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Compelling and telling reasons for a change of Government

That Mike Carlton has no time for the present Howard Government - and makes some telling points as why there ought to be change of government at next weekend's election - comes through loud and clear in his weekly column in the SMH:

"Of all reasons to be rid of this rancid Howard Government, surely its failure in national security matters must be foremost.

The record is appalling. We have had the grovelling to George Bush, which dragged us into the quagmire of Iraq on intelligence assessments which were hopelessly wrong at best and cynically confected at worst. Despite the assurances, this war has left us more exposed to terrorism, not less.

There was the AWB scandal, in which the Government blithely protested that it had not a clue about the $300 million in sanction-busting bribes to the Saddam Hussein regime. This at the very time ships and sailors were going into harm's way to enforce sanctions in the Persian Gulf.

Then on to the black farce of the Tampa affair and the so-called Pacific Solution, with traumatised children trapped behind the razor wire. More incredible still, Australian citizens and others with valid residency visas were also unlawfully banged up in detention centres.

Add to all this the cases of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib and, more recently, the disastrously bungled prosecution of Dr Mohamed Haneef.

The only possible conclusion is that, for all its sabre-rattling on national security, this is a government mired in incompetence, negligence and deceit.

Who do you trust, again?"

A sober reflection makes it hard to argue with Carlton's proposition.

Whilst reading Carlton's column don't forget to read his comments on Izhar Ul-Haque's story and Australia's "wonderful" ASIO.

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