Prime Minister John Howard has indicated "he is willing to CONSIDER releasing families with children from detention..." Mr Georgiou met with Mr Howard yesterday, and came out of the meeting saying that they had had some useful blah-blahs.

Hi Gus.

Do we know why the Chinese diplomats haven't been locked-up in Baxter along with the rest of the asylum-seekers?

With one of the 3 already granted a protection visa, surely this is the ultimate in queue jumping?

Little johnnie's policy becomes more confusing by the day .....

Cheers. 

Not queue jumping... Just a foreseen side step in the detention policy in that discretionary rule book if they can find it. See the defecting Chinese spies are not kids... But if you come from a ruthless persecuting country, on a leaky boat about to sink, at an exhorbitant price, the detention rules say explicitly that you shall be kept in a gulag or a dark dungeon forever, unless you have an under-age family for which we can provide a few amusing roundabouts, especially in the justice system, and still keep you entertained behind razor wire. If you are a diplomat who is defecting, rule number #24971 section 6.2 applies. As stated clearly (I quote): —defecting diplomats might get a detention visa disguised as a protective incarceration in order to fool everybody as to which of what are your intentions in regard to, and to control the said, the neo-embarrassing confusing situation, when a delicately poised free trade agreement — in which you are going to be screwed flat, like a cockroach under a stomped steel capped shoe, by a zillion containers of cheap imports with no duties, and for which the trade imbalance will double what it was the previous finacial year so you can sell a few dried mung beans from Dubbo — are on a knife edge in regard to the country of origin that does not officially spy on dissident citizen of its origins in the country of its partner in commerce, but does it without your full knowledge or cooperation. nudge nudge wink wink say no more... (end of quote) Here you are it's all in black and white in the olde rule book....

We could be doing Dear Leader a great injustice, Gus. I've looked into the history books, and this is how he is remembered.

A philanthropist and social reformer, dissenter and teetotaller, John Howard was dedicated to prison reform and public health improvements.
... Howard became a prison reformer, believing that justice could be blended with humanity. Inspecting prisons was a part of his duties, and he was shocked both by the conditions he saw there, and by finding jailers who were not salaried but lived off fees paid by prisoners. This system meant that those prisoners unable to pay were never freed.
Howard's concerns led to two ... Parliamentary Acts - one abolished jailers' fees, the other enforced improvements in the system leading to better prisoner health.
Howard, however, felt that the Acts were not strictly obeyed.

In ..., to compare practices in different prisons, he embarked on a personal tour of such institutions ...

Maybe it refers to someone else.

(Just for the record, the log-in with Mozilla is busted, this is entered with Firefox. And the formatting etc is fine in the box, but I can't get it right in Preview.)

A Johnnee's badly versed lament (Really crook verses) Dearest Johnnee... If one day on your deathbed in pain You come to realise with enlightened little-self Your detention centres were greatly inhumane Please don't blame anyone else but yourself Your little War in Iraq was totally insane Please don't blame anyone else but yourself Your industrial relations were slavishly inane Please don't blame anyone else but yourself Your in-the-butt Medicare policy was an even greater pain Please don't blame anyone else but yourself Your non-core promises were corruptly lame Please don't blame anyone else but yourself OUR huge trade deficit was YOUR FTA's aim Please don't blame anyone else but yourself The monkey in the US was high as a plane Please don't blame anyone else but yourself The lies, porkies and tall tales were all peddled in vain Please don't blame anyone else but yourself Please don't blame anyone else but yourself Please don't blame anyone else but yourself (Repeat as a tune of Mr Clowner's counter claim "Saddam had NO WMDs and it rains in Spain...") You know, you were a naughty little runt, Little Johnnee But when you go you'll do it with glee we know, for a loosy job well stuffed up Hi-he Hi-ho.... And I forgot the punch line Whatever you did or do, you are not doing it "in OUR name.".. Clear?

From the ABC

Snowy Hydro sale a done deal, says Howard
The Prime Minister says most Australians probably do not support the sale of the Snowy Hydro scheme, but he insists it will proceed.

John Howard is facing internal pressure from within the Coalition, including from close personal friend Bill Heffernan, to abandon the sale of the Australian icon.

As well, three Independent MPs and the Australian Greens want to force the New South Wales, Victorian and federal governments to reverse their decision to sell their shares.

But Mr Howard has told Parliament it is a done deal.

"I understand the concerns that have been expressed and I acknowledge that this is probably an issue where, on the surface, a majority of public opinion would oppose what is being done by the three governments," he said.

"I think the legal basis for what we're doing is pretty sound and I'm not disposed, and the Government's not disposed, to change our position."

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Gus translate Howard the speak: "The population of Australia can go and stick it. I only represent the people at election time when I scare them with broomsticks. At other time I do as I please, I'm the king!... So bugger off!