This week in Australia 157 reminders of an Abbott government failure arrive in Australia.
These reminders are not just policy failures, they also represent failures of human decency that have brought shame on Australia worldwide.
These reminders that I talk of are the 157 Tamil men, women and children who left India by boat in a desperate bid to seek asylum as is their right to do under international law. These are the 157 people that we have heard reports of being stranded at sea for 29 days.
These reports are wrong.
These people were not “stranded at sea”. These were desperate people had their boat intercepted and boarded by an armed militia. These people were then forced on board another vessel where they have been held hostage by that armed militia, not allowed any contact with their family, held in windowless rooms, and given as little as three hours sunlight a day.
Ivan Milat receives better treatment in prison for torturing and murdering backpackers.
This militia that I speak of is of course the once proud Australian Navy that has now stooped to taking hostages under the control of Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison.
Can you imagine if someone did this to a 157 Australians, or Americans?
I’m almost surprised that families of the hostages weren’t sent ransom notes.
I’m only half-joking when I say that maybe ransom notes and extortion were some of the tougher measures Joe Hockey had in mind to bring us back into surplus he mentions in the recently launched biography of his ego that has taken on a life of its own. After what has been going on with these people for close to a month it appears ransom demands are the only depth we haven’t sunk to yet.
King for a day….
So just why has the government brought these families to Australia now?
The first and most obvious answer is fear.
Fear that a High Court decision against the Abbott government’s actions would set a precedent and that would leave the government’s policy in tatters.
This would then leave Australia’s borders open for the marauding masses of Muslim terrorists to jump in anything that floats and set sail for Australia to bring about Sharia Law and take our jobs away from us, just as the shock-jocks and right-wing columnists told us….
There is perhaps another possibility though, and that is shame.
Shame that after being condemned for weeks by other nations as well as the United Nations for our barbaric treatment of these poor and desperate people, particularly the children, in the aftermath of the MH17 atrocity we suddenly needed the support of those who were condemning us.
With all of the debate around whether or not our government was breaching international law in our treatment of these people, Abbott and Morrison certainly made it clear that even if we weren’t breaking any international laws we were certainly looking hard for loopholes in them.
Not a good look when asking for international support.
Let’s go crush the dreams of some poor people…
Some of you may recall when Labor was in government that there were those who ranted and raved screaming from the highest mountain-top about what a waste of taxpayer money it was to try to secure a seat for Australia on the United Nations Security Council.
Short-sighted political opportunists and narrow-minded fools like Piers Ackerman, Andrew Bolt, Gerard Henderson, Miranda Devine and the usual shock-jock brigade all screaming like babies who’d lost their rattle about the seat at the UN table.
Among the loudest cheering them on were of course Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop.
How ironic that now seems in the wake of this tragedy that Bishop has been able to use the platform that she claimed Rudd and Gillard wasted money on to boost her international profile.
Given the disastrous polling and the public outcry over the only budget that this government has delivered it is completely fair and valid to point out that so far this government has been a failure in every aspect.
The government would say they are delivering on their key promises which were scrapping the carbon tax, stopping the boats, and getting rid of the debt.
The problem is the debt has drastically increased under them, people preferred the carbon tax to the Coalitions ridiculous alternative, and although the boats have slowed down they haven’t stopped and the public don’t like how this is being achieved.
Most of the other promises have been broken.
The one thing that the voters have been happy with is the manner in which the government has handled its response to the MH17 atrocity.
The high point of this being the way the matter has been death with via the United Nations Security Council which we currently have a seat on thanks to Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.
How ironic that the one thing that this government appears to have done right since being elected has been something the previous government can take credit for.
Perhaps the seat at the UN table wasn’t such a waste of money after all?
I’m sure the friends and families of the Australian MH17 victims don’t think so as we used our position to gain access to and secure the bodies of their loved ones.
Australia’s handling of the MH17 crisis has shown the world the side of nation that we are all proud of, our respect, our mateship, and our humanity.
Let’s hope that is the side our government continues to show when it deals with these poor Tamil families that have been held hostage at sea for close to a month.
After all the side it has shown up until now is grotesque and ugly.
Less than human even.
