Australian PM under pressure over refugee ‘back-pedal’

Abbott appeared to waver on the key points after talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
AFPPublished: 15:12 October 2, 2013

Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was on Wednesday accused by the opposition of “back-pedalling at 160.934 kilometres an hour” on tough policies to deter asylum-seekers during a sensitive visit to Indonesia this week.

Abbott made Jakarta his first international trip after winning an election last month, with a vow to “Stop the Boats” a centrepiece of his campaign.

His policies — which include turning people-smuggling boats back to Indonesia, pre-emptively buying up rickety fishing vessels there and paying villagers for intelligence — were coolly received in Jakarta, and Abbott appeared to waver on the key points after talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Striking a more conciliatory tone, Abbott insisted Australia had never said it would tow boats back to Indonesia but would “turn boats around when it is safe to do so”.


He said his vessel buy-up “was simply the establishment of some money that could be used by Indonesian officials working cooperatively with their Australian counterparts”.

“The important thing is not to start a fight, but to get things done,” said Abbott.

He was criticised by the current centre-left Labour opposition, with interim leader Chris Bowen saying it showed “ill thought-out sound grabs from opposition are proving unsustainable in government”.
“Tony Abbott is now back-pedalling from his ridiculous buy-the-boats policy at 160.934 kilometres an hour, as he should,” Bowen told the Australian Financial Review.
“However, it is embarrassing for Australia that it took Indonesia to tell us that it wasn’t on, and Tony Abbott didn’t just realise himself that it was a ridiculous policy.”
The prime minister later insisted it was a “very good trip” and he had been “warmly welcomed”.
“It was agreed that the operational details, the specifics of how this might work out would be left to officials and ministers, and officials and ministers will be talking together very, very soon indeed,” Abbott told reporters.
“I don’t think anyone in Indonesia is under any illusions about Australia’s resolve to stop the boats.
“We will work with Indonesia in ways that fully respect Indonesia’s sovereignty, but for us people-smuggling is a sovereignty issue, and that’s why we will stop the boats and we will work wholeheartedly with Indonesia to ensure that happens as quickly as possible.”
Separately, Abbott was criticised in Indonesia for barring local journalists from his major press conference during the trip and restricting entry to Australian media.
Omar Idris, from the Alliance of Independent Journalists, said it was the first time he was aware of that such an exclusion had been made.
“Australia has good press freedom and so they should practise that in Indonesia as well,” Omar told the Jakarta Globe newspaper, which said its own correspondents had been shut out.
“Tony Abbott’s visit is important for the Indonesian media and journalists should be granted equal, open access.”
Abbott’s government has come under fire at home for limiting the release of information about refugee boats to a weekly briefing, even when a vessel sank last week off Indonesia with the loss of at least 39 people.

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/australia/australian-pm-under-pressure-over-refugee-back-pedal-1.1238316?

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Australian exports rise 3 percent in August: trade data
Oct 02,2013
CANBERRA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Australian exports rose 3 percent to 27.1 billion AU dollars (almost 25.4 billion U.S. dollars) in August, the latest trade data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Wednesday.

The country recorded a seasonally-adjusted trade deficit of 815 million AU dollars (almost 764 million U.S. dollars) in August, 560 million AU dollars (almost 525 million U.S. dollars) less on the revised 1.4 billion AU dollars (almost 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) deficit recorded in July.

According to the data, exports to China rose 11 percent -- in original terms -- to 8.7 billion AU dollars (almost 8.2 billion U. S. dollars), the highest ever recorded monthly value. The value of overall merchandise exports increased by 3.9 percent over the month to 22.6 billion AU dollars (almost 21.2 billion U.S. dollars) .

Resources exports rose by 2.2 percent to 13.3 billion AU dollars (almost 12.5 billion U.S. dollars), driven by a rise in metal ores and minerals, up by 7.4 percent.

On an international merchandise trade basis in original terms, the value of iron ore exports was up, with iron ore lump up by 86 million AU dollars (almost 80.65 million U.S. dollars) on stronger prices, while iron ore fines were up by 864 million AU dollars ( almost 810.2 million U.S. dollars) on stronger prices and quantities.

Exports of manufactures were 6 percent higher, at 3.7 billion AU dollars (almost 3.5 billion U.S. dollars). These increases were partly offset by a 1.1 percent fall in services exports to 4.5 billion AU dollars (almost 4.22 billion U.S. dollars).

Australia's merchandise exports in original terms to North Asia increased 7.7 percent in August, with exports to Japan up 9.3 percent. Exports to the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries were up by 13.2 percent. Exports to India were 20.9 percent higher.

Imports increased by one percent to 27.9 billion AU dollars ( almost 26.2 billion U.S. dollars) while imports of overall merchandise goods were 1.1 percent higher at 22.6 billion AU dollars (almost 21.2 billion U.S. dollars), driven primarily by a 4.6 percent increase in imports of consumption goods.

Imports of non-industrial transport equipment were up by 82 million AU dollars (almost 76.9 billion U.S. dollars) and food and beverage imports for consumption were up 77 million AU dollars ( almost 72.2 billion U.S. dollars).

Imports from China were 11.2 percent higher, from the United States 15.2 percent lower, from the Republic of Korea 24.6 percent lower and from Singapore 13.6 percent lower.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=170971

Yeah lets judge Tony by what some retarded backwater newspaper like the Jakarta Post thinks. The most successful export of the previous labor government was Gillards misogyny speech, so we're already operating from a pathetically low base.

