Here’s a classic bit of Howard front-bench wisdom for you. 

The David Hicks story got an airing tonight on SBS World News, as part of which it was mentioned that Hicks has been moved to a single cell at the military prison in Guantanamo. 

However Attorney General Phillip Ruddock was at pains to point out that it was not solitary confinement. 

Apparently, according to Mr Ruddock, Hicks can engage in group activities and his cell even has access to natural light—“Including, in this case, a window,” Rudders declared mournfully. (He declares everything mournfully, of course.)

Including a window, eh? Unless this nirvana of a cell is missing a wall, or perhaps the roof, how else might it have access to natural light?

We are in the presence of genius, ladies and gentlemen.  Be humble.

Cameron, ever heard of a skylight? Take your blinkers off.

Well, I’m sure David would be thrilled to have a skylight.  It reminds me a bit of that chap in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, who is chained to a wall in a cell into which Brian is flung.  “Proper little jailer’s pet, you are,” this fellow says to Brian.  “I’ve been here twenty years, they only hung me right way up yesterday.”

And rest assured, peewee, that my blinkers are no bigger than those worn by our virtuous and noble politicians—Downer, Ruddock, the usual suspects—in leaving Hicks to the vagaries of so-called American military justice.  Regardless of his alleged crimes, does he not have rights as an Australian citizen? Even Martin Bryant had the right to a fair trial, however much anyone wanted to lynch him.

The treatment of David Hicks is yet another disgrace in a litany of them delivered to us in a decade of Howard’s Enlightenment.

Australia’s failure to protect its citizens abroad is just one indication of the rot that has crept into the critical foundation of this country.  Politicians who lie on a daily basis are another indicator.  The leaders of a little country like New Zealand have been standing up to one of the main bullies of the world, the USA, over the past 15 or so years, while our leaders have been cowering. 
How dare the USA hold one of our citizens without trial for 4 years!  And what gutlessness on the part of our “leaders” that they have allowed this to happen. The world now knows that Australian citizens can be thrown into prison outside of democratic process, to be subjected to torture if the captors so desire and they will be abandoned to their fate. 
What were voters thinking about when they failed to vote for a federal government made up of members from all parties, to ensure that there were checks and balances in the system?
Julia Gillard as PM and Kevin Rudd as Deputy would be a good team and they would present a new direction for the tired, scare-mongering federal government and would encourage new thinking and social direction.  I see a resemblance in character between Julia Gillard and Helen Clark, NZ PM e.g. they both call a spade a spade and wouldn’t defer to bullies.
Toss in a selection of small “L” Liberals and some Greens to keep Labor from veering too far left as previous Labor governments have done, and we would have a good system of government.  I agree with some Liberal policy e.g. the system of processing ‘illegal immigrants’ off-shore, providing the centres are open for inspection and the processes are transparent.  This system is preferable to the chaotic Labor open-door policy that we had a few years ago, when boat loads of people were being accepted into the country and onto the welfare system, with little evidence of sustainable policy in place.
If we don’t get a shot of enthusiasm for wide-ranging new direction soon, I fear for the future of Australia. When widespread rot gets into a house’s foundations, the house eventually falls.