AI
Thursday, January 09, 2014 10:16:50 PM
Nauru media visa fee hike to 'cover up harsh conditions at Australian tax-payer funded detention centre'
Updated Thu 9 Jan 2014, 3:40pm AEDT
Photo: Hundreds of asylum seekers are held at a detention centre on the island. (Torsten Blackwood: AFP)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-09/aerial-photo-of-the-bankrupt-island-state-of-nauru/5192064
Related Story: UNHCR slams conditions for asylum seekers on Nauru, Manus Island
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/unhcr-report-on-nauru/5118588
Related Story: Nauru employee stood down over allegation of improper relationship with detainee
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-02/allegations-of-improper-relationship-at-nauru-processing-centre/5129708
Related Story: Nauru 'better than mining camps'
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-19/an-bishop-says-nauru-better-than-mining-camps/5168144
A huge hike in journalists' visa fees for Nauru is designed to cover up how Australian taxpayers' money is being spent on the "cruel" detention centre there, the Greens say.
A spokeswoman for Nauru's government has told the ABC the cost of a single-entry media visa is due to rise from $200 to $8,000.
Hundreds of asylum seekers who have arrived in Australian waters by boat are held at a detention centre on the island, and the Greens say the sudden price rise is an attempt to cover up what is happening there.
"This is of course part of Tony Abbott's strategy to shut down public information about how Australian taxpayer money is being spent on the cruel and harsh detention camps on Nauru," Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
"It's designed to make it difficult for the media to access Nauru and to get information back to Australia.
"This is just more fuel to the fire of Tony Abbott's media blackout strategy rather than anything to do with what is best for humanitarian needs of refugees."
The Government has batted away the claim, with a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison telling the ABC: "This is a matter for the government of Nauru."
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade added: "While this is a matter for the Nauru Government, we would hope that it would reflect on the implications of any such cost increase."
Only three or four media visas were granted last year, according to Nauru's top visa officer Ernest Stephen, who spoke to current affairs website The Global Mail.
The site also reported that there was a notable increase in the issuing of media visas in the weeks after the former Labor government reintroduced offshore processing for asylum seekers in September.
A damning United Nations report into conditions on Nauru .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/unhcr-report-on-nauru/5118588 , released in November, found asylum seekers lived in harsh conditions with little privacy and limited services for those suffering from trauma and the effects of torture.
But Australia's former immigration minister, Chris Bowen, said services at the detention centre were adequate.
Another attempt to 'censor the media'
Mathew Batsiua, a member of Nauru Opposition Group, says the new rules, expected to come into force this week, are a Nauru government tactic to censor the media.
"They certainly bully our local media in terms of what they can show, who they can interview, and this is another illustration of that kind of behaviour in terms of bullying media and avoiding accountability," he said.
"It is an alarming trend, and this [Nauruan] government since they've come in has slowly shown its true colours - they are not interested in true accountability; they are not interested in true transparency.
"They talk hot about it, but it's all lip-service. When it comes down to the crunch, they won't baulk in trying to censor media, and this latest policy ... is another illustration of that kind of behaviour and conduct."
He said his party was opposed to any policy that attempts to curtail any transparency of their actions.
"This hiking up of fees for journalists coming in to Nauru is a step in that direction, and we think that it's the wrong move and we're certainly opposing it."
Visitors from Commonwealth countries travelling to Nauru for holidays can be granted visas on arrival which cost $100.
The journalists fee will not be refunded if the application is unsuccessful.
First posted Thu 9 Jan 2014, 11:43am AEDT
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-09/nauru-visa-fee-increase-censorship/5191108
====
Asylum-seeker turnback: Indonesia conflicted on Abbott's hardline policy
Indonesian ministers dispute military chief's agreement claim as Tony Abbott says stopping boats is 'non-negotiable'
Daniel Hurst
theguardian.com, Thursday 9 January 2014 14.17 AEST
Jump to comments (530)
-----
[ for any interested in viewing comment reflecting Australian opinion and conversation on political/social/humanitarian issues (assuming most are Australia), lol, even if only to compare the tone of comments, albeit some different issues, in the United States .. the comments, as one might expect, are not particularly illuminating as to difference in tone, as yeah, there are lefts/rights (mostly wrong lately) everywhere .. grin .. see the first three there now ..
