News In Briefs

It seems that nowadays we need only to look at what a politician won’t say to glean the truth of a situation. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is very excited about his new treaty with Indonesia, which may or may not be a security agreement. Or defensive pact. Well, whatever it is, it isn’t like the treaty Labor PM Paul Keating signed with them in 1995. But Alex isn’t quite sure why. When the issue of nuclear (sorry, new-kew-ler) agreements came up, he pleaded ignorance to the ABCs AM news program. Seems The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald are just beating up a non-issue. Fair enough, ‘Lex. Those two papers are known for their tabloid nonsense, scare-mongering, and news invention.

 The fact of it is that Australia wants to sell uranium to… well… anyone, really. Indonesia wants to buy some. Sweet! We can sell uranium to the world’s largest Islamic state as part of our treaty. After all, we have their word they won’t develop weapons. And if you can’t trust the Muslim governments of the world, then who can you trust? Expect to see less West Papuan refugees in illegal detention.