PNG won't settle refugees

PM Rudd and Peter O'Neill

A few weeks ago, Kevin Rudd announced he had stopped the boats once and for all by making a deal with PNG.  We took him at his word and thought it might just work. "There is one simple principle" he said.  "All asylum seekers arriving by boat would be diverted to PNG and settled there if found to be genuine refugees."  

Now we find out that's not true. PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said "There is no agreement that all refugees will be settled in PNG."

Mr O'Neill said PNG intends to work with the UN to find other countries who are prepared to take them and that includes Australia and New Zealand.  "Under that process, they (Australia) will get some and New Zealand has indicated they would take some" he said.

Meanwhile, Tony Abbott released his tough new refugee plan yesterday.  He will revert back to the successful conservative measures undertaken by John Howard's government that stopped the people smugglers in their tracks.  He's also going to axe the right of appeal for failed asylum claims.

And it doesn't just affect future people arriving by boat, but the 32,000 already here waiting to be processed.  They will be placed on a three year temporary protection visa if found to be genuine and forced to work.  If they can't find employment, they will have to undertake the work-for-welfare programme.  Family reunion rights will be scrapped and so will the loophole that has kept every failed asylum seeker in the country - the right of appeal.  Something tells me our courts may have something to say about that.

If elected, Abbott says he will undertake a military-led patrol off the northwest coast, where the boats make their way to Australia from Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and turn them around.

We've had to sit back and watch detention centres being burnt to the ground by angry people waiting too long to be processed.  The latest incident involved 125 asylum seekers on Nauru who burnt a new accommodation block and other new buildings to the ground which left taxpayers with a whopping $60 million bill. 

What to do about asylum seekers is a major election issue and after Peter O'Neill's revelation today that Kevin Rudd's refugee plan is a furfie, you have to wonder why he said he had the answer when he knew darn well that he didn't.

Rudd/Abbott debate at Brisbane Broncos

Sky News is pushing for a "People's Forum" debate between Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott at the Brisbane Broncos Leagues Club next week, where the audience gets to ask questions.

Prime Minister Rudd wants four debates with the Opposition Leader, one each on Channel 7, 9, 10 and the ABC, but he wants them on his terms.  Instead of questions coming from a live audience in the clubs, he would prefer the debate on free to air channels to include the provision for voters to ask questions via Facebook and Twitter.  He is also keen to debate Tony Abbott on the ABC's popular programme Q and A.

Last week's first debate at the National Press Club in Canberra was a boring non event and wasn't even a debate at all, just two men being polite and spuiking their own agendas. Sky News moderator David Speers revealed Mr Rudd breached the rules by reading from notes. Tony Abbott didn't have any notes. According to the rules issued by the National Press Club, "the leaders may have a pen and paper on the lectern and no other documentation or props."  The PM said he was unaware of the rule.

Fox came up with the idea of two debates in the heartland of the working classes - the famous Broncos Leagues Club in Brisbane and Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney.

The Bronco's People's Forum is set for August 21, but so far Mr Rudd hasn't agreed to attend.  And he has a valid excuse. "Free to air television is available to everyone, Sky is not because it's on pay TV" he said.  And he's right, there's a big difference, not everyone has cable, but Sky said they would make the broadcast available to all commercial channels and allow the ABC to televise at the same time.

The Opposition Leader seems to be holding all the cards at the moment, and says he will be at the Broncos next Wednesday.  If Mr Rudd doesn't show, it could be perceived as a sign of surrender.


Edit August 19, 2013:  Kevin Rudd has agreed to the debate Tony Abbott at the Brisbane Broncos this coming Wednesday, 21st August.

Mark Latham loses it

This week Opposition Leader Tony Abbott made another comment about women which according to the Labor Party, reinforced the view that he is a misogynst.  On the campaign trail, he was asked what he thought about the Liberal Party candidate for Penrith Fiona Scott and her predecessor, Jackie Kelly.

Tony Abbott and Fiona Scott

"They're young, they're feisty, I think I can probably say have a bit of sex appeal and they are just very, very connected to the local area" he said.

The Infamous handshake that almost pulled John Howard off his feet

Yesterday, Melbourne radio host Tom Elliott asked Mark Latham what he thought about Abbott's "sex appeal" comment.  He replied:

It showed very bad judgment and it shows he has low standards.  I had a good look at Fiona Scott on page 8 of the Australian today and she doesn't have sex appeal at all. She's not that good a sort. She's a rather plain, ordinary-looking woman and Abbott has exaggerated massively to try and win her vote among the blokes......Tony had the beer goggles on and in politics they say it's showbiz for the ugly people and I don't think she'll be out of place.  He's gilding the lilly here, he must have had his beer goggles on."

