nockturne posted:

As an aside from oniongate, I'm looking for an article written by a journo who was with Tony Abbott when they got lost in the desert. It included an extraordinary description of Abbott inhaling any food that wasn't tied down. Anyone remember it?

quote:

"We were one jerry can of fuel, six bottles of water and about three hours of daylight short of what we needed," was his verdict on the experience when he arrived back at Kings Creek station for a late-night feast of scotch fillet and camel sausages.

nockturne posted:

As an aside from oniongate, I'm looking for an article written by a journo who was with Tony Abbott when they got lost in the desert. It included an extraordinary description of Abbott inhaling any food that wasn't tied down. Anyone remember it?

quote:

“I find it impossible myself, as an Australian, as Prime Minister, as an individual, to argue that those executions should not take place when they have murdered my fellow countrymen and women.”

quote:

Australians expect Bali bomber executions, says PM Sarah Smiles Canberra and Mark Forbes | October 13, 2007

AUSTRALIANS would feel "let down" if the Bali bombers on death row were not executed, Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday.

He said a shift from capital punishment had "been festering" for some time in Indonesia, where a legal challenge to the death penalty was under way. "I think there would be a sense of letdown if that was the sentence delivered, but not carried out," Mr Howard said on the anniversary of the 2002 bombings, in which 88 Australians were killed. He expressed "outrage" that two of the Bali bombers were allowed out of jail to attend a function for rehabilitated radicals hosted by Indonesia's anti-terrorism chief last month. As some families of the victims reacted angrily to news of the event, Mr Howard said he would make a formal complaint to the Indonesian Government. (Rehabilitation impossible!) Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd — who criticised his foreign affairs spokesman, Robert McClelland, this week for calling for an end to the death penalty, including for terrorists — echoed Mr Howard. He described the function as "inappropriate and grossly insensitive".

But an Indonesian embassy spokesman said the event hosted by the anti-terrorism chief, Surya Dharma, was not a social "party',' and had been taken out of context. Indonesian security forces had adopted a "soft power" way to co-opt reformed radicals. The function was "a solemn occasion" for the public to see the positive efforts being made to counter terrorism with that soft-power approach, he said. The radicals at the function had "aided the security forces in obtaining vital information" and had changed their beliefs. "They are still convicted criminals," he said. He did not believe the function had any connection with their sentences.

Bali's former police chief, General I Made Mangku Pastika, urged Australians to understand that unorthodox methods could yield results. "That is one of the tactics in the investigation," he said of the function. Some analysts have commended the Indonesian Government approach. "The Indonesian police have had outstanding successes over the last couple of years because of the modus operandi they've deployed, and in many senses it's been very innovative," said Neil Fergus, a security expert who heads the consultancy Intelligent Risks. Indonesia's Constitutional Court will rule at the end of the month on a challenge to the death penalty by several Australians from the Bali nine drug smuggling ring on death row.

When contacted by The Age, Lex Lasry, a lawyer representing two of them, pointed to earlier comments he had made describing the Federal Government's comments in support of the death penalty as "unhelpful" to his clients' case.(Whoops!) Mr Howard's comments contrasted yesterday with those of the parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, Greg Hunt, who said that the Government "respected" the gains made by Indonesian police in befriending convicted terrorists. Hosting some of the Bali bombers at a fast-breaking feast was "not how we would have done it", he said. "There are many people in Australia who would have deep reservations." But he added: "We respect the fact that the Indonesian Government has had success in seeking co-operation in ways which would not occur in Australia."(Indonesian more enlightened that Australia).

He denied that the endorsement of executions for terrorists undermined attempts to spare members of the Bali nine. "We will be unrelenting in standing up for Australians," he said.

quote:

Tony Abbott lost in the outback for hours after being abandoned by traditional Aboriginal guide

Outback tour: Tony Abbott with senior tradition owner Ansalom Impu (right) and his "cousin brother" Hubert Malbunka in Watarrka traditional country. Picture: Ray Strange

IT was at 6.35pm Central Standard Time when Tony Abbott sent the following text message on satellite phone to Claire Kimball, his press secretary in Sydney: "WERELOSTNEARFOSSILCREEK."

