I never thought that I would publicly say that the former Minister for Immigration Amanda Vanstone was a much more decent, compassionate and less-racist Minister than her successor Kevin Andrews.
On reflection, that would not be hard - given the recent, right-wing racist rantings of this hapless Minister.Kevin Andrews is such a sour-puss, he must suck a couple of lemons for breakfast every day.
Fresh from his recent debacle over his outrageous cancellation of Dr Mohamed Haneef's visa - a decision promptly overturned by the Federal Court of Australia - Kevin Andrews has now embarked on an unprincipled attack on Sudanese refugees to Australia.
Will this man ever stop?
He has cut the total intake of Sudanese refugees from a potential 50 percent of Australia's refugee intake to 30 percent - justifying it with all of his usual Ministerial clap-trap and his regular denial that he is racist.
Even the Brisbane Liberal MP Gary Hardgrave - recently cleared by the Australian Federal Police over allegations relating to the running of his electorate office - stupidly bought into the argument with his unsubstantiated assertion that his community was "exhausted" by the influx of African refugees and needed a break.Of course, that's right. It must be right if Gary Hardgrave says it's right. Why only yesterday, I drove through the leafy suburb of Moorooka deep in the heart of Gary Hardgrave's electorate and all I could see were white Australians lying over all the footpaths in total exhaustion screaming: "Save us Gary, save us".
If bullsh*t was made of electricity, Gary Hardgrave would be a walking powerhouse!
The way things are going, the people of Gary Hardgrave's southside electorate of Moreton won't have to put up with him much longer. Yes, Gary - there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the Sudanese and it is a train load of your voters coming the other way!
In southeast Queensland, there are some 6000 Sudanese in Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba. In the Ipswich suburb of Goodna, which is home to over 90 individual nationalities, the Sudanese have been welcomed by the community and have fitted in as model citizens. Embracing such a diverse, multicultural community is one of the hallmarks of the local Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale whose own family emigrated from Sicily over 50 years ago.
Coming back to Kevin Andrews.
Yes, Virginia - there is a racist in Australia and his name is Kevin Andrews, posing as the Minister for Immigration.
Come Christmas, he won't have much to do in Opposition. He may even be queueing up to receive his first dole cheque.
Yes, Virginia - there is a racist in Australia and his name is Kevin Andrews, posing as the Minister for Immigration.
Come Christmas, he won't have much to do in Opposition. He may even be queueing up to receive his first dole cheque.
And hopefully, the Honourable Kevin Andrews will be remembered as the last racist Immigration Minister Australia has ever had to endure.