"That's worse than what Tony Abbott said" the radio host said "You just can't call a woman plain like that."

 Fiona Scott

But Mark Latham can and does quite often - that's what he's famous for. He's an angry man and an unpredictable loose canon. He was once the leader of the Labor Party and when John Howard beat him at the polls, he had a personal meltdown and resigned in a huff, citing health problems and blaming his colleagues, the media, and anyone else he could think of for his demise, because it wasn't his fault.

Jeff Kennett

Jeff Kennett, a former Liberal Premier of Victoria, had the guts to stand up and tell the world he suffered from depression and said that Latham's erratic behaviour which contributed to his political downfall was symptomatic of bi-polar disorder - extreme mood swings caused by depression.  Latham was furious and demanded an apology which Kennett gave through The Age newspaper.  He wrote:

My comments were not made based on my knowledge of Mark Latham's health, but on my considerable observations and dealings with people with depressive illnesses over the last eight years. I did not seek to harm or embarrass Mark Latham in any way and apologise for any hurt my comments have caused him or his family. I also withdraw my comments, as he requested.

Fiona Scott

You might wonder why a failed Labor leader is still constantly sought after by the media.  It's because he's good value.  Wherever he goes, as a guest on Q & A or on Fox News, he's always interesting and never boring.  He says outrageous things that nobody else would be game enough to say.

He said that the people at Fox News, namely award-winning journalist David Speers, Kieran Gilbert, Chris  Kenny, Peter van Olselen and Graham Richardson made more mistakes than the Australian batting line-up in India and Sky's viewers would have been more accurately informed if the station had simply broadcast a test pattern.

Professor Peter Van Olselen

But this time he's gone too far, he's insulted a young woman who didn't deserve it and he should take Kennett's advice, and seek help.

John Howard backs Barnaby Joyce

Barnaby Joyce

Tony Windsor was one of three Independents who upset a lot of people three years ago by siding with Labor, giving them the power to form government.  Tony Windsor announced recently that he is retiring from politics on doctor's orders and his biggest regret is that he won't get the chance to "wipe the floor" with Barnaby Joyce in next month's general election.

When Julia Gillard wooed Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie over to the Labor camp, they were probably the three most hated men in the country and some conservative voters have kept up that hate campaign ever since.

As expected, Oakeshott and Windsor have decided not to run for re-election next month and Mr Windsor's family has blamed the stress of the past three years for making him unwell.  He's had to deal with constant death threats and abusive phone calls to his electoral office and a rude sign was displayed at the entrance to the family farm.

Tony Windsor

Many thought Joyce was crazy to leave the Senate and run against Tony Windsor in the Lower House. Even though Windsor was unpopular, there was no guarantee that he couldn't win again.  But the cards fell in Joyce's favour when Windsor announced last month that he would be retiring.

John Howard has come out of retirement to back Barnaby Joyce and said he showed courage to run against a proven winner.

The former Prime Minister said that when the Coalition was voted out in 2007, Australia's fiscal position was the envy of the world and we didn't survive the GFC because of Mr Rudd's good management, it was because his government paid all the bills before it hit and left Labor a huge surplus in the bank.

Mr Howard described Labor's border protection as a mess. "People should remember that if he (Rudd) hadn't interfered and changed my policy, we wouldn't have had the problem in the first place" he said.

And so the election campaign continues around the country and we seem to be heading the way of America - so much emphasis is now placed on the two candidates instead of the policies.

Nigella Lawson's ex-husband threatens suicide

Nigella's anguish and pain clearly visible after choking incident

It seems that Nigella Lawson's ex-husband Charles Saatchi has descended into a very dark place.  He's having a tough time accepting the loss of his wife and is appalled that he now has the reputation of being a wife-beater.  Only he knows which one he values more.

He bombarded Nigella with texts and phone calls day and night and said he would kill himself if she didn't speak to him so in the end, she gave in.  He now understands that the marriage is over and she's not coming back.

Nigella's career hasn't skipped a beat and she is one of the few British cooks to break into the American market.  She is currently on holiday in Italy with her sons but will return to the US to continue working on The Taste, where chefs take on amateur cooks in a cooking competition. She is not only a presenter but an executive producer and will return to London in October to start filming the British version of the show.

