Push me, pull me: the asylum seeker story

Fed Up says:

05:19pm | 10/04/10

Well I’m glad Rudd did not resort to Howard’s method of refugee control.
Time the media ran with the disgraceful payoffs of the Howard regime made to asylum seekers who made it a lucrative business returning two & three times, each time collecting payoffs to go away. And as I understand it over 90% of those ended up with permanent residency under Howard anyway.
Wake up you blind fools. Howard’s way was an illusion just as Rudd’s will have to be to appease the monumental bigots who reside on the bottom of the voter barrel.

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

12:18pm | 11/04/10

Fed Up :  Would you please supply a little more detail and some facts to support your claim. ?
Wild accusations and conspiracy theories do little to contribute to debate on this issue.
I do sympathise with your infererence that the media don’t always present news in truthful context , but i well remember the media tried very hard to destroy the Howard govt. over his tough stand on illegal entrants. Their efforts came to nothing because the electorate was onside with the then Prime Minister’s unfailing determination to control just who came to this country and the circumstances under which they came.

Christian Real says:

12:41pm | 11/04/10

Wayne Fehlhaber 01.20pm 10/04/10
Wayne, this is from the website of http://www.safecom.org.au/indoqueue.htm
“Indonesian queue"refugees settlement in Australia”
UNHCR Jakarta - Australian resettlement   boat arrivals
year           %      cases       persons         boats     passengers
pending     37%    32 cases     121 persons  
2004         10%    9 cases     18 persons  
2003         34%  30 cases     84 persons   2 boats     57
2002         17%  15 cases     39 persons
2001           2%    2 cases     2 persons     46 boats   6,341
2000                                                   51 boats   2,865
1999                                                   86 boats   3,727
1998                                                   17 boats   200
1997                                                   11 boats   329
1996                                                   19 boats   646    
1995                                                   7 boats     235
1994                                                   18 boats   953
1993                                                   3 boats   81
9992                                                     6 boats   213
1991                                                     6 boats   213
1990                                                     2 boats   198

Wayne, you say   “Under Rudd’s watch ,we have had over 100 boats and over 4,000 people arrive here illegally”
It appears that figures over the years prove that under ‘Howard’s watch” in 2001, we had 46 boats with 6,341 illegal arrivals, in 2000, we had 51 boats with 2,865 illegal arrivals, in 1999, we had, 86 boats with 3,727 illegal arrivals.
Under the 12 years of Howard Government’s watch, we have had a total of 14,165 illegal arrivals and a total of 232 boats during Howards watch.
It is a shame that figures appear to be unavailable for 2004 and 2003 as it would have been interesting to see how many boats and illegal arrivals actually occurred during these two years. 
And Wayne, the boats and the people that Howard did turn back under his watch, was in fact in breach of the ‘refugees Convention, 1951’, Howard should have been held accountable for those breaches, but as long as he was ‘Liberal’ that was okay by all his ‘liberal supporters like you and others.
This shows up the Liberal supporters as being   one-sided, one- eyed, bias people, that are blinded by their political obsession with the political party that they follow

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

06:26pm | 11/04/10

Christian Real   :  A little mathematics would have told you what i am about to tell you Christian.
Howard average boats per annum=  19
Rudd   average boats per annum=  54

Howard average illegals per annum= 1180
Rudd   average illegals per annum= 2100

Guess who had the best border control measures operating.  ?
Heh heh heh , you do make me laugh Christian. !  What will you say in these columns when Rudd fully implements John Howard’s measures on border security . ?
Rudd’s flip flop , flip flop flip flop seems to have rattled you somewhat.
Christian , the above averages are based on your information and they reflect rather badly on the Prime monster , Mr. Dudd .  Maybe you should have left that data where you found it.

freeman says:

10:11pm | 11/04/10

@ christian real;
thanks for the statistics, but that’s a massive misrepresentation of what happened during the howard years and you know it. you don’t even mention the pacific solution! let me at least tell some of the story.

