Turnbull rejects calls to dump Tuckey

Malcolm Turnbull has been accused of lacking morality and courage for failing to
repudiate renegade Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey over a suggestion that terrorists were
among asylum seekers heading for Australia.
As another two boats of suspected asylum seekers were being escorted to Christmas
Island, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called on the opposition leader to withdraw
preselection support for Mr Tuckey over the remarks.
Mr Tuckey on Thursday said there were "narrow odds" that terrorists were aboard
vessels being intercepted.
"If you wanted to get into Australia and you have bad intentions, what do you do?
You insert yourself in a crowd of a hundred for which there is great sympathy for
the other 99."
He later tried to step back from the comments, saying his point was to stress that
when large numbers of asylum seekers arrived by boat and without identity papers,
vigorous security checks were vital.
Mr Rudd said the opposition leader should distance himself from the remarks and from
Mr Tuckey.
"I think these are deeply divisive, disgusting remarks and they do not belong in any
mainstream political party," Mr Rudd said.
"Mr Turnbull should show some leadership and withdraw his support for Mr Tuckey's
preselection as a Liberal candidate for the next election.
"The member for O'Connor went out there today and effectively claimed that every
second or third boat arriving in Australia is carrying terrorists," he later told
parliament.
Mr Rudd said the opposition leader had chosen a course of action which displayed an
absolute lack of "courage and moral leadership".
But Mr Turnbull said Mr Rudd's calls to dump Mr Tuckey were about drawing attention
away from the "comprehensive failure of his border protection policies".
While he did not criticise Mr Tuckey, Mr Turnbull later rejected the assertion that
terrorists could be posing as asylum seekers.
"I reject any person, any statement, which suggests that asylum seekers are, or are
likely to be, terrorists. Full stop," he told parliament.
"The person with control over our borders at the moment is not the member for
O'Connor, it's not anyone in the opposition. It is the prime minister of Australia."
Deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop said Mr Rudd was an "absolute hypocrite" for
calling for Mr Tuckey to be dumped, pointing to a speech by Labor MP Michael Danby
in which he suggested terrorists could potentially threaten Australia's borders.
Mr Danby in June said loopholes in Australia's laws could be exploited by criminal
elements, including people smugglers and potential terrorists "who may want to evade
or subvert our border protection system".
"If Mr Rudd was genuine in his attacks on Malcolm Turnbull today, Mr Rudd would go
back to the parliament, he would disassociate himself from Michael Danby, he would
demand Michael Danby's disendorsement," Ms Bishop said.
The heated exchange came as two boats intercepted in the space of 24 hours, and
carrying 54 suspected asylum seekers, were being escorted to Christmas Island for
processing.
Thirty-five illegal entry vessels have arrived in Australia this year.
The Rudd government is also under pressure to confirm claims a boat intercepted at
the weekend, which has been sent back to Indonesia under a deal between Canberra and
Jakarta, had been sabotaged.
The boat, carrying 78 asylum seekers, reportedly had holes punched in its hull
before it was rescued by the Australian navy and those on board were offloaded to
the Customs vessel, the Oceanic Viking.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he had not received any advice the boat had been
sabotaged.
"When the people on board the Oceanic Viking have been safely ported in Indonesia,
then in the normal course of events, what will occur will be a review as to the
circumstances leading to this matter," he said.
"We have seen examples in the past of where people jump to conclusions about how
things may have occurred on the high seas," he said, referring to the Howard
government's claims that children had been thrown overboard from a boat carrying
asylum seekers.
Concerns about the availability of accommodation at Merak in Indonesia, where 255
Tamil asylum seekers are refusing to leave their boat, have seen the Oceanic Viking
diverted to the island of Tanjung Pinang.