Friends of Charles said he became "unhinged" when Nigella remained silent and didn't defend him by telling the world that he was not an abusive husband, but she chose not to say anything, and sadly for him, that's what he'll be remembered for.  Apparently Charles is a very clever man and a very rich one.

It's strange how things work out, the shocking photos of Charles choking his wife ended up working in her favour, and as he descends into a deep depression, Nigella's star continues to rise.

Geoff Lake calls Kathy Magee a slut

Geoff Lake

Labor has just pre-selected Lawyer Geoff Lake to run in Simon Crean's safe Victorian Labor seat of Hotham. "The measure of a man is what he does with power" Plato once said, and Geoff Lake is heading for Canberra.

Labor's shining light for Hotham, Lawyer Geoff Lake, has admitted he abused a woman in a wheelchair when he was mayor in 2002 and also admitted to stalking a political rival.

When Geoff Lake was a young mayor in 2002 and Kathy Magee was a fellow Monash Councillor, she did or said something to upset him.  "I lent over to Councillor Magee and said "I can't believe what you did you f...... bitch.  You are a .... for doing that" he said.

When documents were lodged with the Victorian Equal Opportunity Commission, he admitted his behaviour was "demeaning and degrading" and offensive to women and said he was very sorry. "I was a young mayor and I got angry one night and I spoke to her in an angry way, which I acknowledged then and I acknowledge now" he said.

Kathy Magee

"If I had used any other word but 'slut' this would not be an issue" Lake said.

"When someone calls you a slut, it tends to be offensive" Ms Magee said.  "I have never had someone call me that before, you don't talk to a colleague like that, he was definitely an interesting person."  Ms Magee also claimed that Lake tried to charge drinks and brunch to her hotel account at a council conference, but it didn't work and he eventually paid up.

But wait, there's more!  Lake was also accused of stalking fellow councillor Tom Morrissey who applied for an intervention order. Lake accused him of rorting his travel expenses and gave out his mobile number which resulted in dozens of abusive phone calls. But he didn't stop there.  He went to his place of business and displayed placards, detailing how he had ripped off rate-payers.  Mr Morrissey has since passed away.

"I regret attending the business premises of Mr Morrissey.... and apologise" he wrote.

Late yesterday Lake rang Mr Magee to apologise again but it was too late, she had already spoken to the media.

Something is seriously wrong with Labor's pre-selection system if Lake is the best they can come up with. They either didn't know about his past or if they did, decided it didn't matter, but it does matter - a whole lot. There are already enough scoundrels in Canberra, we don't need another one. 

Edit 11 August 2013:  Kevin Rudd said it was "inappropriate for Mr Lake to continue as the endorsed Labor candidate for Hotham'' and asked for his resignation.

US closes embassies across Middle East

Sana'a, capital of Yemen

A young man passed through Heathrow's airport security without a hitch. In his backpack he had a few books and a diabetic kit with a syringe inside.  It's unusual for someone so young to be an insulin-dependent diabetic, but not unheard of.

Safely on board, the 747 takes off for Chicago and somewhere over Ireland, he goes to the toilet.  He injects the insulin into his stomach and quickly returns to his seat.  And then the plane blew up.  Flight No 4201 with 416 passengers on board disintegrated in mid air and there were no survivors.  The "insulin" he injected was the liquid chemical explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP) which detonated the plastic explosive in his stomach.

This scenario didn't happen but it could have.  A suicide bomber hid a bomb inside himself last year and tried to kill Afghanistan's head of security Asadullah Khalid.  Having survived two assassination attempts, Khalid was suspicious when a man from a peace envoy asked to see him.   The visitor was taken to the basement and ordered to strip in front of CCTV cameras.  When nothing was found, he was presented to Khalid and at that exact moment, he blew up.  Khalid survived but continues to suffer from severe internal injuries and wounds to his hands and legs.  

Al Qaeda's master bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asirir has invented a fool-proof way of killing us, the enemy, by concealing explosives inside the body that can't be detected by sophisticated airport scanners. They plan to surgically implant bombs in the abdominal cavity, buttocks and female breasts.  

Last Friday the US said they would close two dozen embassies and consulates across the Middle East and North Africa and issued a travel warning to their people.  France and Germany have closed their embassies in Yemen and the British have also shut up shop and urged their people to leave.

But Australia is "still reviewing the situation" and has no plans to close any embassies.  I just hope they know what they're doing.