The Coalition ‘never had a policy of towing boats back’, says Scott Morrison:
Morrison said the Coalition had “never had a policy of towing boats back to Indonesia” and blamed “misrepresentation over a long period of time” in the media for that impression.
Really? Then he hasn’t seen this on the Liberal webpage. It’s an interview Tony Abbott gave with with Steve Price back in 2011. Here is the transcript relating to towing back boats:
STEVE PRICE:
I notice the Opposition spokesman Michael Keenan last night on Sky talking again about towing boats back to Indonesia. Is that really a viable option?
TONY ABBOTT:
It’s happened before and…
STEVE PRICE:
Well, you did it what, 11 times in government?
TONY ABBOTT:
That’s my understanding…
STEVE PRICE:
I think 11 or seven, I might be wrong on the figure.
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, we didn’t make a big fanfare about it, Steve, because if you want to get things done in Indonesia you don’t in the process humiliate the Indonesian government and this is the difficulty with the Rudd-Gillard approach.
STEVE PRICE:
But how does boat towing work in practice?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, that’s the kind of operational question that would have to be worked out by the commander on the spot and I’m not going to set myself up as an expert, but what’s been done in the past can under the right conditions be done again in the future.
STEVE PRICE:
So you would intercept boats in international waters, check that they are seaworthy and try and either convince them to turn around and go back from where they came or attach a rope and tow them back?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well, as I said Steve, I’m not going to get into the precise operational details because that would be a matter for the commanders on the spot but it’s been done in the past, successfully done in the past and what was done in the past can be done again in the future.
It’s very difficult to blame media misrepresentation, don’t you think?
Either Scott Morrison is lying, forgetful, or just plain ignorant.
I wonder if his boss likes being contradicted?
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Café Whispers 
He’s all three. 🙀
Scott Moorrison is a disgrace he was constantly lying in opposition and misrepresenting what the Coalition could do in Government knowing full well that they would do little to stop refugees coming on boats and now he has been slapped down by the Indonesians he is back tracking.
Morrison is the biggest grub on the Liberals front bench and there is a lot of grubs there.
All of the above..but its ok it sunday and he will be in church absolving himself today ready for a new week as a reinvigorated total lying asswipe that he really is..
He’d make Heinrich Himmler look like a saint….. After all, they both share a Final Solution. Morrison is probably only sorry he can’t put Himmler’s into practice.
Mike – it’s most offensive comparing any one with Himmler.
Remember the very poor taste Nazi front cover of the Daily Telegraph during the Election showing Rudd and Co in German uniforms.
There is a solution and after recent trip to Indonesia which seemed to go quite
well a resolution will be found. This seems to be a very big problem for them as well.
While Scotty is in charge we can all engage in an activity called ‘spot the boat’ before he hides it!
yes your right himmler was a master of properganda this guys not that. If TPP gets past and thats why they put abbot in not turnbull or hocky (they wouldnt sign away national sovernty to corperations) thats why murdock suported him so heavly, everything they said will be moot our laws nd policys will be decided by whichever corperaton takes a intrest, picture corps as nobles and us as serfs an dour goverment as the local mayor and youll be close to what there planing on ratifying for anyone who is unaware of the tpp(trans-pacific partenership agreement) as its inocuously called go check it out before they pass it and are alowed to censor internet amoungst other things
Heres a link to what Ryan is talking about.
http://aftinet.org.au/cms/
“Like the top secret TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) agreement, the laws are rushed through and then implemented with a “but it’s the law”. A circular argument – we have no say in TPP agreement, there is no metagovernment, and the Agreement is not following the mandate of the people (if there is no consultation and if its top secret, there is no mandate). We can’t even start an antimarketing campaign against big companies involved in TPP because of the new ACCC act. Or a chalk on the sidewalk campaign. To hell with that. Let’s do it anyway. In our hundreds of thousands. In our millions. Are we revolting? Yes we’re revolting. And we’re getting better at it. And that’s got to be scary for Government and Corporate sector alike.”
http://laurelpapworth.com/laws-to-stop-customers-and-voters-from-doing-socialmedia-activism-campaigns-tpp/
Yes the TPP is a terrifying prospect, especially with the current Coalition government’s propensity for & love of secrecy with regard to its activities & how they will affect us, the people of Australia whom they seem to have little regard for. So it is even more terrifying when its senior ministers find nothing wrong in telling outright lies.
