We all remember John Howard’s line about “we decide who comes” into Australia and “how” they come.
Well, Abbott has trotted it out for us again word for word, telling the press a few days ago that this was his policy.
Of course. Howard spun that one during the Tampa refugee ‘children overboard’ affair back in 2001.
It ambushed the hapless Pauline Hanson who was running on border security. Rather than attack the Liberals for (certain) untruthfulness, she blathered on about how Howard was “stealing” her policy. Well, words Howard may have stolen, but after the election he flew the Tampa refugees in!
So much for his hard, tough, line.
Now we have Tony Abbott telling us he intends to “stop the boats” and even that he’ll slash immigration back (back??!!) to 170,000 per year from the current dizzying near 300,000.
Really? Who cares if he did? In point of fact, this number was around the figures of the Howard years, up till then the highest immigration government in Australian history!
The current debate between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott (as shown in their actual TV debate on July 25) has one saying he will achieve a fall in immigration and the other saying she’s already doing it.
No!
Australia First screams it out as sharp as we can that immigration will be out of control regardless of which major party wins the election. And the refugees (as they style themselves) will just keep coming, maybe not on boats but via a processing centre somewhere (wherever!).
We say: it’s time to end both policies, stop them dead in their tracks. That is our unshakeable policy!