckon JK is right.

Bizarrely- most people (and Australia is a perfect example) from all over the world are pretty much the same in what they want and what their values are.

GREEN MAN'S mention of "thieves" brings up an important matter of how prisoners are treated and shows up how disastrous the UK prison system is.

In 1810 a Scottish born British army officer Lachlan Macquarie was made Governor of NSW and introduced the most enlightened (very Scottish) notions of treating convict prisoners such as allowing them to marry, have jobs outside the jail and actively work on building a possible career for release.
It was so successful that many former convicts become leading citizens, merchants etc and even judges!

So after all that, will Australia open its borders !?

A Skilled Visa pass mark - of 70/75 - is soon to be required to even elicit an invitation to apply for immigration into Australia.

If granted, numerous conditions appy; so that is as unlikely as that great country's biggest indigenous population going snow blind.


Baaaa baaaa baa

I think every country should open their borders but we are Brits and have control over our country. I feel shame that Germany illustrates better morality this century than we do.

The name 'Home Office' is confusing and misleading. It is a misanomer as 'home' is a word associated with warmth, compassion, empathy and actions that come from the heart (not coldness, hostility, callousness and actions that come from both the light and dark sides of the ego).

JK2006 wrote:
I think every country should open their borders but we are Brits and have control over our country. I feel shame that Germany illustrates better morality this century than we do.

All good and well, but in Germany the crime have spiralled out of control even Merkel regrets her decision.

All well and good indeed; yes, crime will increase (always does); yes, politicians will lose popular support (there are loads of #MeToo type loonies out there); yes the strain on services will be enormous - to start with. But sometimes change requires pain.

Immigration is good if it's skilled people coming in like Dr's, surgeons and nurses.

Despite being offered a good job in Australia I'm not allowed to accept it. (Oh yeah, being a former con )

How comes undocumented people can enter the UK freely, but Mike Tyson can't who served part of his sentence?

No; immigration is fair, full stop. Don't start putting regulations on. Yes; how they behave when they are in a country, like all citizens (but, hopefully, not sending them to jail for crimes that never took place when there's no evidence that they ever did).

Nothing is fair King. The government should be able to deport those who commit offences who come over here. Yet if they came here illegally and are caught they have a committed a crime already.

Like the Iranians who came over by a dinghy and were caught by authorities in Kent. Why not just deport them?

France is also bad at guarding their borders they want them out also but can't under EU regulations.

holocaust21 wrote:
It's true Australia used to be a land of convicts, but now they seem to be taking the same path as anywhere else. They were one of the first to introduce a sex offender register and they recently took the unprecedented step of banning sex offenders from leaving the country. Absolutely evil idea. I

As far as I know Oz has Sex Offender Registers similar to the UK.

Each state has it's own rules and I did know an ex-cop who looked after one in NSW..said it was a pain in the neck as he spent so much time just seeing those on it throughout the year as they came to the station and supplied their details.
It's confidential and most people come off it after a number of years.

There is a vile MP called Derryn Hinch who used to be a "shock jock" who is a convicted criminal for breaching court orders 3 times and who once sympathized with a man convicted of sleeping with an underage person who looked legal...Hinch claims the same thing happened to him.

This ghastly Hinch (who also used to edit a Murdoch gutter tabloid) wants one of those US style registers where all details are published on the net but fortunately the more conservative politicians resist his rubbish while those on the 'left' cower, too frightened to make a squeak.

And he's a New Zealander to boot..horrible man.

JK2006 wrote:
immigration is fair

Maybe so - but, often, the natives don't think so.

Incidents of violence against foreigners evidence this.

Such as last night in Bottrop, Germany - where a Mercedes driver drove into a group of non-nationals.

Not so unusual these days, in so many countries.


Trump's America First philosophy is replicated - all over Europe.