Scott Morrison has also specifically said, whilst in opposition, that they would “tow back the boats”. This was at a press conference in Nauru in early December 2012. Here is a link to an article which quotes a Sydney Morning Herald report.
http://www.zimbio.com/Sri+Lanka/articles/qypKGKRLCgy/Tow+back+policy+asylum+seeker+boats+apply
This article was written from a Sri Lankan perspective & I don’t know how to find the original SMH piece. Someone with better research abilities than I may be able to do so.
Morrison now claims he just said “turn back when safe to do so”. No, he did not just say that, he went further than that & no, he has NOT been misrepresented nor misconstrued nor misreported. You have to have a really great memory to be a liar of his magnitude.
He’s like a send up of himself. If that was the script of a uni-revue it would be rejected for being too simplistic.
Isn’t it telling that the right wingers to this day go on about Gillard’s lie that wasn’t and framed her whole Prime Ministership over it, yet these same people have ignored lie after lie from this current government, but right up there was the whole stop the boats promise and guarantee from Abbott and the Coalition over the last six years.
If they hold to their own standards, which of course the hypocrites wont, then the right wingers should be making regular posts from now until Abbott/Morrison is kicked out on how they lied about towing back the boats.
He’d make Himmler look like a saint. Or Hitler or Stalin or Pinochet or Pol Pot or Idi Amin or Mugabe. Spot on Mike.
The Liberals were in the media all day every day before the election. If they were being “misrepresented” they had ample opportunities (and then some) to correct the record. As usual they lied . Now they are lying about the lie. The Lieberals are a lying party of liars.
Poor old Motor Mouth, he tells so many lies he can’t remember which is which. On one hand he says towing back the boats was done in the past but now he tries to tell us poor ignorant tax payers it will be at the discretion of the commandment. Good morning Hitler.
and which commandment do you refer to there Mrs Bensted?
yajustgottalaugh 😉
Whatever happened to the Liberals’ Boatphone?
Could it be that they lied about THAT too?
9:16 and still not at the beach, or was that a lie?
Only 8:16 on the Sunshine Coast Mö 😉
Queensland – do try to catch up.
It’s already Tuesday here in Canberra. My god, we’re so far ahead of you people. 🙂
‘Tain’t going to happen Migs – we’ve got Noddy “Can’t Do’ Newman to contend with up here. We’re already back to 1982 😦
Perhaps you shouldn’t crow too much in Canberra though – doesn’t Abbott live there with a bunch of macho boys or something? He’ll have ya’ll back to 1952 in the blink of an eye…
hmmm.. no wonder he likes drones!
The sooner we can replace this rearwards thinking 1950’s lot with a positive forward thinking government the better. Good to see the media digging into their past rorts. Shame the media has been so one sided the past few years, however, what goes around, comes around, I hope!
Michael Keenan was Shadow Minister for Justice. His portfolio included border security. Apparently he thought they had a towback policy too.
Reith is unbelievable. ABC 24. MP’s according to them, should not have to tell the department what they do.
No such thing as clear rules.
Let have Reith on more. He just keeps on giving.
What Reith is dismissing, is the elephant in the room, Abbott thought it did not passed and returned the money, after seven years.
Did not realise that such a hued bill could be anything else but fraud. Yes, fraud committed by his son.
What the reality is, the petty picking on Gillard for the last three years, is coming back to haunt the Coalition.
Reith did voice one truth, while there is a vacuum, it will be filled.
Yes, while Abbott only addresses us, when he believes he has something to say, then take no questions, that vacuum will be filled.