It was no joke. The alternative prime minister – and a group of traditional owners and journalists – had gone off the radar in deepest central Australia.

There was no panic, but there was some concern that the remarks we’d made earlier in the day as we set off, about Abbott becoming the Harold Holt of the hinterland, were no longer quite so far-fetched.

We had left from Kings Creek station on Tuesday morning for a quad bike tour of sacred sites on Aboriginal land 350km west of Alice Springs.

The expedition was led by Ian Conway, a pastoralist with strong conservative views whom Abbott had come to visit and to discuss economic opportunities for Aboriginal land owners.

Things went awry later that afternoon, at about five pm, when Conway left the group with a young Aboriginal man known as Junior Impu, to search of a bush narcotic known as pitchuri. Conway said he’d been gone only 20 minutes or so.

Almost two hours later, with the sun heading down below the ridges, there was no sign of Conway or Junior. We were down to our last drop of water and the quads were low on fuel. We had no food. No beer. And no guide.

The traditional owners were not much help. They had never visited this part of their country. They only knew we were somewhere south-west of the Kings Canyon resort.

Conway had left his sat phone behind as he went to search for pitchuri. None of us knew how to use it and we could not make a call. We thought about sending an SMS.

Fortunately, the message did not get through to Kimball. Had it done, the Northern Territory Police, the Australian Federal Police, ASIO (and quite possibly some archaeologists thrown in because of the Fossil Creek reference) would have mounted what may have been the largest search party seen in these parts since Peter Falconio wandered off the map in 2001.

The tale of Tony Abbott’s missing five hours begins on Monday night. Conway, something of a force of nature, had made it clear no media would be able to join Abbott’s quad bike tour the following day. We were going places that were “too sacred” for our eyes – certainly too sacred for media cameras.

The print journalists in the crew leaned on Abbott to take us along. If there was to be no cameras, at least we could describe Abbott’s tour of traditional country. We got our way and on Tuesday morning a party of nine set off from Kings Creek station, following a truck loaded with quad bikes.

We headed about 60km west, past the Kings Canyon resort to a high point where Abbott did a morning doorstop. Some of the media went back to the station leaving a party of 10 to spend the day doing the quad thing. We headed off at about 10.30am.

In the party were: Abbott, Conway, NT Country Liberals Opposition Leader, Terry Mills, traditional owners Anselem Impu, his son Junior and Hubert Malbunka; Tom Dusevic from The Australian, Mark Davis from Fairfax, myself and – despite the firm no photographer rule, a photographer named Grenville Turner, working for Conway.

We set off with full tanks and followed some ridges west for several hours on the Watarrka Aboriginal estate. We passed the carcasses of camels that had been shot dead on the orders of the federal environment minister. At some point we turned south and hooked back east (probably), looking for a certain sacred site.

Anselem, 58, was the senior man among the traditional owners, but he had never been to this country. He had only heard about it through stories. And Conway, who most people would not pick to have Aboriginal heritage, had not been through these parts for 30 years.

We rode for a long time. Conway was on a bigger Kawasaki 360cc quad, the rest of us on 250s. There were no tracks – it was just Spinifex and low bush. Most of us had trouble keeping up with Conway – though not Abbott, who pushed his quad like a demon man, always up front.

At about 2pm, we stopped at rocky high point. Conway was trying to probe a way down to a sacred site – a waterhole, apparently. Conway could not find a way down on his quad and set off on foot to scout.

We ate the sandwiches that had been packed. Abbott said to Anselem: “So mate, where are we?”

“F***** if I know,” said Anselem.

Conway returned and we hit the quads again, searching for a way down to the site. At around 3pm, we stopped while Conway went on another reccie.

