Andrew Bolt: But if Gillard says it, it’s good

An excellent column by Andrew Bolt on the utter hyprocrisy of the left over Gillard’s offshore refugee processing:

So gather round, children, and watch Mr Burnside, the human rights activist and QC, show what not to do.

First, here is Principled Burnside in May, flaying Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, a Liberal, over his plan to ship boat people overseas to Nauru for processing.

“The idea of reopening Nauru as a place of detention is unnecessary, absurdly expensive and morally bankrupt,” raged Principled Burnside.

“It is ridiculously expensive … It costs about five times as much per person per day to hold asylum seekers on Nauru as it does to hold them in mainland detention centres …

“Worse than its being unnecessary and expensive, the Coalition’s idea is morally bankrupt … What Abbott proposes … is to mistreat innocent people to deter other victims of persecution from trying to save themselves by asking for our help … I wonder how he reconciles his philosophy of consequentialism with his pretended devotion to Christianity.”

Whew. Hot stuff.

But now, children, observe Principled Burnside this week, applauding Prime Minister Gillard, of the Labor Party, over her plan to ship boat people overseas to East Timor for processing.

“I was, generally speaking, impressed with what the Prime Minister said,” purrs Principled Burnside.

“An important difference between this and the Pacific Solution, of course, is that East Timor is a signatory to the Refugees Convention and Nauru was not …

“The important element of it is that the processing there should be fair and that the treatment of people while they’re being processed is humane and decent. Now if those conditions are satisfied, well then there’s something to be said about the regional solution that’s being proposed.”

Andrew Bolt

Comments

  1. andrew bolt frequently posts good articles. anyone whos interested should read his article on immigration on the herald sun website. i think alot of members of the app and aussies in general would sympathise with his views on immigration

  2. Goose, while I can understand your perspective on the Liberal Party, I would disagree with your venom towards them. Under Howard we had the toughest immigration laws our nation has ever seen. This Labor government has "doubled" our immigration intake from when the Howard government left office and the Liberals will obviously use this issue for political pointscoring but that's because they had such a great strength in this area. They are using it to put the spotlight back onto Labor's failures on this issue which is what an opposition is supposed to do. Would you prefer that an opposition kept silent on these important issues and kept vital information from the Australian people? On your point of big business. Just because they are 'big' doesn't automatically make them 'bad'. Just like with the mining companies. When there was ten years or more of the mining boom, the states reaped huge taxes and royalties from mining companies and there was cash flowing into their coffers by the bucket load. It was like a conveyor belt of gold flowing into the accounts. Still, somehow, the states managed to spend it like Paris Hilton on a shopping spree and when the hard times hit, their coffers were bare. On top of all of this they also managed to rack up billions in debt. Like Queensland's $70 billion debt which was the figure it was two years ago. How can a government, which had such a huge amount of cash flowing into it's coffers for over ten years possibly go broke and end up with such a huge debt? It can only be economic incompetence. Now, because the states are broke from their own incompetence and the federal government has plunged us into even more debt they decide to go after the mining companies. Do you really think that's fair Goose? Don't be a goose Goose, just be better informed and look for the Truth. Also, don't watch the commercial television stations. Watch the ABC, SBS or read "The Australian" for news without the spin.

    • Claire,you seem very switched on. Liberal is the lesser of the two evils,but they're hardly ideal. To my knowledge,most of those on the Tampa and later on Nauro ended up in Australia-hows that stemming population growth? I think the people of Australia have a right to know what percentage of refugees end up back where they belong……2% perhaps? We also have a right to know what its costing the taxpayer. As for the ABC and SBS,its well known they report from a leftwing angle….they are far from balanced in their perspective. I do watch both in an attempt to draw an imformed conclusion.

      • Goose, I must say that it is good to see you hopping onto a website and having your say. More Australians need to do it, even if it's simply raising the issue of politics with their friends and family. More people need to learn some of the basic functions of how our government is supposed to operate and they can then make a more informed decision at the polling booth and also enlighten their peers. Sadly we have entered a new era of politics where spin takes priority over truth and even more sadly many young people have not been educated on our governmental system and tend to get swept away with the 24 hour spin cycle. It seems that mums and dads have become so busy with daily life and work that they haven't the time to spend on educating their children about politics either, which leaves the new generation out on a limb also. I often raise the issue around my friends and family and we always have respectful discussions on the direction of our nation. More Australians need to do this. Good on you Goose for taking the time to have your say. You'll find the "Truth".

  3. All parties have their agenda and this takes precidence over the interests of the majority of Australians. Liberal and Labor are almost the same in every respect upholding each others adverse legislation and policies. All parties have the survival of their party as their first responsibility – we do not need to be governed by parties but by people, eg Nick Xenophon – a great independant, yet able to fight issues for the common good of all Aussies. Read more in the book at http://www.aussieswannakiss.com and sign the petition if you realy want change.

  4. Let's get this straight, these Afghans and Sri Lankans are NOT asylum seekers, they are illegal immigrants.

    If they were refugees seeking asylum, why would they travel halfway across the world to seek asylum when they can cross a border to a country where they would assimilate far better than they would in Australia.

    The reason they migrate to Australia and skip the queue is Centre Link (our hard earned taxes)and this crazy government that wants to score Browny Points with the United Nations.

    Cry the Beloved Country as we shoulder the problems and cultural clashes that these immigrants bring to Australia. More polarised communities will be the legacy that this extreme left wing government will leave to our chldren.

  5. andy the legend coyn says

    simple zero tolerence logic approach if anyone arrives unanounced with no passport etc …. straight on the next budget flight sent back to country of origin then bill that country for the cost …. simple cost effective …end of story VOTE ONE ANDY THE LOGIC PARTY !!!

  6. Rest assured patriots,Abbott and the Libs are no defenders of our identity or the one in/one out idea. Because they're close to,and submissive to big business,they too want the nation flooded,and they don't care from where in the world they come. The Libs will stop the boats because that wins elections, but under Howard immigration from the 3rd world by other means was still rife. The answer is a new common sense party that will keep 3rd world misfits out whichever way they arrive-refugees or not. When it comes to pro population growth,Labor and Liberal are virtually one party with two names.

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