Federal politicians stepped back in time this week as the themes of the 2001 election, terrorism and immigration, returned to centre stage.Meanwhile, in Western Australia, John Kobelke backs new stadium and tram bells ring for Alannah MacTiernan.
Federal politicians stepped back in time this week as the themes of the 2001 election, terrorism and immigration, returned to centre stage. Meanwhile, in Western Australia, John Kobelke backs new stadium and tram bells ring for Alannah MacTiernan.
Terrorism
Three days after UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown assumed office, the first of two car bombs were found in London.
That weekend, two men driving a dark green Jeep drove through the glass doors of Glasgow International Airport in an attempt to blow up the building.
Scotland Yard reports that eight people are currently in custody in relation to the attack, including one, Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef, in Brisbane.
While the events did not affect Australia directly, they nonetheless led to introspection over the nation's readiness to confront such attacks, and the 457 visa scheme.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard told media on Sunday that Australians should be aware that terrorist attacks continued to happen.
"What is happening in Great Britain is a reminder to all of us that despite all the talk on occasions from some that the threat of terrorism is exaggerated in our societies, it is not, and we must remain vigilant," he said.
The call for vigilance was echoed, unsurprisingly, by Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd.
"It is important for all Australians to be calm, it is important for all Australian people to remain vigilant and if they notice anything which causes suspicion, of course, contact the relevant authorities," he told reporters in Sydney.
"Terrorism has not gone away, we must remain vigilant, resolute and united in dealing with this threat."
457 Visas
The case surrounding Dr Haneef had, however proven somewhat more controversial.
Dr Haneef had applied to work in a Gold Coast Hospital while living in Britain, and was staying in Australia on a 457 visa.
The 457 visa scheme allows skilled foreign workers to come to Australia to plug job vacancies that cannot be filled locally. Visa holders can work in Australia for four years and about a quarter become permanent residents.
Attorney General Philip Ruddock said Dr Haneef had gone through the normal character and health checks which did not reveal anything untoward.
"In relation to migration, I think the point that ought to be made is that we do have a better handle on the movement of people in and out of Australia than any other country in the world," Mr Ruddock told Southern Cross Radio.
But Sky News Australia reports Mr Rudd made calls today for a review of security checks on immigrant workers employed under visa scheme.
Immigration
Earlier this week the Commonwealth Ombudsman released four reports showing 247 Australian citizens, permanent residents and lawful visa holders had been wrongfully detained by the Immigration department between 1993 and 2007 - a finding the department labelled inexcusable.
The reports singled out a culture within the department of "accepting a low standard of proof to detain a person, yet requiring a high standard of proof to authorise a person's release from detention".
Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said the immigration department had accepted the ombudsman's recommendations and was reviewing each individual case identified in the report with a view to remedial action.
"The department is writing to each of the 247 individuals advising them of the ombudsman's reports and the review of their case that is being undertaken by the department," he said.
The possibility of a compensation payout was seized by Opposition immigration spokesman Tony Burke, who said taxpayers would pay for what he termed the Government's poor handling of immigration.
"Every Australian taxpayer will share the burden of making up for this Government's incompetence," Mr Burke said.
"In 106 pages spread across four reports, the word 'failure' is used 66 times."
Iraq
One word that has been assiduously avoided with regards to the war in Iraq is oil, and the role supplies of it play in Australia's continued military involvement in the ongoing conflict.
The issue remains a backburner, and not widely expected to come up in the Prime Minister's speech today to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, where he was to outline the future direction of Australia's defence policy,
However, reports from Fairfax newspapers that Mr Howard was to link the two certainly caught the attention of the rest of the media, particularly when followed up by Defence Minister Brendan Nelson.
Speaking to ABC Radio ahead of the speech, Dr Nelson the primary reason for Australian troops remaining in Iraq was to prevent violence between the Sunni and Shia population, and to bring stability to the region.
"We're also there to support our key ally - that's the United States of America - and we're there to ensure that we don't have terrorism driven from Iraq which would destabilise our own region," he said.
"For all of those reasons, one of which is energy security, it's extremely important that Australia take the view that it's in our interests ... to make sure we leave the Middle East and leave Iraq in particular in a position of sustainable security."
"The entire (Middle East) region is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world.
"Australians and all of us need to think, well, what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq?"
Mr Howard later denied that he or Dr Nelson had said troops were staying in Iraq to protect the western world's oil supply.
"I had a look at what Brendan said and I think in fairness to him he didn't quite say that,'' Mr Howard said on Macquarie Radio.
"I haven't said in my speech that the reason we went to Iraq is oil or the reason we're staying there is oil.
"We are not there because of oil and we didn't go there because of oil. We don't remain there because of oil. Oil is not the reason.''
And Dr Nelson, now in Jakarta on the first leg of a three-country visit, followed suit.
"People should hose themselves down in Australia," Dr Nelson said.
