Indonesia Phone Taps: Bob Carr and Labor Should Say Sorry First

Posted on Tue 11/19/2013 by PA Pundits - International

By Andrew Bolt ~

Stunning work from Bob Carr:

Former Foreign Minister Bob Carr last night called on Mr Abbott to apologise – despite the phone taps being alleged to have occurred under the former Labor Government.

Tony Abbott

Carr isn’t just acting like this alleged tapping of the phones of Indonesian politicians in August 2009 had nothing to do with Labor. He actually wants Abbott to implicitly confirm the spying allegation and rule out any such spying in future – even if it cou

ld be useful to our national interest. What next? Must Abbott rule out spying on every other head of state as well, including China’s and those of potentially hostile nations?

Carr is a dilettante.

Note also how Laurie Oakes last night on Channel 9 presented Carr as a commentator rather than, as I said last night, a man potentially complicit.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto at least shows the context and sense that so many Abbott haters commenting on this have lacked. In a television interview yesterday he pointed out the alleged spying occurred under Kevin Rudd’s government, and Abbott deserved time to respond.

If any politician needs media scrutiny for damaging our relationship with Indonesia it is Rudd, not Abbott.

UPDATE

Deep in a long interview on ABC Radio National, Fran Kelly finally gets around to asking Carr whether Labor should be apologising since this occurred on its watch. Carr brushes it off, saying he shouldn’t comment on intelligence gathering:

My focus has been on the way forward. How we get out of this.

Kelly promptly moves on. Much of the interview was taken with attacking Abbott’s “tone” in responding.

Then Kelly talks to Channel 10’s Paul Bongiorno who likewise prefers to to criticise Abbott, saying he should choose “a better form of words”.

Next Kelly interviews the Greens’ Scott Ludlum, who also attacks Tony Abbott, mocking him adopting a “foetal position” and restrict our spying.

UPDATE

Miranda Devine raises a very good point. Why didn’t the ABC and Guardian Australia report this spying story when Julia Gillard was Prime Minister? When Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister?

Why now?:

Andrew Bolt is a journalist and columnist writing for The Herald Sun in Melbourne Victoria Australia.

Andrew Bolt’s columns appear in Melbourne’s Herald Sun, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph and Adelaide’s Advertiser. He runs the most-read political blog in Australia and hosts Channel 10’s The Bolt Report each Sunday at 10am. He is also heard from Monday to Friday at 8am on the breakfast show of radio station MTR 1377, and his book Still Not Sorry remains very widely read.

Read more excellent articles from Andrew Bolt’s Blog . http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/