Tony speaks, Mal jumps: PM finally acts on citizenship after his nemesis speaks up
Tony Abbott on the citizenship crisis. Sydney’s 2GB, yesterday:
Every day it’s someone else. It was Josh (Frydenberg) last week, now it’s Alex Hawke. It will probably be someone else tomorrow.
And who finally comes up with a plan hours later? Malcolm Turnbull reveals his citizenship strategy in Canberra, yesterday:
What this is doing is using, essentially, the same process that we have for disclosure of members’ interests such as financial and pecuniary interests, for disclosure of this information.
MPs never fail to declare financial interests. What a genius idea. The Australian, May 18 last year:
Labor frontbencher David Feeney has admitted to an “omission” over a $2.3 million home … he failed to declare the asset on parliament’s register for more than two years.
Politicians dobbing themselves in? That’ll do the trick. Well done, Malcolm. The Australian, Friday:
Senior government ministers knew former Senate president Stephen Parry had an issue with his citizenship as recently as three weeks ago.
Abbott solved our nation’s previous migration crisis. Maybe he’ll succeed where Turnbull has failed. AAP, March 29, 2014:
Abbott has hailed the success of Coalition tactics against people-smuggling, after 100 days of no asylum-seeker boats reaching Australia.
Labor’s Shayne Neumann pipes up on recent events on Manus Island. Sky News, yesterday:
… (the government) should be accepting this offer from New Zealand.
Labor has learned nothing. The Australian’s editorial, yesterday:
… if any of the 587 men were sent to New Zealand, it would be a “pull” factor for people-smugglers to resume their trade.
Neumann continues on Sky News, yesterday:
Well, we’ve been saying for a long time that they should be considering the offer, generous offer, from New Zealand. I have been saying that in many interviews, so has Bill Shorten.
Neumann’s claim he does “many interviews” is definitely up for debate. The date on the opposition immigration spokesman’s previous broadcast interview transcript:
Karvelas on Sky … Sunday, 17 September 2017 …
Labor did signal it would back the New Zealand resettlement deal for 150 Manus refugees a few months ago. Neumann on Sky News, May 26:
We already have options on the table, for example New Zealand (has) had a standing option on the table.
It was a bad idea then and it’s a bad idea now. The Australian’s editorial yesterday, continued:
It would presage a further wave of tens of thousands of refugees, with hundreds more likely to die at sea.
But Labor is full of bad boat ideas. Paul Maley in The Australian, February 9, 2008:
One of the Howard government’s most controversial policies, the Pacific Solution, ended quietly yesterday when the last refugees detained on Nauru arrived in Australia.
We’ll never, ever, ever forget the cost of Labor’s boat policy failures. Greg Sheridan in The Australian, January 13, 2014:
In six years of Labor government, more than 50,000 people arrived illegally by boat with a steady and alarming increase over the years. Hardly any were sent home.