Tall ships need taller humanity on boat people

"Our primary concern is not the financial cost to our pockets, but the tragic cost of human lives lost. It is this statistic that must drive our resolve to prevention. Humans who drowned in vain, without names, without faces, without stories, without burials. Together, we must stop the causes of boat people, and stop the lies that predators peddle which give false hope to the desperate and vulnerable."

His core message should not be that "those coming by boats will not be getting what they came for" but that boarding these fishing boats is suicidal for you and the children who you love more than anything in the world.

This more humane rationale protects Australia's reputation while challenging the rationale of many asylum seekers who are driven by the love of their children who they desperately wish to save. We know that these families do not throw their children overboard, but the survivor testimonials of those whose children drowned at sea need to be amplified: boarding these boats may be akin to throwing your children overboard.

Ironically, voices of these grieving survivors could be the most powerful deterrent because they appeal to this universal love of their children.

As the white sails eclipse the Sydney Opera House which inspired its design, the navy ships dwarf the surrounding fishing boats. The juxtapositions create a memorable spectacle: our most powerful battle ships which were intended to deter and protect our borders are now being used to wage war on the weakest boats in the world.

It is only when our megaphone message changes to 'stop the boats because we do care for you and your children' that our humanity rises higher than the tall ships.