The Best Comet McNaught Photo Taken in Australia

[Photo credit Antti Kemppainen]

If I was there I would have had tears in my eyes. Amazing.

There are no Terrorists in Australia

Oh dear. After giving Mamdouh Habib a vote of support yesterday (see here) Habib has given us his opening salvo in this article:

"...there are no terrorists in Australia, I believe."

Hmm... not to doubt his intimate knowledge of all twenty million people in Australia, I have to say it's an interesting belief he holds. I believe I sound better when singing in the shower.

It also raises the question - is a terrorist someone with the intent or someone who has actually commited an act of terrorism? Is Habib claiming he knows every Australian's intent? How would he know anyway - it's a topic he doesn't have any association with right?

Well now. What evidence do we have that there are or are not any terrorists in Australia. The Immigration Department holds a list of everyone in Australia. They should be able to tell if there are any acknowledged terrorists here.

What about terror attacks here in Australia? There has only been one - The Hilton Hotel bombing in 78. No one has been satisfactorily proven to have commited that attack. The one guy arrested twice for the crime (and acquitted both times) now lectures political science at Sydney Uni. Hmm... weird. I guess he's not a terrorist. Doubly so.

What about people who are planning the next attack here in Australia? Ah... here we run into trouble. Are they here? The Attourney-General will say yes. He has a very expensive security campaign to manage. What is its purpose if the terrorists aren't here?

In the end all we have here is some guy saying what he believes. Unfortunately he wants to be a pollie. Thanks for the opinion.

On Australia's terrorism watch list - and running for State Parliament

[Photo: Peter Rae]

I read in SMH today (see here) that Mamdouh Habib, former Guantanamo Bay detainee, is running for NSW Parliament in the upcoming March 2007 elections.

If Habib makes a serious run at it, I think this is an excellent way to move forward on issues such as the new terror laws, watch lists etc. Win or lose, this is the best way he can put himself under the public eye and let the people of NSW see him in as much detail as the ASIO monitoring squad that has invariably been following his every move since his return to Australia in January 2005.

Putting himself in the public eye as a political figure will do much to wash away a lot of the lingering 'smell' of terrorism that hangs over him in the eyes of much of the Australian public. He can speak out on the issues that affect him and be heard as a potential insider and change-maker, rather than a lone voice in the dark.

Habib will be running for the seat of Auburn as an independent. He will be challenging Labor MP Barbara Perry. Auburn is a relatively safe Labor seat but Habib's celebrity and local support may give him a fighting chance. This should make for a very interesting campaign.