we all remember in 1999 when people smuggling became a business and a problem. this was a new problem for the world to deal with.
(there were asylum seekers but not so much the people smuggling trade which marketed illegal migration before this) and yes, many boats did arrive until the pacific solution was implemented in 2001. it is common knowledge that the howard government had control of the boat people issue from 2001 until rudd abolished the pacific solution and the statistics reflect that.
Arrivals dropped from a total of 5516 people in 2001 to only 1 arrival in all of 2002 after implementation and boat arrivals came in modest numbers until labor came into power and changed howards policy as promised. The pacifc solution took a long time and a lot of money to develop and it was effective. and Rudd the boofhead just bins it to grab votes from the looney left and now boats are again arriving hand over fist. oh and statistics are infact available for boat arrivals in 2003 and 2004, you’ll find them here and they don’t help your argument.
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/BN/2008-09/BoatArrivals.pdf

Bruce says:

10:38pm | 11/04/10

Christin Real: You are correct. The labor party, gillard and the public “screamed” for a solution”. Howard gave them their solution.

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

08:02am | 12/04/10

Christian Real :  Freeman’s revelations have shot your case to pieces.
When the maths are done once more , the averages look much worse for the Dudd . The illegals were virtually stopped in their tracks by Howards Pacific Solution . The data for years 2003-04 , which you conveniently omitted from your stats. , clearly vindicates Howards border measures and underscores Labor’s failure in controlling what has become a tidal wave of illegal boat people .

Christian Real says:

09:08am | 12/04/10

Wayne Fehlhaber,
Wayne, you say:  If you had read what I had written(that is if you can actually read), you would have read where I had written: ” It is a shame that figure appear to be unavailable for 2004 and 2003 as it would have been interesting to see how many boats and illegal arrivals actually occurred during these two years”
Perhaps, Wayne I could meet up with you sometime and teach you how to read.

Fed UP of Latte Lefties says:

11:09am | 12/04/10

Now Labor and its mates are waffling on about “Push pull..” shows that this is all about failed policy, spin and polls.

Typical Labor and its inner city latte leftie mates, talking about “push or pull” factors when the average Aussie doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

The facts are that Rudd opened the doors and sent the message out that we’re a soft touch, and promised to process illegal entrants within 90 days. As a result we have seen 102 boats in just a few months, Christmas Island is full to the brim, there has been a boat of Sri Lankans sitting off the coast for the past 6 months, and none of you are even talking about the ‘Pacific Solution’ Rudd is running in Indonesia.

Sorry Tory, but I don’t agree with your comment “This argument, that it’s “tough but humane” strategy was working…”?

PS. $5 for the first “dog whistle” comment about anyone who dares argue against an open-door asylum policy.

Why is it that Howard is an even racist dog whistler, who should be charged with war crimes, when Rudd does exactly the same in every instance and all you Lefties conveniently forget?

Spend your millions of Fed Up funds on a big mirror.

Jack Thomas says:

04:07pm | 12/04/10

This from the Immigration Department:

Applications for Protection visas are assessed by departmental decision-makers trained in the law, policy and procedures concerning the Refugees Convention and Protection visas…. Decisions are made on the individual circumstances of each applicant’s claims. There is no blanket approval or refusal of applications based on broad assumptions, for example about the safety of particular countries.

This from Rudd:

The federal government has suspended processing new claims by Sri Lankans and Afghans, who comprise 80 per cent of all boat arrivals, for three and six months respectively…

“It is a matter of suspension being enforced as of now, which means it will be reviewed in the case of one group over a three-month point and a second group, at a six-month point,” Mr Rudd said.

“The reason for that is based on information concerned with the changing security circumstances in the country of origins…”

So Rudd has not even checked with his own department before flip flopping this latest policy.

Whoever said Rudd’s Labor is policy on the run was being generous.

Adam Diver says:

08:49am | 12/04/10

Luke you are so wrong its not even funny.

“This so called Prime Minister thinks the Australian people are idiots obviously not to see this charade of his”

People are idiots and wont see the charade particulary if its contantly mis-reported or to be fair poorly reported. Thats why we have so many crappy politicians.

elhombre says:

07:20pm | 10/04/10

Are you seriously admitting to voting for this corrupt and incompetent government? Everything you deluded fools were warned about has come to pass and you’re PROUD of it ??

