From The Campaign Trail

John Howard knows no limits in his shameless capacity to manipulate issues in an election year. This time it is his late-found concern for the sexual abuse of indigenous children. He cynically manoeuvres to leave the impression that those who do not support his paternalistic, authoritarian interventions are soft on child abuse. But why did it take him more than a decade to declare an emergency? For every day he has run Australia, indigenous life expectancy has been 17 years lower than other Australians. For every day of his Government, indigenous infant mortality has been three times higher and death rates for indigenous Australians twice as high, as most of Australia. The fact is that he has had an emergency in Aboriginal health and well being every day that he has held power, and every day he has failed to use that power. What is so special about THIS year that suddenly he declares a state of emergency?