Yesterday’s damning Newspoll result wasn’t just because of the government’s “tough but humane” rhetoric on asylum seekers. What about all the other stuff ups by the Rudd government like climate change, Timor Sea oil spill and supporting a corrupt Afghan government?
Refugees
Costello: I agree with Rudd on refugees, stand tough
It’s easy to criticise government policy on asylum seekers from the comfort of your middle class life, which will never see the inside of a leaky boat. We need to take a clear stand against people smugglers, says Peter Costello.
Eva Cox: Rudd losing high moral glow
There has been a lot of speculation about the causes of the big drop in the government’s popularity writes Eva Cox. Is it because it Kevin Rudd’s morals have disappeared and we see he’s just another expedient political animal?
Crikey Says: A late scratching for Abbott
Eleven people are missing, perhaps lost at sea, off the Cocos Islands. One is confirmed dead. Who does Tony Abbott choose to blame?
Why do we keep all the disabled kids out?
All immigrants to Australia must pass a health check. Fair enough, except the health conditions favour those from wealthy countries and disadvantage children. Australia views immigrant disabled kids as just a large medical bill.
Possum: The first big poll on asylum seekers
The long awaited polling on public perceptions of the asylum seeker issue is in, finding 52% think the Government is too weak on border protection and 66% support the decision to turn back boats. Possum Comitatus has more.
How will history judge Rudd?
Kevin Rudd cares deeply for his historical legacy, but it’s not yet time to pen History of Rudd the Great. Refugee policy, preventative health and tax changes will all mark his prime ministership, says Josh Gordon.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: The distressing asylum seeker debate
Strong emotions about the asylum seeker debate brings out an ugly side of the Australian character, writes one Crikey reader on the refugee hysteria. Plus, how accurate were Brian Burke and Alan Carpenter comparisons?
Mungo MacCallum: Mungo: Tough stance on boat people borders on the ridiculous
“Border protection” — the very phrase is ominous. It evokes a country under siege, its frontiers threatened by the rampaging armies of Attila the Hun. No wonder our politicians feel that they have to be tough about it.
Sheehan: 10 reasons why Australia isn’t racist
After copping flack for a column on refugees, Paul Sheehan lists the top ten arguments for why Australia isn’t a xenophobic nation. Like, Howard let more Muslims in than anyone.
Hartcher: Rudd spears the centre while the Opposition misses the target
Kevin Rudd’s handling of asylum seekers is a pure numbers game, says Peter Hartcher. Rudd’s aiming at the centre because the lefties will just vote Labor anyway. Lucky for him, the Opposition have forgotten their audience.
Downer: The delight I feel watching Rudd mess it up
Alexander Downer is loving the schadenfreude of seeing Kevin Rudd battle Indonesia over asylum seekers. He should have learnt from Tampa that negotiating with Indonesia on refugees is never a good idea.
Best to stay on the boat and avoid Indonesia’s corruption
Indonesia has a notoriously corrupt justice system, yet we have agreed to send innocent people seeking asylum in Australia there. Angela Dewan explores the overcrowded, under funded and crooked Indonesian jails.
Sri Lanka inadvertently throws Tamils a lifeline
Disparaging comments about Tamil asylum seekers by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia makes it almost certain they will meet the criteria of the Refugee Convention, even if they didn’t before, writes Andrew Bartlett.
Enough of the hysteria … refugees are good for us
Accepting more refugees and boat people into the country is one of the greatest contributions Australia can make to improving the world around us and enhancing our own living standards, writes Sinclair Davidson.
Electoral politics are more important than the Refugee Convention?
The Indonesian Solution is significantly better diplomatically, but significantly worse for refugees, writes Michael O’Keefe. Refugees won’t enter Australian waters and will be stuck at the same refugee processing point as when they left their homes.
No more Cronulla beach anti-immigration rage
It’s not Kevin Rudd’s immigration policies or public opinion that have changed, just the media’s treatment of the government’s actions. The media has bizarrely flip flopped this week into the morality police.
Shanahan: Rudd’s moral compass has lost its direction
The only reason things aren’t looking worse for Kevin Rudd on asylum seekers is because the Opposition is such as shambles. Both are operating on outdated and flawed immigration ideas, writes Dennis Shanahan.
Guy Rundle: Politicians try to patch up a leaky boat of their own making
The government’s current problems with the Oceanic Viking stem entirely from its being too-clever-by-half – it’s of a piece with Ruddism, the idea that a series of brilliant technical decisions can serve as policy.
Grattan: Refugees hold Rudd hostage
Kevin Rudd’s ‘Indonesian Solution’ for the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers has turned into a debacle with neither Indonesia nor Australian in charge, writes Michelle Grattan. Will they have to remove the refugees from the Oceanic Viking by force?
At least one ex-Tamil Tiger is headed to Australia…
In an Oz exclusive from Sri Lanka, an ex-Tamil Tiger — unaware of the Indonesian Solution — discusses his plans to catch a boat to Australia, because it is the quickest and cheapest immigration option. Look out Wilson Tuckey!
Crabb: Captain Kevin not steering the ship
Who’s even in charge of Oceanic Viking and the Sri Lankan asylum seekers aboard? We’ve become a leaky boat without a captain, writes Annabel Crabb. Kevin Rudd has become an expert in giving very vague answers about the saga.
Hartcher: Found! A true Labor leader — pity it’s not Rudd
Peter Hartcher has found an immigration leader in Paul Howse, national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, who objects to “exploiting the issue of race to whip up fear in the community”. Finally, some words of sense.
Crikey Says: Australia takes its pick of the refugee litter
Humanitarian migration allows Australia to siphon off the best-educated and most-talented citizens of embattled countries, while poorer refugees remain trapped in camps and on leaky boats.
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.