But Mr Rudd accused the Government of making up policy on the run, saying Australian troops should never have gone to Iraq.
"When Mr Howard was asked back in 2003 whether this war had anything to do with oil, Mr Howard said in no way did it have anything to do with oil,'' Mr Rudd said.
"This government simply makes it up as it goes along on Iraq.''
For the record, Mr Howard did say that the "energy dependency" was one reason to remain in Iraq, but early withdrawal of troops from either Iraq or Afghanistan would run counter to the national interest and national character.
"Many of the key strategic trends I have mentioned - including terrorism and extremism, challenging demographics, WMD (weapons of mass destruction) aspirations, energy demand and great-power competition - converge in the Middle East,'' Mr Howard said.
"Our major ally and our most important economic partners have crucial interests there.
"In these circumstances it is all the more critical that the coalition succeed in establishing a stable democratic Iraq that is capable of defending itself against al-Qaeda and the internal enemies that wish to tear it apart.''
Subiaco Oval
In Western Australia the only thing likely to be torn apart is Subiaco Oval, at least if Sports Minister John Kobelke gets his way.
"Trying to redevelop, rebuild on the old Subiaco footprint is fraught with difficulties. You'd end up with, clearly, an inferior product," Mr Kobelke told reporters.
"You would get better value for money and a superior stadium if you can build a new one either at East Perth or at Kitchener Park.
"Then we have the opportunity to get international events here, whether it be rugby, whether it be a future international soccer games or whether it be potentially a Commonwealth Games sometime in the future.
"But we cannot really bid successfully for a range of those international events if we don't have a stadium of sufficient capacity and quality."
Mr Kobelke would not say when a stadium might be built by but that the government would have a clear plan on the issue by the next state election in 18 months' time.
But Opposition Leader Paul Omodei said that was too late.
"It should be built within five years," Mr Omodei said.
"The government should get on with the job ... there's no doubt the government has been tardy in making a decision."
Mr Kobelke said it was important to take the time to properly consult the different sports organisations that would use the stadium.
The WA Football Commission has said it still believes rebuilding Subiaco Oval is a better option, despite Mr Kobelke's comments.
West Australian Football Commission chairman Neale Fong, told the ABC the Subiaco Oval redevelopment needed to be clarified as many people do not have a clear understanding of what is proposed.
"I don't believe that the redevelopment proposal that we put forward has been clearly understood, either by the taskforce or by the government or by the community, so I think there is an opportunity for us to better articulate what we are talking about here with the new Subiaco oval development," he said.
Back in time with Tram lines
While talk of a new stadium has seized much attention in Western Australia, a step back in time may be coming, with the State Government announcing it was giving serious consideration to bringing trams back to Perth.
A two year study into the viability of re-introducing trams, which ceased running in Perth over 50 years ago, will be complete in a couple of months.
City of Perth Deputy Lord Mayor Michael Sutherland told WA Business News in May he felt the reintroduction of trams was great idea, and in particular a 'heritage tram', which would visit key tourist and commercial sites along Perth's foreshore.
Cr Sutherland said the introduction of efficient light-rail services could relieve some of Perth's traffic congestion, and would likely to be more cost effective to install than the infrastructure needed for buses.
"Light rail services through Perth and a heritage tram visiting the foreshore would be a fantastic way for tourists and city goers to engage with the river and learn more about our history," he said.
While Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan told the ABC she felt there was a role for light rail, she said it would be expensive.
"Whatever the price tag is $300 million, something along that level, we have to compare the benefit that we get out of that compared to the benefit we might have for example in extending the rail further north," she said.
The study has been examining a tram network running from East Perth through the city to West Perth and on to Subiaco via Hay Street.
The Final Word
In a week where Burt Bacharach concert-goers at Burswood spotted Foreign Minister Alexander Downer joining in the fun - except during the singer's anti-war tune - the final word goes to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty.
Mr Keelty has had a bit to do of late, what with terror suspects being detained in Brisbane and all, but that didn't stop him telling a parliamentary inquiry into the future impact of organised crime what he felt posed the biggest threat to modern policing.
Mr Keelty told the inquiry that the police force would have to use experts from the private sector to fight tech-savvy organised criminals, because it lacked the necessary skills.
Technology-enabled crime was "a new area that's growing exponentially", he warned.
For example, scams that had sprung up in online virtual worlds such as Second Life, where people can spend real money via credit cards to buy products such as virtual real estate and gifts.
"Policing that is going to be quite difficult," he said.
A feature of serious organised criminal networks was their ability to be flexible and quickly adopt new techniques, and police forces would have to move quickly to keep up, he said.
The question was, how quickly?
"Our environmental scanning tells us that even with some of the cloning of human beings - not necessarily in Australia but in those countries that are going to allow it - you could have potentially a cloned part-person, part-robot," he said.
Arch (along with fellow 1980s movie buffs) is left with the question... Does this foreshadow government funding for RoboCop?
