Now that everybody has got things of their chests, we all know that, despite all of the time wasted by some unknown woman, there will be no enquiry into something which has nothing to do with Australia. KR is off overseas - again - to spout his carbon 'plan' to the UN, and those he leaves behind have no idea how to run the country either, let alone institute a taxpayer funded natter on drowned illegals. Have a think about all of the drownings which happen when illegals try to get to Europe; no call for enquiries there!

Perhaps it's just Australia where the do-gooding nutters with nothing better to think of hang out.

Tony Fiander - Mr. Right is my correct name, and you surely do not doubt that Forest Gummp is not the very successful actor; nor that Mr. Patterson informally uses his first first name/nickname, Banjo?

Col - granted.
Many responses appear calous at first glance. And second.

A few points however -

Indonesia is not a wealthy country and cannot monitor its own borders, much less international waters.

Australia does have the resources and applied them in this and other cases to the problem of sievs. Circumstances around sievx suggest a political rather than humanitarian motive.

Knowing what happened won't restore any lives but it would shine some light on how our border security operates in your name and in mine.

Not our problem? We should do away with all international reporting? Ignore American politics because we don't vote in US elections? Yeah. Right.

Too long since it happened to investigate it? It's been 7 years since sievx sank. When does it stop mattering? 1 year? A week? Until after the next election?

It is a matter of record Australia was involved in the embarkation of several sievs off the coast of Indonesia. It'd be good to know what you and I are voting for.

It is so convenient to put all the blame on Indonesia for problems to our
near north but I would like to know how much was known by Australian
government departments about:
* the activities of the AFP in Indonesia that led to the sinking of the
SIEV-X
* the killing by Indonesian forces of six Australian journalists in East
Timor
* the "Act Free of Choice" that led to the permanent Indonesian occupation
of West Papua
* the illegal occupation of East Timor at the time when the Whitlam
government was being distracted by a constitutional crisis
* the agreement between the Australian and the Indonesian governments giving
Australia control of most of the oilfield between Australia and East Timor
* the connivance of the AFP with Indonesian police to have Australian drug
smugglers captured in Indonesia, where they face the death penalty, rather
than in Australia.

That would do for starters.

If that boat was say a ferry, filled with Australians travelling for any reason whatsoever, and sank in circumstances that even remotely suggested the complicity of a foreign government who - for domestic political purposes - may have played a part in the sinking or deliberately failed in any rescue effort - would we be so dismissive?

Did those German citizens who claimed ignorance of what was happening in their death camps suggest that we should "just move on" and that "an expensive and time consuming enquiry" wouldn't bring those people back too?

Maybe some lives are worth more than others or are simply more deserving of natural justice. It seems that some have already tried and sentenced them.

I think there are still enough outstanding anomalies that require this matter to be finally cleared up. I can face and deal with the truth, Polycarp, whatever it may be. Can you?

What has been done in the name of Australians is not just immoral, it is illegal.

The people who died were not Australians. That is irrelevant. They died in a location that was supposed to be under surveillance by Australian forces. It was. It is likely that their location was known soon after the boat foundered and that decisions were deliberately taken to delay any action and arrange for "Indonesian fisherman" to pick them up... any who were left by then. It is this aspect that needs investigation, among others.

It is not acceptable to commit this crime under the cover of public policy and then avoid scrutiny by saying it was a long time ago.

Like so many others, I am not prepared to assent to murder of civilians in my name and I am surprised that anyone in Australia would think that is a reasonable position. I can only suppose this is why it is important to define what occurred as outside Australian jurisdiction. Certainly that was the intent of the official position long after it became clear that the sinking incident occurred in the Operation Relex zone, and that Australian administrators knew of its position.

I note comments herein that it is convenient to blame Indonesia for so many shadey policies of convenience in the region. It is hard to see how this one could be anything other than Australian responsibility. Our Government decided that it would undertake saturation surveillance of the area in which the SIEV-X sank and then did not like the implications of what it found there.

BTW, if you are intent on categorising me, think of me as your conscience.

How droll to be accused by Col "wasteral" Rouge of not being able to spell.

Of course I know how to spell "Porkycrap" - after all, I coined the term.