Tony Abbott moralises over asylum seeker deaths

Tony Abbott, who has never been averse to flavouring his politics with his extreme religious views, has set his dearly-held Christianity aside for a minute or two to score some political mileage from the drowning of twelve or more Sri Lankan asylum seekers when their boat sank near the Cocos Islands. This from a man whose government faced substantial and inadequately investigated allegations that they ignored the plight of a sinking boat full of asylum seekers in waters patrolled by Australian border protection surveillance aircraft just prior to the 2001 federal election. Of those people 353, including 146 children, drowned. That has not prevented Tony Abbott from accusing Kevin Rudd of being responsible for the deaths of the 12 or so people feared drowned in this latest incident, despite there as yet being no evidence that the government did not act to help as soon as it was aware the boat was sinking.

Don’t get me wrong. The display we’ve seen from Kevin ‘hardline’ Rudd of late has ensured his government will never see another preference vote from me until the day he stands up and apologises to the people he has wronged as part of this despicable political stunt. And given the consummate politician and slimebag he has proved to be, I really don’t see that happening. I don’t wish to defend his recent treatment of asylum seekers (of whom around 99% are inevitably found to be genuine refugees) in the slightest. But watching one of the men whose government was likely responsible for the deaths of 353 innocent people in an even more heinous politically-motivated disregard for vulnerable human lives try and score points off the moderately less despicable actions of the Rudd government just makes my blood boil.

Additionally, I'm glad to see the Rudd government has taken its first real hit in the polls since it was elected two years ago. Part of the reason it was elected was because a significant proportion of the community (albeit, sadly, a minority) was not ok with the further abuse of the human rights of vulnerable people who come to Australia seeking help. Hopefully this shows that they're not all willing to put up with the perpetrators of these kind of abuses no matter what the perpetrator's political stripes might be.