:lol::lol: Well in. Genius.

The paper received the Adam Malik Award in January 2009 for their reporting on foreign politics; the coverage was considered accurate and educated, with good analysis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jakarta_Post

The Adam Malik award good one Joff :lol:

Settle down Joffa, let's not let facts get in the way of good old fashion xenophobia [-x

Haha 433 pulling out the old xenophobic card good humour tonight lads

And yet you were happy to judge Gillard, Swan & Rudd based on shrill reporting from people like Bolt, Jones & Hadley.

You are pathetic.

Implying you didn't call the newspaper "retarded" simply because it was from Jakarta?

Right.

Well Jakarta is a city not a race you utter dipshit

Anyone who reads foreign based publications on a regular basis - sites like BBC, Reuters, etc. - would know that Tony Abbott is being ridiculed by the international community.

What people live in Jakarta and work at the newspaper? You utter dipshit.

Wow notor apparently you know me better than I know myself because I don't read those reporters. I judged Gillard and Rudd based their shocking performance not what the daily telegraph said. I must be right because each leader was deposed by their own party.

At first I thought "that's ridiculously flawed logic" then I realised it was posted by rusty.

English speaking ones you fuckhole. Jesus just shut up :oops:

I guess it's inevitable what a conversation with a Lib support degenerates into.

It's the most pure logic of all.

Don't you know 433? Only white people are capable of speaking English

That's right unholy unjust retarded accusations of xenophobia based on ridiculing an English written newspaper. Crazy bastards

White people? English? You're sounding very KKK

Wait...so what's this argument about?

Rusty thinks that the Jakarta Post, an award winning news paper should be disregarded because it comes from some 'backwater' where the population is 10 million.

Rusty isn't worth the time of day.

I'm not sure if rusty is a tacky troll like ozboy or a self-rightious, Alan Jones loving, middle-aged, right-wing nutjob like batfink.

Pretty much :lol:

Has no credibility :lol:

-PB

LOL....:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :-" :-" :-" :-" :-" :-" :-" :-({|= :-({|= :-({|= :-({|= :-({|= :-({|= :-({|=

i am not an Alan Jones fan, i am not a right wing nutjob.....Once again you are showing your ignorance and profound stupidity, but hey we all have come to expect that in here.

corrected for accuracy and correct grammar

lol....so we should all bend over for the Indonesians??? the minute they don't get their way and chuck a tanty, Oh please....get serious, how about we stop giving the kunts aid???

the attitude of the Indonesian government is beyond arrogant.=;

Abbott broke law with media shutout, say Indonesian journalists
Date
October 3, 2013 - 7:30AM

Michael Bachelard

Tony Abbott has incurred the wrath of Indonesia's journalists by excluding them from a press conference, and even committed a criminal offence, according to the head of the country's journalists' union.

Local journalists were incensed that, on the Australian Prime Minister's first official visit, he locked them out of his Tuesday morning press conference.


Ruffled feathers, at least among the media: Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie on arrival in Jakarta last Monday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Indonesian language newspaper Rakyat Merdeka spent a large part of page 10 of its Wednesday edition focused on the snub, saying it was discriminatory.

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“What's the use for him coming all the way to Indonesia if he only gives a press conference to Australian journalists?” the paper asked.

It reported the Australian embassy's press spokesman Ray Marcelo saying: “Sorry, this is the Prime Minister's Office request”.

Australian journalists were also told the press conference was only for them, and it meant Indonesian media were unable to put any questions to the visiting Prime Minister.

But Umar Idris, the head of the Jakarta chapter of the Alliance for Independent Journalists, said the actions of Mr Abbott — himself a former journalist — were not just discourteous, but criminal.

“The press law in Indonesia says it is a crime to limit journalists to get access to information. The penalty for that is two years' imprisonment,” Mr Umar said.

“We cannot accept whatever reason Australia gave for limiting access to information for Indonesian journalists.”

Mr Abbott's office did not respond to requests for an explanation.

Other than this, however, coverage in the Indonesian language press for the two-day visit was comprehensive, in some cases front-page and generally either straight or approving with a hint of surprise.

The tone was captured by secular newspaper Media Indonesia, whose front page announced on Tuesday that Mr Abbott “did not offend the sensitive issues that had arisen earlier”.

Kompas carried a front-page story on Tuesday entitled: “RI [Republic of Indonesia]-Australia Overcome Together”.

Islam-based newspaper Republika carried an artist's impression of Mr Abbott and the title: “Fight the illegal migrant”.

On inside pages the paper carried no fewer than four stories, including a 10-point introduction to Mr Abbott. The first point read: “Abbott limits immigrants and asylum seekers while in fact Abbott himself was an immigrant. He was born in London, England in 1957 and immigrated to Australia on 1960”.

The English-language Jakarta Post's headline, “Abbot [sic] respects RI sovereignty” would be something the Australian Prime Minister would have been happy to see, as it conveyed he was not someone to be afraid of.

The coverage on Wednesday was more muted and disparate. Koran Tempo quoted Trade Minister Andrew Robb in its story about Mr Abbott's comments to a business breakfast on investing, particularly in the cattle industry.

Mr Abbott will be pleased with the coverage, and hope his next visit is received so well. Assuming he escapes a prison sentence.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/abbott-broke-law-with-media-shutout-say-indonesian-journalists-20131002-2usnn.html#ixzz2gbV1vaoH

I can't wait to see where we're at in 2-3 years time.

-PB