Rank hypocrisy and lost opportunities - the refugee debate

One of Canberra's most astute (in my mind anyway) commentators Crispin Hull is on the money with this week's piece on the despicable hypocrisy that sees both the ALP and Liberal illegal immigrants campaign platforms stinking like dead fish washed up on a hot beach.

On the ALP: "The legislation stated that a reason for the change was that people smuggling causes loss of life. More like loss of votes." And: "it remains committed to pandering to voters’ unfounded fears."

On the Liberals: "Tony Abbott’s Opposition to the legislation was not because of its inherent evil, but as a political game to attempt to force the Government to fall back to the Howard Government’s favoured place of refugee imprisonment — Nauru."

On the stain on our national reputation: "What a dispiriting confluence of events that in the week in which Australia engaged in international leadership to meet one of the world’s gravest threats – climate change – the national Parliament was tainted with this poisonous proposal."

Read on: Refugee move right deed for wrong reason