Australia has been widely condemned in Europe, by some legal scholars, and by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for intercepting and repatriating refugees from Sri Lanka arriving by boat.  Yet in secret, at least 6 European nations have turned to Australia for advice and help on dealing with their own invasion of boat people.  Ellen Whinnett of the Australia Telegraph reports: AT least six European countries and the European Union have secretly asked Australia for advice on how to stop the flood of asylum-seekers crossing into Europe by boat. The private talks have been held despite the European Union publicly rejecting Australia’s tough refugee policies, which include boat turn-backs and offshore processing. News Corp can reveal that while the EU publicly criticised calls by former prime minister Tony Abbott for Europe to adopt Australian policies, they discreetly asked Australian officials for advice on how to stop the boats. As recently as...(Read Full Post)