Paul says:

08:50am | 11/04/10

You’re serious right?

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

06:44pm | 11/04/10

stephen , the Dudd could not manage a sunday school picnic in Coober Pedy let alone the economy. Where have you been for the last 2 years. ?

stephen says:

07:46pm | 11/04/10

I’ve been talking ‘wash’ for 12 months - though ‘true’ wash - then all of a sudden i talk turkey, and now yer worried ?!
(Kevin, this is gonna be easier than yer think !)

Bruce says:

11:22pm | 11/04/10

Stephen: You are fishing arn’t you ? The only credentials that labor has to economic credentials is that they solve a problem by spending my/our money. Then go about proposing to raise revenue / taxes into the future to pay it back.

Christian Real says:

05:44am | 12/04/10

Wayne Fehlhaber
Obviously it is by your upbringing that you show no respect for the elected Prime Minister of the day resorting to name calling which is a typical Liberal trait.
Being of Aboriginal origin, we were taught Respect, but again that is something that you obvious know nothing about, and you and other Liberals attempt to get your comments about the Prime Minister across by being disrespectful.
John Howard was in for 12 years and even though I did not agree with everything that he did, I at lest refrained from calling him names, as I also did with Malcolm Fraser and other Liberal Prime Ministers.
Not everybody is going to agree with the Prime Minister of the day Wayne, and you and other Liberals show your lack of respect,manners and any integrity that you may have had by calling the elected Prime Minister names.
Wayne, you may ridicule and bag the Prime Minister, but it only shows another reason why the Liberals aren’t worth voting for, they lack Respect, if they can’t Respect just one person, even if its the elected Prime Minister of the day, then how are they going to show Respect to the Australian people if they are elected? and how are the ever going to Respect the Country if they ever get the chance to govern it?
Wayne, you and other Liberals in these blogs may ridicule me and attempt to dumb me down, but there is one thing that I have got that none of you appear to have, and that is Respect.
Respect for the leader of the country who ever it may be, respect for others,Respect for my Country and for my people.
Wayne, you and other Liberals say a lot, abuse a lot, try to dumb down other commentors a lot , you all can ridicule the Elected Prime Minister a lot, but how would any of you go if you had the job of Prime Minister, please feel free to say how you would all handle things differently on Border Patrol, Health, education, Roads, Hospitals and other issues that has to be addressed by the Prime Minister.

Adam Diver says:

08:52am | 12/04/10

@ Christianreal wtf?

“Being of Aboriginal origin, we were taught Respect” what does that mean that no other culture has any idea of respect? Criminal and health records may suggest that aboriginals may not know much respect although I won’t buy into that kind of bullsh*t as I judge everyone individually and I suggest you do the same.

Wayne Fehlhaber says:

10:00am | 12/04/10

Respect is reciprocal Christian . Try it sometime , you will be surprised at the responses you will garner to your benefit.  I note that you regularly raise your Aboriginal descent , not as a point of pride , but as a sympathy line. You don’t need to do that my friend , i have full respect for aboriginals and their culture.Let’ s just play the debate as Australians Christian , However , remember that if you tip buckets of mud , some of that mud sticks to you.

happy days says:

12:00pm | 12/04/10

Christian would you rather the millions per month being spent a month at Xmas Isand be spent on the people living in squalor in the Northern Territory where 50% of children under 5 DIE. i know i would to me charity begins at home not to queue jumpers illegally invading uninvited.

Juju says:

02:43pm | 12/04/10

stephen - you’re dreaming. It was another knee-jerk reaction to falling public support for Labors ‘asylum seeker’ policy.

Christian Real - google Deborah Melville. Nice story about ‘respect’ NOT.

Michelle says:

07:23pm | 11/04/10

Jan is right, Rudd is reliably deceitful, so expect his hardline to soften after the election. Rudd is cut from the same cloth as European Union elites who have no control over their borders. But then he did urge us to bring the “spirit” of the EU into our region. I guess that’s one thing he has delivered on: bringing the EU’s rampant illegal immigration to our shores.

marley says:

08:15pm | 11/04/10

Oh come on.  We take maybe 2000 boat people a year under the Convention.  We take 150,000 people a year under our own Immigration Act.  Which one do you think is causing more pressure on the infrastructure?

