Frankly, I cannot see anything wrong in paying people smugglers to go home; had I been in the government’s position I would have done the same thing. As usual, the point of this transaction has been entirely overlooked by the pro-refugee lobby. Its purpose was not to enrich people smugglers, but to get the passengers to realise, and then spread the word, that they can waste as much money as they like on people smugglers, but they will never get here by boat.