A total of 23 people have died in floodwaters that have turned an area twice the size of Texas into a disaster zone, following months of heavy rains blamed on La Nina.
Boat arrivals only make up 5% of Australia's annual humanitarian intake. There are approximately 50,000 "illegal" persons in Australia at any one time and most are British.
In drought-riddled Australia, the effects of global warming are rippling through the economy -- effecting everything from farming to mining. It may even swing the next national election.