Phil says:

08:21am | 12/04/10

Marley

Read again. Delphic says a moratorium on all not just refugees.

marley says:

11:51am | 12/04/10

Phil - I read it.  S/he’s talking about abrogating the Convention on Refugees.  That’s what I was addressing.

Toady says:

11:43pm | 10/04/10

Oh Ben, you’re missing all the stuff that led up to this point!  The ridiculous comments Rudd made about being tough, unapologetic, vile scum people traffickers, poor people fleeing a new civil war in Sri Lanka (wich was going for 25 years and stopped about the same time the knobhead made these comments).  You see, Kevin had no ‘begin with the end in mind’ epiphany prior to relaxing the laws on boat people.  Typically, like his handling of the batts fiasco, the BER and his Fuel/Grocerywatch websites, the man has gone in and done something without thinking about where his actions were taking him.  And instead of addressing the issues, he ignores the warnings, lies about what was done or what should be done, and then, with a straight face, he explains to the nation the necessity of changing course, inserting baldfaced lies to support his changed position, thinking the average punter is too stupid to see he stuffed up from the start and is really not fit to run a queue to the shithouse, let alone a country called Australia. 

‘There’s nothing wrong with a government announcing that they’ll consider the status of countries from which we’re taking in “refugees”, it’s common sense. ’ - no , of course not.  And there would be nothing wrong with a government taking action much earlier to establish the status of countries before we relax the laws and create a problem to address a solution we already had, so that we don’t end up with 4,000 freeloaders to start with.

Glen says:

07:43pm | 10/04/10

Simple, krudd wants to get the issue off the stage in preperation for the election.  He does not want to be held accountable for his failed policies, outrageous waste of public money, forgotten promises, hypocrasy, re-writing of history, I could go on but my blood is starting to boil.

Bigos says:

07:14pm | 10/04/10

What international law? What discrimination? Do you even know what you are talking about?

Christian Real says:

11:16am | 11/04/10

Accountability says:05.31pm 10/04/10
this is an extract from “Australia and the queue” http://www.safecom.org.au/indoqueue.htm
“Many of the asylum seekers in Indonesia are ‘pushed -back’ asylum seekers. Australia, under the Howard government may well be guilty of many more breaches of its obligations under the Refugee Convention than is known to Australian citizens. Answers need to be provided to the Australian public about how many times boats were ‘pushed back’ and when, and if these boats had been inside the Australian mitigation zone prior to being ‘pushed back’
“Pushed back’ asylum seekers are and will remain Australia’s responsibility.’
In another part of this same story is “missing refugees and missing boats” during the Howard governments reign in office.
“There are missing refugees,and there are missing boats. Asylum seekers who arrived on Christmas Island during the period before the last federal election, during 2000 and 2001,anxiously pointed back at the ocean,trying to tell DIMIA, the people of the island and the Australian federal Police, that other boats had been behind them, and that someone had to go and look for them, because they had been in distress, According to a Project SafeCom member who worked on Christmas Island at the time as a social worker, assisting in the proccessing of refugees,AFP and DIMIA deliberately ignored these calls”
So Accountability , if this is the case,it would appear that the Howard Government may have deliberately let these boat people drown and you have the audacity to say:“It is a fact Rudd now proposes to breach international law and engage in discrimination”
The real fact is John Howard discriminated against these boat people, refugees much,much more and he appears to have also continually breached Australia’s obligations under the ‘Refugee convention (1951)
At least Rudd has not allowed any of the boat people to drown under his watch, and unlike Howard, Rudd has not turned back any of the boats which is in breach of the Refugees Convention 1951.
You call yourself ‘Accountability’, but you and others over the years have failed to hold Howard and his government accountable for their deliberate breaches of the ‘refugees Convention, 1951” and instead applauded Howard for turning the boats backs, and for not searching for the floundering boats and coming to the assistance of refugees who drowned when the boats went down. It appears that Howard and his government have a lot more to answer for but because people like you and others that cheered his illegal actions and breaches of the ‘Refugees Convention 1951”, Howard and his Government will never be held accountable for what they have done during their time in Government.

