One thing is certain: Australia has plenty of space. It is a country with vast tracts of unused land. But sheer space is different from public services, which are more scarce.
Big picture: Whether it is the current crisis of Central American children arriving on the US-Mexico border, African refugee "boat people" washing up on Spanish or Italian islands, or the Tamils arriving in Australia, the enormous-and-still-exploding populations of the tropical developing world are seeking to find a way by any means necessary to a better life in the "developed world", the world of health care, free water, accessible food, and paved roads.