{"id":6804,"date":"2013-07-25T19:07:55","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T09:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=6804"},"modified":"2022-05-02T00:24:31","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T14:24:31","slug":"tomorrow-when-the-war-began-australias-national-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/tomorrow-when-the-war-began-australias-national-emergency\/","title":{"rendered":"Tomorrow when the war began: Australia’s ‘national emergency’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Noely Neate
\n<\/a>25 July 2013
\nSource: Yathink.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s not the movie, the wonderful\u00a0Tomorrow<\/em>\u00a0series written by John Marsden where Australia was invaded but we never knew or were told who invaded us.\u00a0 Today\u2019s coalition press conference was a bit like that – we are being invaded by a group of faceless people who we need to take military action against.<\/p>\n

After Julie Bishop\u2019s, Scott Morrison\u2019s and Mr Abbott\u2019s form in recent times regarding international relations with our neighbours we can only hope that much of this advice is invisible too and this plan never gets off the ground.\u00a0 Basically the scare-mongering and fear hyperbole has hit critical mass in this country.<\/p>\n

Many people I converse with regularly were shocked and horrified by the PNG solution PM Rudd tossed out on Friday. I was not the lone ranger there. \u00a0But what we saw this morning seriously put me in the Twilight Zone.\u00a0 Today Australians were basically informed that under the Coalition we would go to war against Asylum Seekers with \u201cOperation Sovereign Borders<\/strong>\u201d (Tony Abbott to put three-star commander in charge of military-led border protection campaign<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Since when was this country in state of \u201cnational emergency<\/strong>\u201d?\u00a0 I am sure there are an awful lot of nations in the world who really do know exactly what a national emergency is.\u00a0 What Australia is experiencing with an increase in asylum seeker boat arrivals. A humanitarian emergency maybe, but a National Emergency invoking fear – sorry, that suggestion is just reprehensible.<\/p>\n

\"Doctor-Who-Victory-of-the-Daleks-300\"<\/p>\n

If you did miss the press conference, I urge you to view it (is included on that link above) as Mr Abbott and Mr Morrison came complete with Retired Army Major-General Jim Molan to spruik the campaign \u00a0(I won\u2019t bother going into how inappropriate I feel it is that an ex-armed forces member is campaigning and lending authority to this press conference).<\/p>\n

Mr Morrison had a lovely power-point presentation to back up his \u201cmilitary-led mission\u201d points.\u00a0 It was so surreal I was envisioning Winston Churchill moving little ships and planes around on a war board with his long pointer – OK it was the scene from Doctor Who<\/em> but you get my drift ;-) – the whole scenario is that bizarre.<\/p>\n

Thankfully before we all started to build bomb shelters to save ourselves from the Coalition should they get in and have access to the military toys, General David Hurley tweeted:<\/p>\n

\n

Contrary to media reporting I have not provided advice or recommendations to the Coalition on asylum seeker issues.<\/p>\n

— General David Hurley (@DavidHurley_CDF) July 25, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n