---
thefinnigans1 08 January 2014 11:18pm Recommend 28
Oh dear the coalition supporters fell gullible to the pro coalition media once again
.... forrestgrump2 thefinnigans1 09 January 2014 12:39am Recommend 9
amazing stuff from you lefties you seem to prefer the idea that its okay for people to risk their lives in leaky old fishing boats than to come safely via our refugee intake. its staggering to me that you lot seem to back people smugglers and people drowning over an orderly system! or is you hatred for anything other than socialistic doctrine matters more than life itself.
mangawarra forrestgrump2 09 January 2014 1:01am Recommend 10
Don't let the facts get in the way of your politics brother! To balance the bile and nauseous ignorance in you here's some facts. Facts available to you if you dare to develop independent thinking. Hope it's not too late!
http://www.asrc.org.au/resources/mythbusters/#1375939566-1-1
---
.. lol, you see what i mean about not much difference in some tone? .. heh, i decided to include those three
because of the information in the link just above, given, note, by one tending left .. grin .. ok, live link here ..
Mythbusters and Fact sheets
In this section you'll find resources to help inform you about all the issues facing asylum seekers and the current asylum seeker debate. It provides a range of valuable resources for the general community, students, concerned citizens, the media, refugee advocates, health professionals and for people seeking asylum. .. http://www.asrc.org.au/resources/mythbusters/#1375939566-1-1
.. the content, of course, has relevance to refugee questions/ policies everywhere .. aside: i have mentioned before my personal position on the political debate in Australia re refugees is basically .. firstly, that the importance of the discussion within the political climate in Australia, in light of the very small numbers we are talking about compared to the United States and other countries, is that the importance of it here does not exactly place Australia as particularly generous nation on the refugee question .. secondly, no, i don't have a solution, just know which side of the debate i am most comfortable with .. ]
-----
A boat carrying suspected illegal immigrants is photographed in Australian waters. Photograph: Ho/Reuters
Indonesian officials have sent conflicting signals over their willingness to co-operate with Canberra’s hardline policies on asylum seekers, with the country’s military chief alluding to an agreement with his Australian defence counterpart.
The mixed messages came as Australia’s prime minister, Tony Abbott, said Canberra’s relationship with Jakarta was important but his determination to stop the boats was “non-negotiable”. Abbott also used a radio interview to defend his government’s reluctance to confirm details of the policies being implemented, saying he did not want to trigger “unnecessary fights”.
The commander of the Indonesian Military, General Moeldoko, voiced his support for the Abbott government’s “justifiable” decision to turn an asylum-seeker boat back to Indonesia and said the country need not feel offended, the Jakarta Post reported .. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/01/08/tni-agrees-oz-policy-migrants.html .
“Following [our] halted military cooperation with Australia, the country’s defence force chief called me to discuss several issues, including how to deal with the boat people. He told me that Indonesia should understand if Australia drove back undocumented migrants attempting to enter the country using Indonesian boats or if any Indonesians were found aboard,” Moeldoko was reported as saying. “I have agreed. Therefore, we don’t need to feel offended.”
But the newspaper said the Office of the Co-ordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, which oversees the boats issue, denied it was aware of any such agreement. Earlier this week, the Indonesian foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, reaffirmed his country’s opposition to the policy of “pushing back the boats” which he said was “not a solution”.
The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said the government must answer legitimate, basic questions about the situation, arguing Abbott was treating the Australian people and media with a lack of respect.
"It isn't right that Australians need to buy the Jakarta Post to find out what the Australian government is doing," Shorten said in Melbourne.
Shorten said the immigration minister, Scott Morrison, needed to front the media to explain the government's actions on asylum seeker boats.
"When he was in opposition, you couldn't open the door without tripping over him doing a media interview. Now he's in witness protection. They've cancelled the Friday briefings. I don't think it's fair for the men and women of our defence forces, who I believe are doing a professional job, that no one in Australia knows what is going on," Shorten said.
In an interview on 2GB on Thursday, Abbott said Australia’s relationship with Indonesia was “very strong” and few countries had such strong and underlying links at an official level. He pointed to the reported discussion the Australian Defence Force chief, General David Hurley, had with his Indonesian counterpart.
