The asylum seeker issue still drags on a Parliament enters a six week break; sadly, “…because Abbott has shafted Julia Gillard for making an effort to sort out the mess, there is likely be more deaths,” writes senior correspondent Barry Everingham.
In the House of Representatives, there was hush when a West Australian Liberal, Michael Keenan, graphically described the anguish of seeing a small child unable to be rescued from the maelstrom which killed so many people whose boat was sunk during a storm off Christmas Island. In the House and the galleries, many people were similarly affected.
A few places away from him in the Opposition, front bencher Sophie Mirabella was texting away while he spoke; she looked up, rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. Need I say more?
Earlier in the week one of the most distinguished Members of Parliament, Mark Dreyfus, QC, said what many believe, including this writer — that Tony Abbott really welcomes these unspeakable tragedies and merely feign outrage, fooling nobody.
Now, Mark Dreyfus is one of three Jewish MP’s in Parliament, along with Michael Danby from the ALP, and one of the Liberal’s rising stars, Josh Frydenberg, who spoke eloquently in the debate but, strangely, spouted the Howard line.
Now, I don’t know if any of the three men had family members who tried to flee Hitler’s insanity in the lead up to and during WWII, but I’d bet my bottom dollar they did; at least two of them are not bound by the insane ideologies of Tony Abbott and the likes of Cory Bernardi but, to his undying shame, Frydenberg is.
Don’t the Liberals realise that in this next six weeks of the Parliamentary break, there will be more ships?
Can’t this collection of troglodytes get it into their cruel heads that, because Abbott has shafted Julia Gillard for making an effort to sort out the mess, there is likely be more deaths.
A measure of Abbott’s sheer inhumanity is his determination to “turn back the boats” — sending them back to Indonesia even if the boats safely land; what awaits the asylum seekers in that country can only be imagined.
Tony Abbott and his followers have behaved disgracefully over their attitude towards asylum seekers, as well as their outright lies about the Carbon Tax.
As the days roll on they are adopting more and more the persona of their American heroes — the Tea Party.
And as though all that isn’t enough, they see nothing wrong with Gina Rinehart’s bid to gain the hearts and minds of readers of the brilliant newspapers in the Fairfax media stable.
Now of Gina gets her way, it won’t be hard to imagine how will treat the staff of those publications; her hard and uncaring treatment of her children is testament enough that she has a heart harder than the iron ore she mines and which brings her the unbelievable wealth she enjoys.
Or does she?
Just how much does she dole out to charity?
She might just like to consider taking a leaf out of the book of some great Australian women, who don’t jump onto the back of trucks to bleat about tax hikes. Would the likes of Jeanne Pratt or Dame Elisabeth Murdoch strip themselves of their dignity in such a way?
Gina might well take note of their contributions to society.
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