Howard overboard

by Jules Andrews

Mr Howard has landed head-first in water hotter and deeper than the Timor 
Sea. Spectacular allegations of cover-ups, forgetfulness, photo-doctoring 
and buck-passing have made this the most turbulent week of his reign.

How long will it take for Mr Howard and his Cabinet to confess there was a 
massive "children overboard" cover-up? After Brigadier Gary Bornholt 
alleged last week that Mr Reith's office was told on October 10 — just 
three days after the initial claims — that the incident never happened, 
all hell has broken loose.

Mr Howard's claims that he did not have full and timely knowledge of the 
facts seem increasingly ludicrous, as the number of witnesses coming 
forward to point the finger grows day by day.

Monday February 18

The first person in the dock before the Senate Committee last Monday was 
Jennifer Bryant, a first assistant secretary in the Department of Prime 
Minister and Cabinet.

Ms Bryant admitted to having a pre-election conversation with one of Mr 
Howard's senior advisors, Miles Jordana, discussing the veracity of the 
"children overboard" photos before the election.

However, when requested to give evidence last week she made no mention of 
the conversation. Her excuse to the Committee was that she had not 
remembered the conversation at the time she wrote up her statement.

Mr Howard admitted that Mr Jordana had received information from Mr Reith's 
office during the campaign, but "as those were simply unsubstantiated 
rumours, [Mr Jordana] did not raise the matter with me."

Tuesday February 19

Directly contradicting his statements of the day before, Mr Howard admitted 
that he "had" in fact been notified by Mr Reith prior to the election that 
their "thrown overboard" claims were doubtful.

This is also in contradiction of another statement made five days prior: 
"At no stage did he (Mr Reith) communicate to me that he had received 
advice that would contradict the veracity of the original advice [that 
children were thrown overboard]".

The next astounding claim published in the media was made by a Defence 
Department source saying that they were ordered "in no uncertain terms" to 
withhold photographs that would show the refugees' boat actually sinking, 
and doctor the photos in a way which would remove crucial identifying 
information.

"It had to come from the minister's office because it is standard procedure 
to include all information," he said.

Wednesday February 20

Air Force Chief, Air Marshal Angus Houston was the next senior figure to 
line up and shoot down the Howard/Reith conspiracy before the Senate 
Committee hearing, saying that he had "personally" told Mr Reith by phone 
about midday on November 8 the "thrown overboard" claims were not true.

We already know that Mr Reith spoke to Mr Howard about the issue on the 
phone that very night.

Thursday February 21

After refusing to speak publicly last week, declaring he first needed to 
seek legal advice, Peter Reith finally issued a statement on the affair. He 
did not deny that he had received information raising doubts about the 
photos.

But obviously attempting to save Howard's skin, Mr Reith denied in the 
statement that he had communicated that advice to the Prime Minister when 
he later spoke to him on the telephone that night.

But Mr Reith's kind gesture was too late! Mr Howard had already informed us 
that "whole discussion" he had with Mr Reith that night concerned "doubts" 
about the photos.

Later Mr Howard told Parliament: "My experience in relation to Peter Reith, 
and I say this unqualifiedly, is that I always found Peter Reith to be a 
man of great decency and honour."

Sunday February 24

At the height of the crisis last year, photos of a young sailor diving into 
the ocean to save one of the children "thrown overboard" were splashed 
across front pages.

Mr Howard declared the young sailor, 19-year-old Able Seaman Bosun's Mate 
Laura Whittle, a "hero", and he used the photos during the election 
campaign as "proof" of how evil the boat people were.

The crew of the "Adelaide" were banned from speaking of the incident, as 
were their families.

Now Ms Whittle's grandparents have come forward — despite the gag — to 
say she was extremely distressed that her actions were being exploited, and 
that the Government's claims were all lies.

Ms Whittle's grandfather, Basil Bingham, is furious, "She did not agree 
with them saying the kids were thrown in, only that the ship was sinking".

"I know what happened and if I met John Howard I would rub his nose in the 
mud."

An official inquiry found that Captain of the "Adelaide" Commander Norman 
Banks was aware of how the photos were being exploited and wanted to 
correct the information, but "he was advised not to".

Sunday February 24

It was revealed that the Immigration Department had detailed information 
about an Indonesian-based people-smuggler, Abu Quassey, but did not act on 
it until after the tragic deaths of 350 people aboard one of his boats.

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said his department had known about Mr 
Quassey for some time, but were unable to act due to differences between 
Australian and Indonesian laws.

Monday February 25

It's happening all over again!

The mass media, fresh from their outrage at being mislead by the PM and 
Cabinet over the refugee scandal, have launched straight back into scare 
tactics.

Reports in Monday's Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, warn 
that several thousand refugees stranded in Indonesia are poised to cross 
into Australia.

According to the papers, the boats will set sail when the monsoon season 
ends — soon.