TWO hundred and sixty-seven.
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That's the number of asylum seekers who will soon be flown back to offshore detention camps on Nauru.
Thirty-seven of these people are babies, and others primary school children, who may not for years be afforded the freedom that their Australian counterparts will be.
The plight of these asylum seekers, particularly these children and babies, has caught national attention, with the #LetThemStay campaign.
Many have lent their name to the campaign including Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, whose letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, offering to resettle all 267 asylum seekers in his state, went viral.
In September, Premier Will Hodgman pledged to resettle 500 Syrian refugees in Tasmania.
He tweeted on Sunday: "We will welcome an additional intake of refugees to Tasmania, and we'll continue to push for that to happen as soon as possible."
Though misunderstood as an additional pledge by some - including the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre who praised Mr Hodgman believing he was also offering to resettle the 267 due to be sent back to Nauru - it turned out he was in fact reiterating the initial pledge.
However, any leaders who are willing to open their state to asylum seekers, many going against the federal party line to do so, should be praised for their compassion.
Australia has consistently been enriched by migrants from all over the world who have come here seeking safety and a better life.
To flee danger is one of the deepest instincts we have, to send those we love to safety, to save their lives, another.
We are so blessed in this country.
We have ample food, water, a political system that, though often frustrating, functions as a democracy.
Although there are those in our country who suffer, and who must be helped, our people do not have suffer on the monstrous scale of countries Syria.
Attacks on hundreds of women out celebrating New Year's Eve in Cologne by migrants is still certainly fresh in our memories.
While crimes like this are horrific, and would make some people feel concerned about allowing further migration into Australia, it's important to keep open hearts.
If we are worried about asylum seekers resettling in Australia and disrespecting our values and breaking our laws - all valid concerns - surely we should allow children and babies who are still impressionable, who have their whole lives to lead, to grow up in Australia and experience our culture during their formative years.
Recent research from an Australian Human Rights Commision medical team found 95 per cent of asylum-seeker children who had lived at Nauru are at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.
The team interviewed children from the Darwin's Wickham Point detention centre - the majority of them had spent several months at Nauru - finding they were some of the most traumatised children they'd seen.
I can't help but feel that for all the talk our leaders do about the importance of mental health, they're overlooking the mental health of those in detention centres, particularly vulnerable children.
Operation Sovereign Borders has, according to government accounts, "stopped the boats".
Fewer deaths at sea can only be a good thing.
And, of course, we do need to protect our borders from those who might do us harm.
Still, I can't help but wonder if we're losing some of what makes Australia a great place to live, and certainly a great place to grow up in.
That acceptance, if not love, of other cultures, religions, and the differences between people should be celebrated, not denigrated.
Let's not bleat about our "multiculturalism" while sending innocent children back to what could be called a prison.