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Another gun loaded by Roxon and Gillard in their insane drive to purge us of refugees driven along by the racist Laurie Ferguson and the right wing shoppies who claim their members hate refugees. To the ALP international law only applies when we like it. Let us not forget when the High Court threw out the rancid Malaysia Human Swap that sprang from Gillard’s loins she set up the three old white ignorant racists to come up with a push them away and traffic them out plan they could – all in the fake claim that it would stop the drownings they had allowed to happen. Sort of a group a. drowned so we will torture, trade and traffic the next random group who don’t drown. The MSM jumped on board like the brainless lemmings they are and the refugees and Australia as a nation now see the results of their insanity.
As if that wasn’t a big enough gun to hand Morrison, a man who is clearly a wild eyed spittle spewing zealot, they handed him the so-called Maritime Powers act to legalise piracy.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-14/fact-file-asylum-seekers-fate-in-high-court/5581926
What is the screening process?
“Enhanced screening” is the name given to the way that Sri Lankan asylum seeker claims are assessed by the Australian Government. It was introduced by the former Labor government in late 2012, but it has been given a higher profile as a result of the unusual circumstances of the transfer of people at sea.
Agree with everything.
The polls don’t show a spike on the MH17, is the public under an apprehension of fear with the budget?
Even more so for the under 30’s and their families as they all going to get the brunt of this evil policy of withholding dole payments.
The next election can’t come fast enough for a lot of people.
Marilyn, I gather by the way you always target Gillard that you must be a fan of John Howard’s. You always seem to forget the not so small part he played in all of this….
Peter, I won’t dignify your ignorant question with a response. Howard has zero to do with decisions and policies Gillard did with full knowledge of the hell they would create. All of Howard’s laws under the TAMPA regime had been thrown out by the High court as invalid by the time she came along and did them again and made them worse when she didn’t have to.
I targeted Howard and Ruddock, Rudd and Evans over the Tamils on the Oceanic Viking they refouled to Indonesia, the Tamils they had Indonesia intercept who stayed on their boat for 6 months.
I don’t know how many times I have to tell people I loathe all of them.
Peter you say: “…. people preferred the carbon tax to the Coalitions ridiculous alternative…”. How do you know this? Are you running a poll? Your speak in the past tense. Do you mean at election time or yesterday?
You also say: “… and although the boats have slowed down they haven’t stopped and the public don’t like how this is being achieved…”. How do you know that the boats have slowed down and if you are right about that, how do you know that the public don’t like the way this has been achieved?
Have you ever noticed the way that shock jocks write and speak in single sentence paragraphs? They make an assertion and the paragraph finishes. They offer no support for their position in the body of their paragraphs. They simply move on to the next assertion which sometimes doesn’t even fill a line.
Yet you never seem to mention them until prompted?
No matter how much you want to push some Anti-Gillard agenda she is the one Bob Brown signed an agreement with, and she can’t be blamed for the decisions made by Abbott and Morrison no matter how hard to try
Peter, is there a thickness in the brains of ALP supporters and Gillard fan club? The laws that Morrison is using were all done by Gillard and Roxon, Morrison has not made any new laws at all, he is using those made by Gillard and Roxon.
Even the damn fact check for the ABC pointed out the laws were done by Gillard and Roxon which is why the ALP are as silent as the grave over it.
The only thing Plibersek has said is they would have don’t it on Xmas Island and shipped them off.
Morrison and Abbott could not make the decisions they do if the laws did not exist and if the laws are done by Gillard and Roxon they are to blame.
Seriously, how can people be so dense.
Edgar,
Yes there was polling done re Carbon Tax vs Direct Action here is an article on it
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/fairfaxnielsen-poll-voters-want-carbon-tax-gone-but-reject-tony-abbotts-direct-action-policy-20131124-2y41i.html
All sides agree the boats have slowed down.
I know the public don’t like how its being achieved because I talk to people, read papers, read letters to the editor, listen to the radio, and follow social media. Then I see that we are being condemned all over the globe and realise that it is not just Australians angry at how we are treating these people.
I was unaware most of the shock-jocks could write?
However you will find most of my pieces are full of links, I am sorry if I left out a couple today. However some things are generally known which I assume most of my readers are aware of, my readers are largely quite well informed. That is why if I refer to gravity, I won’t feel the need for a link on how gravity works for example, some things I assume people just know…
Unless you are claiming that Gillard and Roxon are part of Morrisons advisory team, then they have absolutely no influence on his decisions, none, nil, nada….
