The government is very visibly horrible to refugees (indeed their justifications of the ghastly internment camps have instilled xenophobic passion to such a degree that they're now compelled to tackle some vigilante outfit who are advertising for hands to repel boarders in our Northern waters) and its leader (John Howard) is loudly and stubbornly against a sustained and massive movement for some sort of symbolic sorry-saying reconciliation thingy (about which I'm sorry to say I can not get excited - I thought Keating had done a good job of that in his marvellous Redfern speech when he was PM, and never really expected anything to be very different after it, anyway) Still, if Australians are mostly for it [and I think they are, especially those who matter most in the deal], I don't see why Howard would so conspicuously oppose it if he didn't feel he'd be risking that portion of his constituency closest to Hansonite rightism, who have mostly not been enjoying the effects of his singularly neoliberal policies and have been seen sniffing around the odd independent (and some of 'em are odd indeed).
Our major parties seem to have decided the next election will be decided in the bush, and Labor has been keeping its gob tightly shut on the immigrants issue, if not the reconciliation business, on which they are firmly committed (for which I suppose we should be grateful; by and large, Labor has been so noncommittal after Keating, that even the social democratic proclivity for warm'n'fuzzy symbolism seemed to have deserted them).
I think One Nation might be up to a senator, mebbe even two, if Pauline shines in her moment of trial - which could matter in a hung senate, I suppose - but, outside Queensland, they're strictly friendless four-percenters, I reckon.
Not much else to say, really. Or at least I don't know enough to say it. Cath?
Cheers, Rob.
>[So, Australians, what's up with her & her party? And how much have
>mainstream politicians adopted her message?]
>
>Charges Against One Nation Leader
>CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- The One Nation Party, which has shaken
>Australia with its attacks on immigrants and Aborigines, is fighting for its
>life with its firebrand leader facing electoral fraud charges that could land
>her behind bars.
>
>Pauline Hanson is to appear July 31 on charges of electoral fraud,
>following a 21-month police investigation into allegations she fraudulently
>claimed One Nation had 500 members in 1997 -- a prerequisite for its
>registration as a political party.
>
>If convicted, Hanson faces up to 10 years in jail, which would amount to a
>death sentence for the party, said Margo Kingston, author of ``Off The
>Rails,'' a book about the One Nation leader ...