Stardate 20010908.1438 (On Screen): Prime Minister John Howard of Australia continues to shower his nation with glory.
HMAS Manoora, a troop carrier in the Royal Australian Navy, was on its way to deliver the 400-odd refugees rescued by a freighter back to New Guinea when it noticed another tiny ship carrying more refugees. So it stopped that and took on board another 237 people which it will also carry back to New Guinea.
Howard proudly announced that "At no stage did this latest vessel reach Australian territorial waters. As a result questions of application for asylum status do not arise." Um, Mister Howard? That means that the act of stopping that ship in international waters was piracy. Now I know that the people of Australia take pride in the fact that Australia was once a penal colony, but that was a long time ago. You're supposed to be civilized now. (discuss)