Dunno about you guys but I wish the frigging alp would elect a leader at some point son. There are Holden opportunities going begging while also and shorten and doing Thor thing. Chris Bowen doing an ok job as a mouthpiece but I’m stuck by the absence of plibersek, Wong etc – people who are smart and articulate and not saying anything about jack! They have had their well earned month off post election, but get cracking! Just a one term conservative government!
So sorry about all the auto correct above
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joy cooper here is the smh article you referred to
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/towback-policy-to-apply-to-sri-lanka-20121205-2avw9.html
Peter Reith Now being classed as a Statesman, What a joke, Telephone cards mis used, SAS ex military being trained in Dubai to work on Australian Docks, which he denied and did not keep the bargain with them, John Howard said he did not know about it , Dogs at Midnight , Shades of Nazi Germany , and Now he is trying to Justify these phony travel expenses, Peter go and Loose yourself, ps is that better Mobius Ecko, lol
As for that four thousand gym equipment for his office. Who is picking up the four thousand dollar bill.
I believe there is a well appointed gym within a short distance of his office. There is definitely one, where he lodges for the night, at the police academy.
That is, if that is where he sleeps.
Maybe, he wants it in his plane. We do know that he cannot read, while in the air.
Well that can be the only reason why he did not read the Rares Judgment, while in the air , on the way to London.
He needs something to do, to fill in his time.
How much that is occurring in Bali, has not been put in place over the last twelve months, by government officials, under the guidance of Ms. Gillard, when she was PM. One of her proudest achievements, is the good work she did with China. including regular get together during the year.
One cannot change or do much in twenty days. That is how long we have had this government. Seems much longer.
Where did they development of a regional development bank come from?
Mr. Reith said this morning, one should not believe what one reads in the papers. Never a truer word said.
unfortunately they alp has been cripled over the last few years by its right wing faction they will delay it aslong as posible the alp would be alot more efective if they had a vote and split with the rightwing part becoming the anti labour party or the corporate rights party 😛
gillard and rudd were both amazing politicians the only reson it didnt apear more on surface but the underlying issue hasnt changed in ALP unfort they need to exise the boil that is the right of the ALP theres like 13 companys now that own 40% of the worlds wealth carious of those companys hold positions on most of the financial regulatory bodys ect so this under the counter coruption isnt uniqe to the ALP lol but if were ever to have a chance of determining our own policys it would be a good start to get rid of most of the members of the “rightwing” block of the ALP and its going to be hard enuff even if we did that
and sorry for geting off topic kinda, repeatedly heh all politicians lie a bit some more then others almost none dont atall, most ppl lie a little here and there even if its omiting a fact or puting aditional empisis on enuther to change the “Flavor” of the statement, the thing is usualy there smart enuff to come up with a new angle on it when challenged these guys arnt apparntly, im not 1 for encouraging patriotism but id feel safer if they were australian patriots and not economic patriots. Its maybe a bit much to expect the mad monk to be a patriot as he imigrated from england but many of the others were born here and are in there positions of affluence die to things like whittlams free education all the things there happily destroying after they got the benifits from them
Just a reminder, who has their nose in the trough, the most.
http://www.phonytonyabbott.com/blog/tony-abbott-loves-to-spend-taxpayers-money
and what we can claim. ………..
One of the first actions of this government, was to pull into the Department of Taxation, for being too hard on small business, whom they thought was cheating.
http://thehoopla.com.au/expenses-expenses-expenses/
I will have to ensure my daughter who works doe herself, doing books of small businesses, that she not forget to claim for attending her niece’s wedding.
Yes it is true, many of her clients and future possible clients also attended.
Definitely work related. What does one think?
All three. Like putting a fox in charge of the chook house. They lied about Charter of budget honesty and nearly everything since. I’m ashamed to be an Australian when we have these hollow and devoid of empathy jokers trying to inflict their poorly conceived recalcitrant ideologies on everyone else.