Running repairs were made on one of Dusevic’s deflating tyres. It was Abbott who figured out how to use the battery air pump and got Dusevic’s tyre back in action.

Conway was gone some time. Hubert meanwhile went for a scout and came back saying: “I found a way down, it’s just over there.” Conway returned but did not get this news. He set off at pace, Abbott close behind, the rest of us lagging.

We drove again for at least another hour across open country and came to a place Conway called Fossil Creek. It was a dry creek bed – and quite remarkable. Everywhere underfoot were fossils.

Conway picked up a rock with a creature embedded into it and declared it a pre-Cambrian crustacean that propelled itself in this inland sea by sucking water through its mouth and blowing it out its rear orifice.

What does it all mean? “It means that 500 million years ago there was life in this creek,” said Abbott. “Before an early version of climate change wiped it out.”

The Aboriginal men in the party had no interest in walking up the creek bed. They sat in the shade near the quads. Asked if they knew this country, Hubert said no. “Feels like we’re near the West Australian border,” he half-joked.

We drove on again. This time we stopped at the mouth of a valley – Dusevic now with two flat tyres. Conway said it was important he show Junior a special place where pitchuri grew. This narcotic was used by Aborigines as a numbing agent to help them set aside pain when crossing vast tracts of this tough land on foot.

When taken recreationally around the campfire, apparently it makes your head feel nine foot tall and you worry if you move it will fall over and break.

As he set off, Conway said: “You blokes walk up that valley. You’ll find cool, sweet, crystal clear water and plenty of rock art.”

We walked up. There was no water. There was no rock art.

We started talking about camels. Terry Mills said the Aborigines did not eat them because they had carried the three wise men. I asked Anselem about this.

“Three white men?” No, wise men.

“Nah, not because of that,” said Anselem. “We used to ride on camels when our grandfathers was alive. That’s why we don’t eat them. We feel sorry for it. That’s why we don’t eat them.”

I thought back to the sandwiches we’d eaten for lunch: cold roast camel.

It was getting onto six pm and Anselem expressed concern that if Conway was not back soon, we’d have trouble finding our way back to the truck in the dark. He said he could find our way back if we needed, but only by following the tracks we’d come in on.

But there was not enough fuel in the quads to do this. We were relying on Conway, who said he knew a short cut to the truck.

The sky was changing colour. By 6.30pm, there was still no sign of Conway or Junior and attempts were made to crank up the sat phone Conway had left with us.

The plan – not much of a plan – was to ring Kings Creek station and tell them where we were. The only problem was we did not know where we were.

We also knew Kings Creek had a chopper. Another plan was to ring them and get the pilot to drop off, in order of priority, red wine, water, blankets and food. But we could not give the pilot directions – and, besides, helicopters cannot fly at night.

And there was another problem. We could not work the phone.

Abbott tried sending the text. The message did not send. The hope had been that Kimball, who would not recognise the number the call had been made from, would have the wherewithal to ring Andrew Hirst, Abbott’s other press secretary, who was back waiting for his boss at Kings Creek (Abbott did not try to text Hirst because there is no mobile coverage at Kings Creek).

At 6.39, with the sun almost down, we heard Conway’s and Junior’s quads.

Most of us were bemused – possibly slightly annoyed – that Conway had taken off for so long. Especially given we had no water.

Abbott put it another way: “Now, if we were dogs, the longer the master is gone the happier we’d be to see him.”

I asked junior whether they’d found the bush drugs. “Nope,” he said. They’d driven a long way before giving up and turning around.

Conway pointed us north and we road as the full moon came up in the west. He tore ahead on his 360. Then Davis got a flat.

Conway kept heading north, looking for the east-west track we’d first used gone in on. Abbott hung back now, keeping with the laggers who couldn’t keep up with Conway. He tore ahead at one point, asking Conway to slow down so that everyone could keep up. Anselem’s eyes were not good in the dark and he couldn’t see the track.

