Burrinjuck Capers...1

A bloke and his family departs to Burrinjuck for a week’s seclusion and those who lead or who wish to lead our nation throw what is left of the plot out of the window.

Essentially incommunicado except for the odd paper and run to Yass on Thursday, it would seem that – according to Peter Costello – the federal ALP now “supports al-Qaeda” and that it is – according to the PM - “soft on terrorists”. Furiously tuning into marginal Canberra FM stations on the boat revealed this to be a reaction to Robert McLelland’s speech (on Tuesday?) where he declared the ALP’s opposition to the death penalty – both here and in other nation states. It seems that because the anniversary of the Bali bombing was approaching this all meant that the ALP’s policy would see the death penalty stayed from these murderers – were it, of course, to apply. This, by reduction, means support of al-Qaeda to our treasurer. It means that the ALP is soft on terrorists to the PM.

What complete and utter hyperbole. The desperation for a knife haunts this government.

Mandy Devine opines that while “it is logical and correct to push for clemency for Australian citizens who are on death row in countries such as Indonesia, as is the case for the convicted heroin smugglers, the Bali nine", it is a reckless squandering of what “political capital” Australia has to be “meddling in the internal legal affairs of other democratic states”. Yes, fine to bump off the yellow folk and the brown ones – just not ours.

Her view that Rudd’s repudiation of his shadow minister says much about him is correct though. Rudd should simply have stated that this was, in fact, ALP policy. It is not case specific – as the government is painting it to be. Instead, displaying all the guts of a coward given a free exit, he caves to the pressure of “insensitivity” and the like. He needs to find a spine: he has compromised himself on this and he has belittled himself. For what? To win an election.

And make no bones that is exactly the rationale behind Costello’s ridiculous line and the PM’s glib and weary “soft” bullshit. To argue that opposing the death penalty – even if it meant the Bali bombers weren’t executed – was supporting a terrorist organisation is stupid. To say that means one who opposes the death penalty is “soft on terrorists” is even more stupid. Does opposing the death penalty in Texas make one a paid up supporter of mass murderers, child murderers and the other such awaiting their turn? Of course it doesn’t.

It all goes to show only what a man will compromise to win an election and what two already well compromised men will stoop to so as to prevent him.