For more than a week, the Coalition has been hawking a story around the press gallery about how UNHCR figures contradict the Government’s figures on asylum seekers. Today, Glenn Milne finally bit.
Philip Ruddock
Question Time fun: See Kevin run. See Kevin hide.
The pursuit of the Prime Minister over the Oceanic Viking made, inter alia, for a rather more interesting Question Time yesterday than we’ve had in some months.
Ackland: Shouldn’t we share our “boundless plains”?
Doesn’t anybody remember the lyrics to our national anthem — “for those who’ve come across the seas”? asks Richard Ackland. It’s time to offer an ‘Australian Solution’.
Rather than feed xenophobia, Rudd should push diplomacy
There is much more Australia could do to aid the plight of refugee Sri Lankan Tamils, writes Bruce Haigh. And how Kevin Rudd chooses to handle this diplomatic crisis will be a defining political moment.
Grattan: Australia heads down a dark and familiar path
Politicians’ rhetoric on asylum seekers is turning extremely nasty — and familiar, says Michelle Grattan. But heading back to the dark days of Tampa-era refugee debates could be a dangerous waters for both parties.
Desperation weakens Tamils’ roar
So, the Tamil Tigers aren’t as mischievous as they once were, Mr Ruddock? As Jake Lynch explains, Tamil refugees are still being persecuted and living in horrific camp conditions.
Getting infected with refugee hysteria
Pushing refugees back to countries that have inadequate protection shouldn’t be our immigration stance. Let’s not start raving unnecessarily over boat people and treat asylum seekers with dignity, writes Kerry Murphy.
podcast Canberra Calling: The Philip Ruddock’s a floater podcast
Crikey’s Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane and editor Jonathan Green get on the boat again to produce your favourite weekly podcast that is almost always on time.
Rudd’s refugee solution feeds moral panic
It’s time Kevin Rudd showed some ethical courage by just bringing asylum seekers to the mainland and processing them normally, says Eva Cox.
Ruddock: Lock up your borders
Writing in today’s Oz, Philip Ruddock repeats yesterday’s (and last decade’s) warning that Australia is facing a “flood” of people smugglers and asylum seekers flocking to our borders.
Ruddock resuscitates the boat asylum myth
Philip Ruddock will tell you the Howard Government stopped boats of asylum seekers from getting into Australia. But how’d it go stopping the other 95+% of people who aren’t supposed to be here?
Putting the Ruddock back into shadow immigration?
An email exchange about former Philip Ruddock chief of staff Ann Duffield, who is now working for Shadow Immigration minister Sharman Stone, makes for revealing reading.
Essay: The many renditions of Mamdouh Habib
Let’s take a swift trip into the heart of darkness, writes Richard Neville.
Pollies’ praise for Mick Keelty chafes with his resume
If Keelty had had a skerrick of respect for his office or any sense of responsibility he would have quit over the Haneef business.
Mafia scandal should make O’Farrell and Turnbull very nervous …
And just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, it now seems the Federal Police have been investigating links between the Liberal Party organisation and a local franchise of the Calabrian mafia, writes Irfan Yusuf.
Ruddock and Howard can look forward to mandatory litigation
Mr Ruddock’s role in the Haneef affair might seem like a walk in the park when placed alongside the scrutiny that will inevitably be applied to his role in prosecuting the policy of mandatory detention for asylum seekers, writes Greg Barns.
Aaaaarrrggghh!
Some more of the other things Peter Costello is not doing…
It’s time to give video games the R18+ treatment
Australia urgently needs to overhaul its video game classification system to prevent games being banned for political reasons — rather than their content, writes Dale Leorke.
Gippsland the one to watch in “Super Saturday” byelections
A rarely-mentioned feature of the second half of the Howard era was the paucity of byelections. There were a couple, but none involving the Coalition, which has not contested one since Aston in July 2001. This might be some kind of record, writes Peter Brent.
New Attorney-General just like the old one
While Kevin Rudd is big on saying sorry, it appears neither his Attorney-General Robert McClelland nor the Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty is, writes Greg Barns.
People’s Choice: The 20 most appalling people of 2007
Votes % John Howard 100 8.75% Tony Abbott 70 6.12% Kevin Andrews 64 5.60% Philip Ruddock 52 4.55% George W Bush 43 3.76% Alexander Downer 38 3.32% Peter Costello 31 2.71% Jackie Kelly 31 2.71% Janette Howard 26 2.27% Richard Pratt 20 1.75% Bill Heffernan 19 1.66% Marcus Einfeld 18 1.57% Ben Cousins 17 […]
Mr Fourteen Percent: why does he bother?
Brendan Nelson didn’t have a good start with Newspoll today – but that’s always the way after an election. He got off to a better start, however, with his plans for Liberal Party. The plans, anyway, if not the execution, writes Christian Kerr.
Crikey Says: Crikey Says
So Mark Latham thinks this is the Seinfeld campaign, a show about nothing? Maybe, maybe not.