“There are enormous levels of exchange and understanding between Australia and Indonesia, as evidenced by the discussion that seems to have taken place between General Moeldoko and our General Hurley not long ago,” Abbott said.
“There's a lot of co-operation and mutual understanding here, but the important thing for us is that we do stop the boats … this is a non-negotiable for us. This is for us a matter of our sovereignty.
“Now I absolutely understand Indonesia's concern for its sovereignty and I fully respect Indonesia's sovereignty. There is no way on God's earth that any Australian government, particularly a government that I lead, would in any way trespass on Indonesia's sovereignty, but when these boats keep coming illegally to our country that is a sovereignty issue for us. It is absolutely non-negotiable.
“These boats will stop. These boats must stop. And we will do whatever is necessary, consistent with our international obligations and ordinary decency, to stop the boats and that's exactly what we are doing."
Abbott dismissed suggestions he should publicise boat turnarounds to increase the deterrent effect, saying "obviously some things have changed" but he wanted to avoid "micro-detailed discussion about every last particular measure given that having that discussion just causes unnecessary fights".
The comments follow reports of Australia sending two boats back towards Indonesia – a policy that was a key plank of Abbott’s asylum-seeker policies but one that has previously raised controversy.
The ABC said it had spoken to two asylum seekers from different boats who told of Australian personnel tying ropes to their boats, towing the vessels back towards Indonesia, and misleading them. One told the ABC they were told they were being taken to Christmas Island. Claims have also emerged of asylum seekers being mishandled.
Morrison said personnel acted professionally and responsibly.
The Greens' spokeswoman on immigration, Sarah Hanson-Young, said she was concerned about the reports of asylum seekers being treated harshly during tow-back operations, but it was not the fault of the navy or Customs.
"Tony Abbott is breeding a toxic culture of hate and fear," she said.
Hanson-Young said it was "astonishing" that Abbott thought it was acceptable for Australians to find out more about his government's plans from the Indonesian military than from the prime minister and his ministers directly. She questioned whether Abbott knew what was happening on the high seas given his reference to a conversation that "seemed to have taken place" between the two countries’ military chiefs.
"He doesn't care about the lives of refugees on these boats, he doesn't care about the safety of the Australian men and women who are working on board these boats in very dangerous circumstances, and he simply doesn't care about letting Australian people and the public know what his plans and policies really are," Hanson-Young told reporters in Adelaide.
The acting Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, added that he was worried "a whole generation of our defence personnel" could suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder from having to implement the government's cruel asylum policies.
"We are plumbing new depths when it comes to some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people," he said. "What's next? Are we going to start sinking boats when they arrive?
"It's hard to imagine we could get any crueller than taking people in the dead of night, turning their boats around, dropping them off at some godforsaken place, somewhere off the coast of Indonesia."The Jakarta Post quoted the national police chief, General Sutarman, as saying: “If boat people have entered the country’s territory, they must be arrested for violating the country’s territorial integrity, and not be pushed back to us.”
The newspaper also quoted a Golkar party politician, Tantowi Yahya, as criticising the military chief for welcoming Australia’s move. “The boat-people issue is not our business because they are not Indonesians and also because they illegally attempted to enter Australia. Where is the involvement of Indonesia [in the matter]? Australia should not arbitrarily act the way it did especially following the suspended co-operation between the countries,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Australian government refused to confirm the purchase of large, hard-hulled lifeboats .. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/08/turning-back-boats-could-antagonise-indonesia , to which asylum seekers in unseaworthy vessels could be transferred and directed back towards Indonesia. It prompted fresh accusations from Labor and the Greens that the government was hiding from accountability needed in a democracy. The Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said Australia was not North Korea and citizens deserved to know what was being done in their name.
Abbott indicated on Thursday he was comfortable with being criticised for secrecy on asylum-seeker issues.
