Scott Morrison never apologised!
The problem with all politicians, from all sides of politics, is they don’t speak English. Well not the English that you or I would speak. They speak a wholly different language, that in passing sounds like English to us mere mortals in the street as it were.
On the 15th of Feb, finally some of the victims of the Dec 15 Christmas Island boat tragedy were buried in Sydney. Yet, instead of this being a time of reflection on our policies, it was taken by many to be a time not to morn, but to raise heckles and spurn any humane treatment.
The issue at hand, the cost of flying the detainees to Sydney for the funeral. These detainees included a 8year old boy, whose father died, and a father who buried his 8 month old child, and whose wife and other daughter remains were never found.
Now before I continue, I need to say this in shouty capital letters. “IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO SEEK REFUGE IN AUSTRALIA”. This refuge can be sought if you arrive by plane or by boat.
Yet, and I will single one person out, that person being Scott Morrison MP, who felt this was a prime opportunity to push what is nothing more than a campaign of fear. A campaign that was brought to light by One Nation, which ceased to be a major political force, when the underlying ideals of the party were taken to the main stream by John Howard, and in most cases, reflected by the then Labor Opposition and current Labor Government.
On the day of the funerals Scott Morrison said the Federal Government should not be paying for asylum seekers to be flown to Sydney for the funerals of people killed in the Christmas Island shipwreck. Why did he say this, to create division, to capitalise on the moment as it were, and to push his own agenda.
But, and the big but here, is despite the outcry, the media as a whole have brought his apology. The ABC even ran that headline “Morrison climbs down in funeral row“
But he didn’t. The weasel words he used were “Timing in terms of comments is very important … the timing of my comments was insensitive and inappropriate.”
The key thing here, is that he didn’t back down from his message. A message that was given plenty of airtime, plenty of discussion, and little recourse. He backed down from the timing of the message. Timing he would have know to be optimal for getting his message out. He succeeded.
He did not in any way shape or form back down from the content of the message. A message, that his leader Tony Abbott, went on today to praise for his “acknowledging he went too far”.
Sorry Mr Morrison and Mr Abbott, both of you went to far, you failed to show a single thread of human decency, then through “Political speak”, claim you have apologised. No you haven’t . People weren’t upset with the timing, but with the message. (A Hat tip does have to go out to Joe Hockey, who did show some decency)
Initial estimates put the cost at less than 2cents per tax payer as a one off, for the cost of the funeral. Please tell me where I can donate my $10 to cover a number of people and I will gladly show more heart for $10 than either Abbott or Morrison did.
