Paphitis,
You are seriously overestimating the illegal immigrant issue, the navy will always need to be involved in patrols as no technology exists yet that enables us to pick up on every single illegal immigrant attempting to enter our waters. Secondly you stated that australia has been able to eliminate the illgal immigrant issue through our monitoring abilities...this is complete crap and you know it, the only reason the number of attempts to enter australia has dropped (NOT STOPPED) is because the former government opened up these detention centers off our shores (similar to guantanamo bay) which made australia a less attractrive option because if caught they are likely to spend a decade on these island prisons.
Big Al,
I can assure you that the technology
does exist.
Australia has been able to eliminate illegal immigration due to superior detection rates offered by new technologies which are much more efficient and cost effective than the ADF. The ADF does very little to protect Australian Borders, with the bulk of the work being done by Australian Customs, Federal Police, Surveillance Australia and Coastwatch. The RAN and RAAF are only a back up and usually are
not required. The P-3 Orion Fleet and the Patrol Boat fleet are in Australia, and that is
ample to cover requirements. Australia does not need to utilise expensive Destroyers, Frigates, and Aircraft Carriers(yet to be commissioned) for border security roles. That would be gross overkill. Satellite technology is able to photograph a car number plate and also individuals sitting in their back yard. An esky full of beer floating in the middle of the ocean can also be photographed, depending on the sea state.
http://www.ga.gov.au/ausgeonews/ausgeon ... ellite.jsphttp://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/publicat ... ecord=4340Furthermore, the only illegal immigration detection that has occurred in the last 3 years were 2 boats only last month. The sharp decline in illegal immigration is due to 2 reasons:
1)
THEY WILL get caught,
2) when apprehended they will be incarcerated for between 1 month to a year - dependant on them appealing refugee status.
As for the detention centres, they are typical of any common Australian Prison. They are not concentration camps or anything remotely resembling Guantanamo Bay. Australian Immigration laws are also VERY humane, with children being temporarily adopted by Australian Families. It is also compulsory for them to attend school and have regular contact with their parents. Australian Immigration laws (deemed by some to be draconian - Including Amnesty International
) have been very successful in preventing Illegal Immigration and People Smuggling, which is the most humane thing for the
VICTIMS of these inhumane people traffickers.
thirdly no one disputes the training and effectiveness of the RAN, however the number of personnel and navy hardware is limited, and the demand around the world for their services is huge, the RAN has about 1000 other places they are required before they even look at Cyprus let alone take sides with the GC's.
The hardware is not limited at all. By 2012, the new Aircraft Carriers and AWD will be commissioned making the RAN one of the most powerful navies in the world. The focus is on Strategic Capability on a global scale and not Border Protection. This kind of hardware is just not needed for the purposes of Border Protection.
Lastly, if you genuinely believe the GC government has a better relationship with the Australian government than what the Turkish government does you are seriously deluded. I am not going to waste my time arguing with you on this one because the special relationship between turkey and australia is evident to all in this country, so either you do not live in australia or you must live in some sort of bubble where you do not interact with the rest of society.
Can you please tell me why Australia’s relationship with Turkey is
MORE special than with Cyprus?
Did you know that the Australian Parliament is one of 3 in the world that has officially ratified resolutions which have condemned Turkey's invasion of Cyprus. This fact alone proves that Australia has a better relationship with Cyprus. Add to this the SBA's and Turkish opposition to the Iraq War, and you will realise that for the time being, Turkey is only tolerated but not trusted as a
reliable ally, also due to instability between Turkey's Kemalist and Islamist identity crisis. Furthermore, there are permanently station personnel in Cyprus with UNFYCIP.
The ANZAC connection is
not enough I'm afraid. The same connections exist between Australia and Greece, due to Australian involvement in the Battle for Crete. The differance being that Australia and Greece have always been allies, something which was not the case with Turkey. Australian ADF visit Crete every year, and we have permanent memorials on the island. You also underestimate the importance of the SBA's due to the US/UK pact which also directly involves Australia.