Then Junior ran out of fuel. He abandoned his quad in the bush and doubled up with Anselem.

Eventually, Conway found the track. Then he ran out of fuel and had to be doubled on Abbott’s quad.

Conway, who did know how to use the sat phone, could have rung Kings Creek and told them we’d be late. He did not think of this. Nor, truth be told, did anyone else.

At 9.19pm, we saw the truck. By 10.20pm, we were back at Kings Creek station – to the relief of Abbott’s two staff members who had become seriously worried. We were supposed to be back by 5.30pm and you can’t just go losing an Opposition Leader (actually, two Opposition Leaders) for five hours.

How did the alternative prime minister deport himself? Very well. He was the first to lend a hand with the flat tyres and, by the end, was insisting we slow down and stay together as a group as we motored slowly through the slightly eerie moonlit landscape.

Beers were drunk with urgency.

And Conway said: “I’m taking Kevin Rudd out next week.”

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Jumpingmanjim posted:

Mad Katter posted:

I never did get around to watching The Act of Killing. Thanks for reminding me.

Jumpingmanjim posted:

bowmore posted:

I'm supposed to write an opinion piece and now I'm having a crisis wondering if I actually have opinions or not

bowmore posted:

I'm supposed to write an opinion piece and now I'm having a crisis wondering if I actually have opinions or not

ewe2 posted:

Write an onion piece instead.

QUACKTASTIC posted:

Birb Katter posted:

Lambie is asking to get let out of hospital early so she can vote down Pynes bill because she's that mad over it. Has also said Abbott should sack him.

katlington posted:

Jumpingmanjim posted:

markgreyam posted:

It's a weird feeling to have the idea that you're desensitized to the retarded bullshit proved wrong. This makes me seethe with anger, and I truly wish harm upon her, but then that's probably because I'm an atheist who believes in nothing.

quote:

"Studies consistently show people named Donald or Linda have higher than average rates of believing global warming to be a hoax," said one climate scientist. "Fewer parts per million of Donald and Linda in the atmosphere will lead to a concomitant decline in carbon pollution."

QUACKTASTIC posted:

Eh. Read enough of the USpol thread and you can see what she's aiming at.
Australian conservative propaganda is just a 10 year old rerun of US Republican news-speak from the W. Bush era, and it's kinda funny to watch just how closely they mirror it's progression.

katlington posted:

What? "Everything I don't like is the same", is what she's getting at. It's not complicated it's just dumb.

Shadeoses posted:

By allowing foreigners in you're encouraging degenerate forms of art to take root in our culture.



Disgusting.

Cartoon posted:

I previously posted how genuinely heart warming it was to see Australians rally around the cause of the Bali Nine on death row. I also posted how it was great to see that our ~in principle~ abhorrence of the death penalty was not being eroded like so many other progressive reforms. On this basis you'd think I would be behind any movement for changing the Indonesion stance on the death penalty but I can not get behind threatening our neighbour over this. Especially as the Indonesian's must be really confused by our changeable position. John Howard basically called for the death penalty for the Bali Bombers.


Simon Crean and Kevin Rudd agreed!

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/australians-expect-bali-bomber-executions-says-pm/2007/10/12/1191696212696.html




As our diplomatic relations with Indonesia take a serious dip as both sides score domestic points on the issue (Indonesia is well ahead in this game thanks the NTATA*) it is worth noting that SBY was the most Australian friendly Indonesian leader we had ever seen. Widodo is a whole different kettle of fish. We really need to put a very large sock in our clearly racist (Explain the death penalty hypocracy anyother way) nationalist posturing if we aren't to further damage relations with our economic power house neighbour to the North.

Paradoxical Muppet Goverment

* Noted Torture Apologist Tony Abbott.

duck monster posted:

QUACKTASTIC posted:

Sounds like you're ready to invade Iraq
Again

Zetsubou-san posted:

FOXDIE