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Tool Shed

The Keystone Cop

He fought them on the wharves, and now he's fighting them on the high seas. Serial Bully Peter Reith returns to the Tool Shed for one last salvo as he attempts to transform desperate refugees into international terrorists.

That's the line Reithy was peddling as the Howard Government's textbook application of Wedge Politics gathered steam off the back of the terror in the US. As politicians of all denominations condemned the attacks, it was left to Howard's out-going bovver boy to go for the cheap political points.

Who else would run a line justifying the Howard Government's indefensible treatment of people escaping the Taliban with the line that they could be members of the bin Laden cells? Forget the fact that the perpetrators of the violence flew first-class and were bank-rolled by a multi-millionaire, let's score some points with the image of bad suicide bombers adrift in the Indian Ocean. It is an indictment of the level of media debate that these comments were reported straight-faced rather laughed off the stage.

That was a fortnight ago. Since then our Defence Minister has conducted his brief with all the finesse of Keystone Cop.

First there was the issue of logistics. As the world declared war on terror, Australia's naval resources were tied up on the Christmas Island - Nauru shuttle run. After Nauru succumbed to the bribe of millions in aid, Howard thought he had found his too-hard basket-case.

With debt cancellation, medical aid, promises of education support and sundry associated inducements, no one could blame the tiny island nation for going along for the ride. But as events unfolded this week, even the Nauruans showed they could not be brought out.

When the Australians decided they wanted their warships beck, they decided that previous undertakings that asylum-seekers would not be forced off the ships were no longer valid. To the horror of the UNHCR and other international agencies the Australian military began frog-marching the hapless boat-people onto their island hideaway.

When news reached Australia that the asylum seekers were being forced off the ships, questions emerged as to who was actually running the show. Enter Defence Chief Reith, who defended the indenfensible with all the candour of a kid caught pulling the legs off small insects. It was all in hand, he shrugged; a few trouble-makers, the Nauruan's knew all about it - except the president had taken ill so couldn't back him up.

Other Naruan officials seem less relaxed about the arrangements and are now reviewing the arrangements with Canberra. Might have something to do with global warming and their own trepidation that they may one day be looking to Australia for a bit of compassion ....

Now that the Mannora has cleared out its human cargo it's setting sail for the Indian Ocean and a possible date with the Taliban. What it will do if it stumbles on another boatload of human misery remains to be seen.

Where this leaves Nauru's newest arrivals is all a tad uncertain. Given the situation in Afghanistan it seems incomprehensible that any of the asylum seekers will be sent home. And if they are processed and found to be refugees, they could still end at their intended destination. Which would finally expose the costly and nasty little scam of the past few months as the political opportunism it always was. Only the election will be over and there will no longer be a short-term gain to be had from dumping on the least powerful to placate our own sullen majority.

A final thought: while the prospect of war and defence issues usually run as a positive for the incumbents, the Howard and Reith show gives Labor some hope that it won't all be one way traffic. If tough decisions are needed to you have ditherer and a blunderhead in charge. As former PM Keating pointed out this week, on the other side of the fence you have Beazley, the soldier, the man responsible for moving our defence forces from the south of the continent to the north=-west where are belong. If war really becomes an issue, the Big Fella could look good. I've only been saying it in jest, but there's kernel of truth - give the guy a buzz-cut, stick him in fatigues and a tank and we reckon he'd be unbeatable!

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  Issue 114 contents

»	Corporate IT Training in Labor's Sights
»	Ansett Battle Moves to Top End of Town
»	Ansett Families Jeer Howard The Saboteur
»	Ansett Workers Hit the Hustings
»	Email Bullies in Medibank Pay-Back
»	Unions to Campaign Against Workplace Racism
»	WorkCover's Adverts 'Devoid of Meaning'
»	Principals Warn Of Critical Shortage
»	Nurses Release Federal Policy Proposals
»	The Aged Care Monster
»	IT Workers Get Union Voice
»	New Partnership for Sustainable Energy Industry
»	One Hundred Strike Over Crane Accident
»	CEPU Official for Telstra Board
»	Qld Casual Workers Pay Increases
»	The Workers United, Need a New Slogan!
»	Activists Notebook
»	Vale: Frank Belan

»	The Soapbox
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Tool Shed

»	The President and the Terrorist
»	Confessions of a Grand Final Loser
»	A Plan for Australia
»	Sleeping on the Job

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