BobM says:

06:10pm | 10/04/10

Good to see that most Australians see Rudd for what he is - a wimpy PM who flip-flops on every topic depending on popular opinion.  And popular opinion is ‘Stop the boats now’.  Are you listening, Kevin?

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/kevin-rudds-u-turn-on-boat-people/comments-e6freuy9-1225852038152

Christian Real says:

06:04am | 12/04/10

Andy says: “Has there been a more gutless PM?
Yes Andy, there has, when John Howard wore a bullet proof vest when he was meeting with the Gun lobby.
This is from the smh, April28, 2004:
“The PM’s dress sense gives Rebbeca Peters cause to reflect on two sets of action on the anniversary of a tragedy.”
The Prime Minister has been wearing his flak jacket again, but at least this time he was visiting a war zone. The last time we saw John Howard in bulletproof gear was in 1996 and he was addressing a public meeting in rural Victoria. What made that meeting as dangerous as occupied Iraq? The topic was gun control.”

Adam Diver says:

09:05am | 12/04/10

@ Christian Real

Gun Control was one of the only policys in the last 2 decades to be implemented well and for the sole benefit of the population. The difference here with rudd as andy says, is that howard fronted the very group which he was debating with face to face. They just happen to be gun nuts as well and I am sure he would of wore the vest at the request of his security advisors. Either way you can’t honestly think Rudd has more guts than howard.

Christian Real says:

09:17am | 12/04/10

Adam Diver,
Adam, People like you, Wayne and others never cease to amaze me, because they always are prepared to make up and invent an excuse for John Howard when the real fact appears to be that Howard was running scared, and for that reason, and that reason alone he wore a bulletproof jacket to the meeting with the gun lobby.

Adam Diver says:

09:57am | 12/04/10

@ Christian,

“when the real fact appears to be” what does that mean. Is it fact or is it not. Anyway I think Howard was scared for his own safety that is why he is not gutless

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.”  ~Ambrose Redmoon

Andrew says:

12:38pm | 12/04/10

Oh Christian, there really is no hope for you.

If Howard was running scared he would not have debated his policy at all with the gun lobby.

Howards policy on guns was both successful and important. Are you seriously suggesting Labor is/was opposed to this policy?

It is clear that you hate Liberals but really you need to get a grip.

Love or hate John Howard you knew where he stood on most issues and he fronted up. Rudd is hollow, Andy knows it, I know it, the majority of Australia is coming to know it and I suspect deep down inside where you dare not look, you know it to. Maybe that’s why your so angry all the time.

Keith says:

12:18pm | 11/04/10

Mate you really are a “Rudd Drip”. I have never seen anyone on any website as pathetic as you. Even on another site full of Rudd supporters they are disgusted in Rudds about face. It is nothing more than an election ploy designed to win over the very voters you and he despise. 3 to 6 months suspension, during an election campaign. What planet are you from? Obviously one Rudd owns and feeds you from!

freeman says:

03:26pm | 11/04/10

Oh Perse,
are we to beleive that the situation in both Sri Lanka and Afganistan has all of a sudden improved so that we don’t have to offer them asylum anymore? really? both countries on the same day at the same time?  wow, what a coincidence! in an election year when the asylum seekers have suddenly become a hot topic? amazing!
Apologies if my sarcasm sounds rude but you have to recognise a backflip when you see one.
I think what is more telling is that a few weeks ago labor was trying to tell us that worsening conditions overseas was driving the growing number of asylum seekers, and now all of a sudden they say that all is cool and well in sri lanka and afganistan so we don’t need to help them anymore. This is an admission of Failure perse.

marley says:

08:32pm | 11/04/10

Ah Persephone - the UN, like the rest of us, is bound by the definitions contained in the Convention.  It is not possible to simply write off an entire country, or in this case, two of them, as a source of refugees, because each individual case had to be decided individually. 

Furthermore, while the UNHCR can advise, it is the Australian government which makes the decisions.  Or, in this case, the Australian government which makes a decision not to make decisions.