It will be with no joy for me to be right when we observe all the coalitions nasty policies eventually backfire with the community the main victim. This is a dangerous government and there contribution won’t be remembered kindly.
if what is being suggested about the TPP is true………farewell to the plain wrapper cigarettes!
and we continue to pay these people to lie and ruin our country, and each year they continue to cry poor us for all the hard work we do, aaahh we need more money and guess what, they give themselves an increase $ package, we are stuffed.
No cmt
ABBOTT HILTER
if what is being suggested about the TPP is true
Not only that, but imagine the kind of ‘free trade’ agreement tabot will strike with China? One of the main sticking points was China wanting to bring in their own workers under their own wage agreements. $2 a day used to be joked about.
The msm like to paint the stalemate in the talks as some kind of failure from Labor. The reality is, they are protecting our own conditions, which I am certain the libs will love to throw overboard.
Migs, yes there is plenty of examples of LNP MP’s talking about “Towing back the boats” 😯 My money is on “Lying” 😯
On a related issue “LNP trough snouting.” 😀
Cheers 😀
I have never read such a lot of nonsense as the above. Seems everyone is suffering from LPDS (Liberal Party Degeneration Syndrome). Find a bridge and get over it. You Labor idiots had your turn and created havoc. Now just keep quiet!!!
What Pam just like the Liberal supporters never got over Rudd winning and a woman PM, bitching and dummy spitting every single day across multiple platforms and hurling abuse?
Abbott and the Liberals are now in power and deserve every bit of scrutiny and criticism for broken promises, backflips and bad policies they engender, so methinks it’s you who needs to face that and get over they are not free from scrutiny nor do they get a free ride just because a rabid mindless right wing supporter says they do.
Your post also shows you must be really worried about just how bad this government is that you are asking for them not to be scrutinised or justifiably criticised.
How dare you patronize me and everyone else by telling me to be quiet, maybe you didn’t know but it’s my constitutional right to criticize any MP who behaves like an ahole, be they Liberal or Labor and in this instance the criticism levelled at Tone and his adult boys and girl is well and truly justified.
While you’re listening can you pass on a message to Tone for me? Tell him that their is a massive waste of taxpayers money by mp’s rorting their travel entitlements and as a taxpayer I want to see it cleaned up ASAP. I hope you can oblige.
The weirdest thing at the moment is that while Rudd (for all his faults) did exactly as he said he was going to do, and that is he hit the ground running. Everyone here in Canberra knew to keep working, but under Abbott people are just sitting around twiddling their thumbs – many complain that they’re run out of anything to do and are receiving absolutely zero direction from the incoming government. It’s been in the media about grants being left in limbo, and that’s only one government department.
bOb, stop being such a sooky sooky lala..drink a cup of dry cement and wash it down with whisky…harden up love!
yajustgottalaugh 😉
Oh dear, another condescending ….. (put in your own genital part).
sooky sooky lala ~ I never heard that one before, but you got me laughing.
May I inquire about your recipe of hardening up? you must have tried it yourself to have got you through the past 6 years.
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott said the arrival of asylum seekers by boat had dropped dramatically since the election of the Coalition government. – See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/asylum-seeker-boat-arrivals-are-slowing-tony-abbott-tells-sa-meeting/story-fn9hm1gu-1226742943842#sthash.i0cnjSea.dpuf
yajustgottalaugh 😉
Wrong Summo and I posted the figures, which you obviously deliberately ignored, showing there was a drop off of equal amount in the five weeks before the election.
Abbott hasn’t put anything in place yet except words, policy through parliament, no orders to Defence to tow back, no funding, etc. so how can he have reduced the numbers?
And how would you know because like the major incident on Manus the other day it’s all being kept secret?
All you are doing is taking Abbott’s, a confessed, proven serial liar and deceiver, word for it. Gullible doesn’t get close to describing that.
One should note, Morison has not made that trip to Indonesia yet.
I wonder why?
By the way he did get near the fire. Does this make him a hero. Noticed he gets women in the photo.
Would be better, talking to some of the victims.
Funny, the three with him, are spotless, no sign of smoke and grime.
Abbott, on the other hand, is dirty.
The face of the blond does not show any glee of being so close tot the hero.