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The Forum > Article Comments > Rudd's 'greatest moral challenge' > Comments

Rudd's 'greatest moral challenge' : Comments

By Robert Simms, published 9/8/2013

Kevin Rudd has begun his second term as Prime Minister in much the same way he ended his first, with back-flips and dog-whistles on immigration.

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Robert, I totally disagree with the tenet of your article.

We absolutely need to stop the boats, regain complete control of our borders and exercise our international humanitarian obligations through the refugee category of our immigration program and via international aid.

The single worst policy in the entire history of Australian politics was Rudd’s unwinding of Howard’s border-protection strategy.

You’ve mentioned this without a hint of criticism and then proceeded to basically condemn everything that Labor has done to try and correct this monumental mistake.

Sorry, but I reckon you are seeing it completely arse about face!

Crikey, I wish that the Greens and their advisors could see fit to do a complete about-face on the whole asylum seeker issue, advocate a stop to the boats and concentrate their efforts on lobbying for more effective refugee-assistance programs via the abovementioned means.

The Greens condemnation of anything aimed at stopping or reducing boat arrivals is just so incredibly wrong-headed. This is such a crying shame, as we desperately need a party with sound environmental policies… which is not compromised by extraordinarily bad policy positions in other areas!
Posted by Ludwig, Friday, 9 August 2013 9:40:39 AM
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I also disagree with the tenant of this article.

When LABOR came to power they endeavored to soften the NAZI-style approach that Howard had, you know, putting kids in gulags, etc. It was compassion that led Rudd to do this and many people supported his mission.

Of course, his compassion was seized upon by the people smugglers who made a lot of money gaming the system. Rudd should have seen the warning signs but didn't. Then he was back-stabbed by Gillard and the faceless men.

Three years of chaos followed and now Rudd is back in the hotseat again trying to stand against the Murdoch Media and the Big End Of Town.

Rudd deserves to be given another chance to show what he can do.

We already know what Abbott will do: whatever Big Business and the R.C. Church tells him to do!

Vote for compassion! Reject Greed and Capitalism!
Posted by David G, Friday, 9 August 2013 10:39:54 AM
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I see you are still pontificating from cloud 9 David G. Perhaps you should come down & have a look at the real world occasionally.

Rudd, compassion for boat people, you've got to be kidding. Talk about seeing the world through multi coloured glasses. He has more compassion for his left big toenail than he has for any human being. All he was doing was buying votes from the dills who think boat people are poor innocents, & it looks like it worked with you.

I have compassion, unlike you, for the people struggling after years of stupidity in mismanaged government, pandering to the smarties who turn up, hand out, bludging on our good nature.

If ever you do come down from that rarified atmosphere you inhabit, do drop in. I'd like to show you the real world, although you & your ilk are probably too blind to see what is right in front of you.
Posted by Hasbeen, Friday, 9 August 2013 11:06:51 AM
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Rudd did not change any refugee law, why do people think that closing empty prisons before 9 new wars started has any effect on those 9 new wars and stopped anyone fleeing.

They are two packs of ignorant liars and so are most of the media.
Posted by Marilyn Shepherd, Friday, 9 August 2013 9:46:47 PM
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Rudd doesn't face a moral challenge, he's morally challenged !
Posted by individual, Saturday, 10 August 2013 10:48:41 AM
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I am an open borders kind of guy. To me boat people have as much right to be here as anyone else. That aside, if the climate scientists are right, then climate refugees will be a huge problem, millions ? What's the plan, stand on the higher beach at Darwin and shoot them ?

I see Uganda took in 60,000 refugees or so from the DRC atrocities, we're really doing our bit here to help the peoples of the World.
Posted by Valley Guy, Saturday, 10 August 2013 4:44:07 PM
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Hi Valley Guy,

The biggest problem with you open-border types is you can't comprehend English!

Now I can perhaps understand the wherefore and why of that. After all, if you open-border types have your way there will no need for English. The lingua franca for most of the West will very quickly become Arabic or some African dialect (with the huge influx of economic migrants)

So, Valley Guy, here is the news story you misread: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/07/201371410175504702.html

Notice this statement:
<<At least 60,000 refugees from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have now arrived in neighbouring Uganda...>>

The first thing you need to pick up on is:
*ARRIVED* DOES NOT EQUAL RESETTLED
*HOST* DOES NOT EVEN EQUAL RESETTLED

It only means there's a piece of Uganda these people are temporarily camped on.

And, here's another thing to pick-up on:
<<Aid agencies struggle to cope as refugee numbers ...>>

So even *hosting* in this case does not mean "hosting" in the normal sense of the word, since it is non-Ugandans (through aid agencies & the UN) who are picking-up the tab.

So it seems that Uganda is not a generous as you would like us to think,ay!
Posted by SPQR, Saturday, 10 August 2013 6:03:10 PM
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To me boat people have as much right to be here as anyone else.
Valley Guy,
Ok, does that then mean I have as much right as they have to get as much support as they get ?
Will the likes of you then put up your hand to provide that support for either the boat people or some of us ?
Will you put up your hand to have them as your neighbours ? Will you be happy to have a mosque close by & get woken at 3 am for prayer ?
Posted by individual, Saturday, 10 August 2013 6:10:01 PM
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ValleyGuy,

Perhaps we should do as they do in Africa. Refugees are feed and looked after by the UNHCR and the host country gives them no access to welfare, medical care, schooling etc. They are simply cheap labor.

As for the main post:

"Implicit in this is a patronising assumption that those living outside of the 'enlightened' inner cities are captive to an irrational racism so powerful that it cannot be countered by facts or argument."

Doesn't this sound like a pompous git?

Because >80% of Australians don't like women and children drowning at sea, we must all be irrational racists. I am happy to accept a viable solution from these latte sipping vegan air heads, except that to date they haven't got one. All these high minded "enlightened" effetes are capable of is whinging and pointing fingers.
Posted by Shadow Minister, Sunday, 11 August 2013 6:55:30 AM
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I am tired of politicans pretending they care about people drowning at sea: if every asylum seeker boat sank within Indonesian territorial waters and Australia had no boat arrivals, no overflowing detention centres, no 'border security' problems, no multi-billion dollar cost, no dog-whistle political triggers, do you think the ALP or Coalition would lift a finger or spend a dollar to do anything about it?
Posted by Candide, Sunday, 11 August 2013 7:22:52 AM
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I read that the coalition claimed a $1.3 billion budgetary saving from a 6000 reduction in the annual refugee intake. Were this money used to fund refugee camps closer to the source, it would probably assist a greater number and would also help those refugees without the funds to travel great distances and pay off people smugglers.

I'm sick of the stupidity of policy which encourages people to risk and lose their lives, enriches criminals and consumes vast public resources. It is hard this think of a less efficient means of helping people.

The rules are set by government and have caused the deaths. The rules must change.
Posted by Fester, Sunday, 11 August 2013 10:11:48 AM
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i think the indons must think we aussies are dumb
maybe they are right

why wouldnt the people smugglers continue to profiteer when our leaders give them hope that the boat is one way to beat the Q
better still, let a few children drown and a few old ladies die and they have the silly aussies on their knees

we aussies have this mentality that seeks endorsement
is it the criminal blood in us that begs to be legit?
do you realise we always support the underdog
and we have no qualms in lopping of the heads of the successful landowners/entrepreneurs

i used to think julia was bad
now i know why kevin's colleagues removed him in the first place
he is nothing but a flip-flop immoral pretend to be church goer
Posted by platypus1900, Tuesday, 13 August 2013 6:40:18 PM
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