So far as I know, no other government which deals with large influxes of irregular migrants has decided to put a hold on the processing of Afghans and Sri Lankans.  The Canadians (destination #1 for Tamils) haven’t done it and so far as I know, the EU (destination of choice for Afghans) hasn’t done it either.  So why has Australia?  UN advice? I don’t think so.  This is domestic politics.

Rudd sees that there are lots of voters who think, rightly or wrongly, that his policies have encouraged the people smugglers.  So, being a man who can’t bear to lose a vote, he’s trying to stem the flow of boats. 
At the same time, he can’t refuse to deal with boat people, and he certainly can’t “refoule” them.  So, he’s done what he seems to do best - he’s called a moratorium while he does a study.  No one gets sent back, no one moves forward, everybody waits. Until after the election.  Cynical? Yup.

persephone says:

06:37am | 12/04/10

Well, glad I’ve converted you all to refugee advocates.

What exactly did you guys want to see happen? For months now, set off by Abbott and his attack dogs, people on this blog have demanded action on refugees. They’ve demanded that the boats be stopped.

Action has been taken, but apparently it’s not good enough.

So what do you want? TPVs returned? The boats blasted out of the water? The Pacific solution?

When Howard made a purely populist call on Tampa - because, in the end, he didn’t prevent any of them coming into the country - I’d be willing to bet that none of those currently accusing Rudd of political expediency were pointing figures at JWH.

Oh, and that was an election year, too.

Andrew says:

07:15am | 12/04/10

I don’t see anyone here thinking “action has been taken” that’s the whole problem. Suspending applications for three to six months is not action? It’s an election ploy to win over voters who think his border protection policy is too weak. The fact that Rudd has been defending the increase in boats by saying it is because of “push factors” has now been shown to be a lie. Now it’s safe according to Rudd and crew in their countries, so the boats should slow down? You know and and everybody else knows this won’t do anything but cause a back log of people waiting for him to lift his suspension in three to 6 months. There is no room on Christmas Island now, so we will now see a disaster on Christmas Island for space. I thought you and Rudd believed that the majority of asylum seekers coming by boat are genuine. So all these other arrivials since the UNHCR has decided to change it’s criteria are what? No longer genuine? Rudd is playing games with Australian voters and with asylum seekers.

Mark says:

08:22am | 12/04/10

persephone says:

12:14am | 11/04/10
“Action has been taken, but apparently it’s not good enough.

So what do you want? TPVs returned? The boats blasted out of the water? The Pacific solution?”

Yep it isn’t good enough and in fact it is a cynical attempt to deflect attention away from the enormous problem Rudd created with his policy. He has managed to give the “evil” people smugglers the best business conditions they have had in a decade. This is damage control pure and simple and an admission that their “push” factor excuse was a lie. Plain and simple they lied.

Now lets have at your questions peresphone.

TPV’s reintroduced = yes please and now thank you,

Boats blasted out of the water = nah. We don’t need to do that. They are death traps all by themselves with many many people already dead from attempting the crossing because Rudd decided to try to be all things to all people. What a disgrace.

The Pacific Solution = well err….haven’t we just got the Indian Solution? I mean what is difference to the fences at Christmas Island vs the fences at Nauru? It is laughable to suggest otherwise. And we have all seen the pictures of the current crop of refugee’s behind bars and wire. Nothing has changed with Rudd’s humane treatment.

So basically we have open slather, death on the seas a re-badged Pacific Solution and the propagation of the art of people smuggling all brought to you form KRudd.

Unfortunately persephone that is the story. And it ain’t good, no way and no how. It is a debacle and a disgrace. Now he wants to run hospitals. God help us all.
He has backed down, is running terrified, discriminate against certain ethnic groups, encourages law breaking and needed to do something before he calls an election. What a farce.