What is dense is that you assume that because Gillard changed laws you somehow assume that if she hadn’t that Morrison and Abbott wouldn’t have changed them to suit, they only got through with their support as they were looking to change them also.
These people make their own decisions just as Gillard did. The Labor Party are not the only party that has had the ability to change laws….
Still, it should also be remembered that these laws were changed during the time of a signed agreement between Gillard and Bob Brown and at a time when the Greens were at their most powerful, did the Greens tear up the agreement and withdraw support?
Hell no
If George Brandis gets his way and changes the Racial Discrimination Act can racists blame him for being racist? They wouldn’t be racist if George hadn’t said it was OK? That seems to be the logic here…
Seriously, how can people be so dense.
Peter, I read the SMH article and am not surprised that you didn’t link to it in your piece. The figures of 14% vs 16% hardly substantiates your statement to the effect that people prefer the carbon tax to the coalitions ridiculous plan. Are you eliciting from these figures that most people now want to retain the carbon tax?
By your own words it seems that you determine the mood of the electorate by talking to people, following social media and reading the newspapers and letters to the editors and by that method establish that the Public don’t like something. Perhaps I read too much into your words and what you really meant is that some of the Public comprised of those you know and those on social media and those writing letters to the editors don’t like something.
I would never expect anyone to provide a hyperlink to explain the meaning of gravity. That would be ridiculous. However if someone held a strong position about gravity, I would expect them to substantiate it rather than assert their position in a series of single sentence paragraphs like the shock jocks do.
Peter, we know Morrison would have done the same laws Gillard did but the fact remains she frigging well did them, the entirety of Howard’s TAMPA laws had been either repealed by parliament when Nelson was opposite to Rudd and by the high court.
Gillard did them again only 10 x worse.
And the deparment of immigration are the main government advisors no matter who is in government and the criteria for getting a job with them is to be a cold hearted racist.
So why the need to attack Gillard whenever there is a piece about Morrison, as you’ve said we know they were going to do the same.
Maybe then we should leave Gillard out of it and just concentrate on holding Abbott and Morrison accountable for there actions without providing then with somewhere else to lay the blame
I didn’t link it because I didn’t look for it until you asked the question, it is not the only article on the subject and I’m not going looking for others. Last time I checked 14 was a lower number than 16 at any rate so that would be a fair poll to use as a comparison.
People I know support both sides of politics.
How would you suggest I gauge public opinion then? You don’t seem to think talking to the public works, following media both mainstream and social doesn’t work for you, you don’t seem to think polling works so should I resort to reading tea leaves or looking at the stars, a crystal ball perhaps?
Perhaps you’re right, maybe we should have assumed that the public loved the carbon tax and everything in the media was just unsubstantiated opinion?
If you think I judge something wrong, fair enough, but I will make my own judgement just as you do.
As I said, I usually provide links or documents to substantiate what I say, but in this piece that you seem to have leapt on I didn’t put a couple in.
Like a shock-jocks or columnist I often provide commentary on what is news and provide my opinion on that. However unlike a shock-jock I do provide evidence that backs what I say rather than just saying it loudly.
The shock-jocks talk, they don’t write on the radio, they are radio announcers, below are links that may help you determine the difference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Announcer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columnist
If you meant to compare me to columnists then the ones I have read don’t tend to write the way I do.
If you don’t like my style of writing then don’t read it, if you don’t agree with what I say, so be it.
I’m happy to have you as a reader and happy for you to make comments but don’t have expectations that I am going to debate everything with you, I have usually already put my opinion in the post quite clearly
Peter, I’m starting to think this constant bringing up of Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd might be linked to some kind of medical condition. It happens no matter what is being discussed or written about, some people don’t appear able to accept that the LNP is now in government. The symptoms seem to be the same, mention anything this mob are doing or have done and out come the – what about Gillard, what about Rudd, as if this somehow should be what we focus on while abbott and co are happily destroying the joint.
gosh I havent seen so many LNP trolls in one place since i used to read “the punch”. If these assylum seekkers were on the high seas or international waters dont they have a right of passage? if a person or organisation boarded their vessel without permission and under armed threat, would that not be an act of piracy? thinking back on other right wing regimes where armed forces were politicised, would the defence of “following orders” hold as much water as they did in that memorable decade of the 40’s?