"We don't want to give rise to a whole lot of mischief making, and I'd rather be criticised for being a bit of a closed book on this issue and actually stop the boats, and that's the point; the point is not to provide sport for public discussion; the point is to stop the boats and I'm pleased to say that it's now several weeks since we've had a boat and the less we talk about operational details on the water the better when it comes to stopping the boats,” he said.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/asylum-seeker-turnback-indonesia-conflicted-on-abbotts-hardline-policy
Updated Thu 9 Jan 2014, 3:40pm AEDT
Photo: Hundreds of asylum seekers are held at a detention centre on the island. (Torsten Blackwood: AFP)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-09/aerial-photo-of-the-bankrupt-island-state-of-nauru/5192064
Related Story: UNHCR slams conditions for asylum seekers on Nauru, Manus Island
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/unhcr-report-on-nauru/5118588
Related Story: Nauru employee stood down over allegation of improper relationship with detainee
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-02/allegations-of-improper-relationship-at-nauru-processing-centre/5129708
Related Story: Nauru 'better than mining camps'
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-19/an-bishop-says-nauru-better-than-mining-camps/5168144
A huge hike in journalists' visa fees for Nauru is designed to cover up how Australian taxpayers' money is being spent on the "cruel" detention centre there, the Greens say.
A spokeswoman for Nauru's government has told the ABC the cost of a single-entry media visa is due to rise from $200 to $8,000.
Hundreds of asylum seekers who have arrived in Australian waters by boat are held at a detention centre on the island, and the Greens say the sudden price rise is an attempt to cover up what is happening there.
"This is of course part of Tony Abbott's strategy to shut down public information about how Australian taxpayer money is being spent on the cruel and harsh detention camps on Nauru," Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
"It's designed to make it difficult for the media to access Nauru and to get information back to Australia.
"This is just more fuel to the fire of Tony Abbott's media blackout strategy rather than anything to do with what is best for humanitarian needs of refugees."
The Government has batted away the claim, with a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison telling the ABC: "This is a matter for the government of Nauru."
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade added: "While this is a matter for the Nauru Government, we would hope that it would reflect on the implications of any such cost increase."
Only three or four media visas were granted last year, according to Nauru's top visa officer Ernest Stephen, who spoke to current affairs website The Global Mail.
The site also reported that there was a notable increase in the issuing of media visas in the weeks after the former Labor government reintroduced offshore processing for asylum seekers in September.
A damning United Nations report into conditions on Nauru .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-27/unhcr-report-on-nauru/5118588 , released in November, found asylum seekers lived in harsh conditions with little privacy and limited services for those suffering from trauma and the effects of torture.
But Australia's former immigration minister, Chris Bowen, said services at the detention centre were adequate.
Another attempt to 'censor the media'
Mathew Batsiua, a member of Nauru Opposition Group, says the new rules, expected to come into force this week, are a Nauru government tactic to censor the media.
"They certainly bully our local media in terms of what they can show, who they can interview, and this is another illustration of that kind of behaviour in terms of bullying media and avoiding accountability," he said.
"It is an alarming trend, and this [Nauruan] government since they've come in has slowly shown its true colours - they are not interested in true accountability; they are not interested in true transparency.
"They talk hot about it, but it's all lip-service. When it comes down to the crunch, they won't baulk in trying to censor media, and this latest policy ... is another illustration of that kind of behaviour and conduct."
He said his party was opposed to any policy that attempts to curtail any transparency of their actions.
"This hiking up of fees for journalists coming in to Nauru is a step in that direction, and we think that it's the wrong move and we're certainly opposing it."
Visitors from Commonwealth countries travelling to Nauru for holidays can be granted visas on arrival which cost $100.
The journalists fee will not be refunded if the application is unsuccessful.
First posted Thu 9 Jan 2014, 11:43am AEDT
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-09/nauru-visa-fee-increase-censorship/5191108
====
Asylum-seeker turnback: Indonesia conflicted on Abbott's hardline policy
Indonesian ministers dispute military chief's agreement claim as Tony Abbott says stopping boats is 'non-negotiable'
Daniel Hurst
theguardian.com, Thursday 9 January 2014 14.17 AEST
Jump to comments (530)
-----
[ for any interested in viewing comment reflecting Australian opinion and conversation on political/social/humanitarian issues (assuming most are Australia), lol, even if only to compare the tone of comments, albeit some different issues, in the United States .. the comments, as one might expect, are not particularly illuminating as to difference in tone, as yeah, there are lefts/rights (mostly wrong lately) everywhere .. grin .. see the first three there now ..