Christian Real says:

08:59am | 12/04/10

Andrew,
And it wasn’t an election ploy by Howard with the refugees and the Tampa issue? It was a ploy by Howard at the time to win the Federal Election, same as Howard used the “Children overboard” to lie and deceive his way to another Election victory.
It appears that Howard did finally come unstuck when he used the Aboriginal children and the intervention in the Northern Territory as a last grasp effort to attempt to snatch victory, but he failed.
Alike to storming and taking over the waterfronts in a way that even Hitler himself would have been proud of, and the take over of the Northern Territory and Aboriginal communities by Federal Police and Troops, these were a dispicable and an Un-Australian way of doing things.
It would appear that while Hitler demonised the Jews, Howard demonised the Aboriginal people and the boat people because they were different.
And to top it off, Howard even locked up Australian citizens, in Detention, Cornelia Rau, Vivian Alvarez Solon and another 247 other cases where citizens were illegally detained.
Then there was Dr Mohamed Haneef, who was illegally arrested and detained under Howard’s Anti-terrorism laws.
This is from courierMail, July 13,2007 @ 12.00am
It can be found at: http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/i-am-not-a-terrorist-doctor/story-e6frg6oo-11111139
“Police have been unable to find any evidence against Gold Coast Hospital terror suspect Dr Mohamed Haneef to justify charges despite executing several search warrants in a massive investigation over the past 10 days”
This story and false arrest of an innocent person, may have looked good at the time for Howard, but it brought ruin to the doctor’s career and reputation in Australia.
Australians who supported Howard at the time should really hang their heads in shame.

Kelly says:

09:25am | 12/04/10

Howard has had his persecution, especially by Rudd and Gillard before the last election, portarying Howard as a mean spirited no morals PM and having no sympathy for asylum seekers. Christian Real, stop living in the past. Rudd deserves critisism as did Howard at the time. Rudd is the man in the drivers seat now, not Howard. Howard was booted out, try focusing on Rudd this time, the “moral Crusader of our time”  I don’t remember Howard ever parading himself as that. Unlike your dear Mr Rudd has done.

persephone says:

09:44am | 12/04/10

Kelly - where has Rudd called himself a moral crusader?

It’s easy to put words into someone’s mouth and then accuse them of not living up to them.

Whatever else you think of this decision, it is far more humane than Howard putting refugees, including women and children, behind bars for indefinite periods of time, far more humane than TPVs and far more humane than turning boats back illegally (which Downer admits to).

I don’t want people dying to get here, but I also want them treated decently when they do.

Freeman says:

10:00am | 12/04/10

@ Christian real and Persphone,
Do you honestly beleive the libs seeked to publicize the whole Tampa debarcle? do some reasearch and you’ll realize that it was the progressive media who raised the story and ran with it for months (ABC being the worst offender) because they thought it would be Howards downfall. Oh we heard how Downer and Howard were practically on board the Tampa thowing the children overboard themselves! but this nagging by the left media backfired and resulted in a boost at the polls for the Libs. you could hardly argue that this was a strategy designed by howard.
it’s also time for you two to accept that even labor now realises that people smuggling is a trade marketing illegal migration, not helping genuine refugees.

Christian Real says:

10:28am | 12/04/10

Kelly,
I don’t believe Rudd has ever paraded himself to be “A Moral crusader” as you so falsely claim,please feel free Kelly to forward the proof that you have to back up your comment.

Lucie says:

10:51am | 12/04/10

hey christian real, what was Rudd doing before the last election when he was running a scare campaign against Howard and his border protection policy? if that wasn’t parading as a moral crusader I don’t know what other proof you need, and you choose obviously not to remember that campaign.

Mark says:

11:52am | 12/04/10

Christian Real says:09:59am | 12/04/10

It would appear that while Hitler demonised the Jews, Howard demonised the Aboriginal people and the boat people because they were different

Bruhahahahahaha. It is way too early to invoke Godwin’s Law CR. Learn to argue internet style please.

That whole rant was enough to keep me smiling until lunch.

I mean seriously making Howard comparisons when your guy has just reversed tack. If he left the damn thing alone he wouldn’t be in this policy failure mess. It is laughable.

I call you out for blame game politics.

And persephone they are still behind bars now. Nothing but the postcode has changed for the illegals. Stop lying. It was never inhumane then and it ain’t now.

Krudd encouraged them to come passively and as a result we have an overflowing Christmas Island, strained Indonesian relations and deaths on the seas. All of this is brought to by Labor while moving the “solution” from one Ocean to the next and being a man with no heart. No ticker. No courage. A failure. A lightweight An embarrassment.

