Controlling the arrival of unauthorised boats carrying asylum-seekers is complex and challenging for all countries facing irregular migration, writes Professor Mary Crock.

In an opinion piece for The Australian co-written with Daniel Ghezelbash, they suggest that no single policy - and no government acting alone - can work to stop the boats or to stop the deaths at sea.

"If one thing is clear, it is that the problem cannot be addressed while the policy debate continues to be dominated by fear-mongering, sensationalism and a desire to score cheap political points," they assert.

"The available evidence is that adverse world events have always been the primary determinants of refugee flows to Australia."

View the entire article - Stop the political point-scoring, people are dying out there - The Australian.