---
thefinnigans1 08 January 2014 11:18pm Recommend 28
Oh dear the coalition supporters fell gullible to the pro coalition media once again
.... forrestgrump2 thefinnigans1 09 January 2014 12:39am Recommend 9
amazing stuff from you lefties you seem to prefer the idea that its okay for people to risk their lives in leaky old fishing boats than to come safely via our refugee intake. its staggering to me that you lot seem to back people smugglers and people drowning over an orderly system! or is you hatred for anything other than socialistic doctrine matters more than life itself.
mangawarra forrestgrump2 09 January 2014 1:01am Recommend 10
Don't let the facts get in the way of your politics brother! To balance the bile and nauseous ignorance in you here's some facts. Facts available to you if you dare to develop independent thinking. Hope it's not too late!
http://www.asrc.org.au/resources/mythbusters/#1375939566-1-1
---
.. lol, you see what i mean about not much difference in some tone? .. heh, i decided to include those three
because of the information in the link just above, given, note, by one tending left .. grin .. ok, live link here ..
Mythbusters and Fact sheets
In this section you'll find resources to help inform you about all the issues facing asylum seekers and the current asylum seeker debate. It provides a range of valuable resources for the general community, students, concerned citizens, the media, refugee advocates, health professionals and for people seeking asylum. .. http://www.asrc.org.au/resources/mythbusters/#1375939566-1-1
.. the content, of course, has relevance to refugee questions/ policies everywhere .. aside: i have mentioned before my personal position on the political debate in Australia re refugees is basically .. firstly, that the importance of the discussion within the political climate in Australia, in light of the very small numbers we are talking about compared to the United States and other countries, is that the importance of it here does not exactly place Australia as particularly generous nation on the refugee question .. secondly, no, i don't have a solution, just know which side of the debate i am most comfortable with .. ]
-----
A boat carrying suspected illegal immigrants is photographed in Australian waters. Photograph: Ho/Reuters
Indonesian officials have sent conflicting signals over their willingness to co-operate with Canberra’s hardline policies on asylum seekers, with the country’s military chief alluding to an agreement with his Australian defence counterpart.
The mixed messages came as Australia’s prime minister, Tony Abbott, said Canberra’s relationship with Jakarta was important but his determination to stop the boats was “non-negotiable”. Abbott also used a radio interview to defend his government’s reluctance to confirm details of the policies being implemented, saying he did not want to trigger “unnecessary fights”.
The commander of the Indonesian Military, General Moeldoko, voiced his support for the Abbott government’s “justifiable” decision to turn an asylum-seeker boat back to Indonesia and said the country need not feel offended, the Jakarta Post reported .. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/01/08/tni-agrees-oz-policy-migrants.html .
“Following [our] halted military cooperation with Australia, the country’s defence force chief called me to discuss several issues, including how to deal with the boat people. He told me that Indonesia should understand if Australia drove back undocumented migrants attempting to enter the country using Indonesian boats or if any Indonesians were found aboard,” Moeldoko was reported as saying. “I have agreed. Therefore, we don’t need to feel offended.”
But the newspaper said the Office of the Co-ordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, which oversees the boats issue, denied it was aware of any such agreement. Earlier this week, the Indonesian foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, reaffirmed his country’s opposition to the policy of “pushing back the boats” which he said was “not a solution”.
The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said the government must answer legitimate, basic questions about the situation, arguing Abbott was treating the Australian people and media with a lack of respect.
"It isn't right that Australians need to buy the Jakarta Post to find out what the Australian government is doing," Shorten said in Melbourne.
Shorten said the immigration minister, Scott Morrison, needed to front the media to explain the government's actions on asylum seeker boats.
"When he was in opposition, you couldn't open the door without tripping over him doing a media interview. Now he's in witness protection. They've cancelled the Friday briefings. I don't think it's fair for the men and women of our defence forces, who I believe are doing a professional job, that no one in Australia knows what is going on," Shorten said.
In an interview on 2GB on Thursday, Abbott said Australia’s relationship with Indonesia was “very strong” and few countries had such strong and underlying links at an official level. He pointed to the reported discussion the Australian Defence Force chief, General David Hurley, had with his Indonesian counterpart.