Andrew says:

12:55pm | 12/04/10

Pers, Pers, Pers, Pers, Pers,

You are always good for a laugh but this borders on hysterical.

Rudd has introduced another ‘this governing gig is harder than it looked” wait and see approach to try to deflect criticism from another failed policy and didn’t have the guts to announce it himself (instead sending out three patsies to do it for him).

This government is a monumental failure and no matter what you or Christian Real or T Chong say (maybe you’re all the same person) their is no getting around it.

Like it or not Rudd took a border protection policy that worked and proceeded to stuff it up. You know it, I know it and the elctorate knows it.

Another day, another policy failure. Surprising - no, alarming - yes.

bill says:

02:41pm | 11/04/10

Great Idea but what would Jesus do? It is very hard to characterize what actions a long dead man / supposed god would do isn’t it, it is also quite irrelevant to secular government. You will hear from Rudd today from out the front of his church as per usual who is courting the Christian lobby with his internet filter.

freeman says:

09:11pm | 11/04/10

Good stuff Timmo,
keep pushing the “abbott is an evil priest in budgie smugglers” smear fed to you by the ABC. I’m sure we’ll hear much more of it until the election. so much so that it becomes boring, predicible and loses its effect. you abbott knockers need some new material.

Adam Diver says:

09:04am | 12/04/10

Funny how the WWJD was a question posed to Abbott. I am not sure if I am happy to vote for abbott or the liberals but I am sure that Rudd has stuffed up and can’t organise anything. I think the solution is to only give a government one term and just think of electing governments as damage control.

Glad to see how a complete bullocks of policy can be n attack on the opposition who in all fairness have not done anything because they cant, so the attacks seem unwarranted.

Christian Real says:

09:09pm | 11/04/10

Luke, you should apologise for being a dipstick, like all the other Liberal imbeciles clogging up these blogs with their diatribe.

Brett L says:

04:45am | 12/04/10

What is attracting those people here is economic opportunity and a better lifestyle. This is on done on the pretence of “I’m likely to be persecuted should I return home”.  Get one here and then use the family reunion scheme to get the other 15. 
The people smugglers are making a motza, just like drug smugglers. 
But worse than anything they are embarrassing the UNHCR, by compromising their systems of control. By doing this the UN looses it’s respect by other refugees in camps. I don’t think this decision of suspension came from Australian politics, I think it came from the UN. Read back 3 months ago about what was being said then by the UN.

notsurprised says:

08:30am | 12/04/10

“...like all the other Liberal imbeciles clogging up these blogs with their diatribe.” Why wouldn’t their be criticism or denunciation Christian? Between the border protection issue, comrade Conroy’s internet filter, the global warming lie, the building schools revolution cash rip off, the insulation fire hazards, the NBN,  and the long list of other poorly managed issues, why not criticize? If you go back and read the posts you’ll actually find it’s clogged with dissatisfied ALP voters who are considering a swing. This administration will go down in history as one of the worst and it doesn’t matter what side they are on, they have to go.

juju says:

02:12pm | 12/04/10

Agree R ich - comment from DT article

‘Angie of sydney, soon USA Posted at 12:18 PM Today - “Wow, so glad to be out of this growing worse welfare state. My neighbours, former ‘refugees’ are still on all on centrelink 2 yrs on. No chance of working, they have it too good. Their $480 p/w rent is paid for by taxpayers! At least they could afford a new $40,000 car on welfare too…....”  Comment 47 of *64

Just goes to show what suckers Australians are…..

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/easy-money-in-a-desperate-trade/comments-e6freuy9-1225852509157

WKH says:

08:23am | 12/04/10

Excellent point there Brett L.  The life we all enjoy here could also be enjoyed there. All the tools are in place. It is up to the people themselves.
Does anyone know what this problem is costing this country each year? It would be massive! Every dollar spent there is lost here. Lets be honest! Under this government and its waste we can’t afford to be as generous as we are now. How many more people do we need to jam into this country just to pay for this shit?

Andrew says:

01:12pm | 12/04/10

To borrow from Meatloaf: “You took the words right out of my mouth” (obviously it wasn’t while you were kissing me!)