Not that I like suggesting that discussion of petrol prices should not be our major concern, but perhaps this little revelation could be the subject of sustained investigation by some self-respecting journalists:
DOCUMENTS have revealed the department of former prime minister John Howard became involved in the Mohamed Haneef affair less than 48 hours after the Indian doctor was arrested in connection with a British terrorist attack last July.
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Documents obtained under freedom of information by Dr Haneef’s legal team indicate officers from the Prime Minister Department met to discuss options for handling the matter with counterparts from the Immigration and Foreign Affairs Departments on July 4. Dr Haneef was arrested on the evening of July 2.
But Dr Haneef’s team says it has still been denied access to documents revealing who was at the meeting, and to an options paper drawn up the next day, July 5.
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Mr Howard has denied any involvement in the handling of the Haneef investigation.
While his electorate might already have taken care of the job, the notion of responsible government needs to be reinstated in this country – and a thorough investigation of whether the Prime Minister’s Department considered it appropriate to politicise a terrorism allegation would be a good start.