“There are enormous levels of exchange and understanding between Australia and Indonesia, as evidenced by the discussion that seems to have taken place between General Moeldoko and our General Hurley not long ago,” Abbott said.
“There's a lot of co-operation and mutual understanding here, but the important thing for us is that we do stop the boats … this is a non-negotiable for us. This is for us a matter of our sovereignty.
“Now I absolutely understand Indonesia's concern for its sovereignty and I fully respect Indonesia's sovereignty. There is no way on God's earth that any Australian government, particularly a government that I lead, would in any way trespass on Indonesia's sovereignty, but when these boats keep coming illegally to our country that is a sovereignty issue for us. It is absolutely non-negotiable.
“These boats will stop. These boats must stop. And we will do whatever is necessary, consistent with our international obligations and ordinary decency, to stop the boats and that's exactly what we are doing."
Abbott dismissed suggestions he should publicise boat turnarounds to increase the deterrent effect, saying "obviously some things have changed" but he wanted to avoid "micro-detailed discussion about every last particular measure given that having that discussion just causes unnecessary fights".
The comments follow reports of Australia sending two boats back towards Indonesia – a policy that was a key plank of Abbott’s asylum-seeker policies but one that has previously raised controversy.
The ABC said it had spoken to two asylum seekers from different boats who told of Australian personnel tying ropes to their boats, towing the vessels back towards Indonesia, and misleading them. One told the ABC they were told they were being taken to Christmas Island. Claims have also emerged of asylum seekers being mishandled.
Morrison said personnel acted professionally and responsibly.
The Greens' spokeswoman on immigration, Sarah Hanson-Young, said she was concerned about the reports of asylum seekers being treated harshly during tow-back operations, but it was not the fault of the navy or Customs.
"Tony Abbott is breeding a toxic culture of hate and fear," she said.
Hanson-Young said it was "astonishing" that Abbott thought it was acceptable for Australians to find out more about his government's plans from the Indonesian military than from the prime minister and his ministers directly. She questioned whether Abbott knew what was happening on the high seas given his reference to a conversation that "seemed to have taken place" between the two countries’ military chiefs.
"He doesn't care about the lives of refugees on these boats, he doesn't care about the safety of the Australian men and women who are working on board these boats in very dangerous circumstances, and he simply doesn't care about letting Australian people and the public know what his plans and policies really are," Hanson-Young told reporters in Adelaide.
The acting Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, added that he was worried "a whole generation of our defence personnel" could suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder from having to implement the government's cruel asylum policies.
"We are plumbing new depths when it comes to some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people," he said. "What's next? Are we going to start sinking boats when they arrive?
"It's hard to imagine we could get any crueller than taking people in the dead of night, turning their boats around, dropping them off at some godforsaken place, somewhere off the coast of Indonesia."The Jakarta Post quoted the national police chief, General Sutarman, as saying: “If boat people have entered the country’s territory, they must be arrested for violating the country’s territorial integrity, and not be pushed back to us.”
The newspaper also quoted a Golkar party politician, Tantowi Yahya, as criticising the military chief for welcoming Australia’s move. “The boat-people issue is not our business because they are not Indonesians and also because they illegally attempted to enter Australia. Where is the involvement of Indonesia [in the matter]? Australia should not arbitrarily act the way it did especially following the suspended co-operation between the countries,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Australian government refused to confirm the purchase of large, hard-hulled lifeboats .. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/08/turning-back-boats-could-antagonise-indonesia , to which asylum seekers in unseaworthy vessels could be transferred and directed back towards Indonesia. It prompted fresh accusations from Labor and the Greens that the government was hiding from accountability needed in a democracy. The Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said Australia was not North Korea and citizens deserved to know what was being done in their name.
Abbott indicated on Thursday he was comfortable with being criticised for secrecy on asylum-seeker issues.
"We don't want to give rise to a whole lot of mischief making, and I'd rather be criticised for being a bit of a closed book on this issue and actually stop the boats, and that's the point; the point is not to provide sport for public discussion; the point is to stop the boats and I'm pleased to say that it's now several weeks since we've had a boat and the less we talk about operational details on the water the better when it comes to stopping the boats,” he said.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/asylum-seeker-turnback-indonesia-conflicted-on-abbotts-hardline-policy
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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