Can we have Julian Burnside for PM, please?

From his opinion piece in The Age:

''Border protection'' is a misleading term. We do not need to be protected from asylum seekers: they need to be protected from their persecutors.

Border control is a legitimate concern, but is irrelevant to the discussion. About 4 million people arrive in Australia each year by orthodox means: they come for business, holidays, study and so on. If 5000 a year arrive without prior authority, it is absurd to suggest that we have ''lost control'' of our borders. Our borders are close to watertight.

...

It is easy to forget that the Fraser government received about 25,000 Indochinese ''boat people'' each year, without a murmur from the community. A generation on, I doubt that many Australians would doubt the wisdom and decency of that policy. The main difference is that Fraser had bipartisan support. Unfortunately, Tony Abbott is willing to play political games with the lives of desperate, terrified people who have had the courage to flee for safety.

And in happier news: the Gardisil vaccine program  a huge success: rates of genital warts down by 60%. And presumably cervical cancer, as well.