Desperation and death at Christmas Island. Picture: Channel Nine
The death toll rises by the hour; local people weep and hug one another as a woman slips beneath the waves; the Prime Minister, the navy, customs officials are accused of having blood on their hands.
In the wake of this unspeakable horror on Christmas Island – and how poignant a name at this time of the year – accusing fingers are being pointed everywhere.
They shouldn’t have come, say those who believe the asylum seekers should have remained in Iraq and Iran. The navy should have stopped the boat before it reached the treacherous rocks in wild seas, say others.
And then there is the woman at the top – Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Is it her fault…is her Labour Party’s ‘open door’ policy for asylum seekers the reason this group of between 80 and 100 desperate people headed for Australia to start a new and happy life?
Only a full inquiry will provide the answers and there is no doubt one will be called.
In the meantime we can only pause and reflect on the terror those people faced at the very end of their long journey. They could never have imaged that the freedom they longed for, freedom that was literally only a few meters away, would have ended in cries of terror as the rocks smashed their flimsy wooden boat to pieces and the waves engulfed them.
‘It is heart-stopping,’ said one resident as she watched people struggling in the wild sea. ‘It’s carnage, a terrible tragedy.
‘The sea is awash. None of us can get out to rescue them from the shore. It took a customs boat ages to get to them.’
Mr Simon Foster, an island resident, told the West Australian newspaper from a cliff overlooking the crash site that the boat was upside down in the sea and debris was scattered across the surface of the Indian Ocean.
‘It seems the boat crashed into jagged rocks below the cliffs as it tried to land at Flying Fish Cove.’
Mr Foster said the seas were as rough as he had seen in many months, and it was through the wild weather that the boat had attempted to land at Flying Fish Cove, the only landing point on the island for vessels.
‘There is so much stuff in the water that you can’t tell what is debris and what is people.
‘I have heard that a navy boat was cruising around picking people out of water but it it’s hard to tell what’s going on. I definitely would not want to be out in that water at the moment whether you were in the water or in a boat – it’s shocking out there’
Mr Kamar Ismaill, a local councillor, rushed to the cliff top and saw at least two or three bodies in the water.
‘We were throwing out ropes and lifejackets but no-one could grab on to the ropes.
‘I saw children hanging onto the side of the boat, just holding on.
‘There were others hanging on to rocks and what was left of the boat.
‘Wave after wave was coming in and it was very, very rough. The rocks were very jagged and it’s a very steep area around there.
‘It was just a horrible situation, just so sad.’
Hundreds of asylum seekers have made their way to Australia in the past year, most from Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka.
Peter at his computer, where he died 'at the helm'. Picture: Nate Smith
It’s hard to recall a week of such high emotion – first my dear mate, photographer Peter Carrette died, then all the New Zealand miners were declared dead while I was covering that story and finally came the amazingly good news that three young lads, missing at sea for an incredible 50 days have been found alive.
Who could be so cruel? Frodo baby koala that was blasted with a shotgun. Picture: Australia Zoo.
Outraged Australians have called for the person who shot a baby koala
up to 15 times to receive the same punishment.
The tiny animal, nicknamed Frodo, remains in a critical condition in
the late Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo after it was found riddled with
pellets beside its dead mother.
The joey – as baby koalas are called – received a fractured skull and
gun pellets were found scattered throughout her body, damaging her
intestines.
Vets at the zoo said it was touch and go whether Frodo, who was
blasted from a tree with a shotgun on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast,
north of Brisbane, will survive.
‘She’s in a critical condition, but if she can be stabilised she will
undergo further surgery to remove pellets and repair damage,’ said vet
Amber Gillett.
Miss Gillet said Frodo was receiving intravenous antibiotics, fluids
and pain relief, as well as blood transfusions.
‘We are stunned to see this kind of animal cruelty and cannot begin
to fathom why somebody would want to shoot a koala that poses no
threat to them.’
Mr Mark Townend, a senior officer with the RSPCA, said his
organisation would provide any help needed to search for the culprit
and bring cruelty charges.
‘I just can’t believe the ratbags we’ve had to deal with over the
past 12 months.
‘We’ve spent a lot of money on education about animal welfare. If
people don’t like animals why don’t they just leave them alone – they
don’t have to shoot them.’
Sickened Australians have taken their comments further, one writer to
a newspaper’s comment pages saying: ‘Shoot the idiot who did this 15
times. See how they like it.’
Anne of Brisbane said: ‘This is absolutely disgusting. Those poor
defenceless koalas. Whatever did they do wrong? There are some really
sick people around.’
One writer was determined to take the law into his own hands.
He said he was from that area and ‘if you, the perpetrator are
reading this, if I find you first I am going to ensure your “heroic”
act does not go unpunished. Mark my words, it’s a very small place up
here.’
Another commentator said: ‘Words cannot express…these people do not
deserve to live.’
Yet another wrote: ‘Speechless and disgusted at these people’s
actions. I can’t believe you are allowed to walk this earth with us.
Your day will come.’
Scores of people sent their good wishes to Frodo, saying they hoped
she would pull through.
* UPDATE: Surgeons have removed about half of the 15 pellets but admit that it’s ‘touch and go’ whether baby Frodo will survive.
The big fear is that she will succumb to lead poisoning. In the meantime, they are taking the pellets from her at the rate of a few at a time so as to not stress her.
Holiday or Business Accommodation - Take Photos Before any Dispute
Here’s a handy, if not pretty darn obvious, tip should you be confronted with the same stuff-up as me when booking your holiday or business hotel room online: take photographs of everything that moves!
