Fed: Greens call for PM apology over boat report

00-00-0000
Fed: Greens call for PM apology over boat report

CANBERRA, Feb 14 AAP - The Greens today demanded Prime Minister John Howard make apublic apology over claims that children were thrown overboard from a boat carrying asylumseekers.

"In October the prime minister said that it was hard to believe that refugees wouldthrow their children overboard," Greens Senator Bob Brown told journalists.

"This morning the Australian nation is finding it hard to understand that the primeminister of this country could throw the truth overboard.

"There will be a cloud over his office while ever he is in it."

Senator Brown said the question now was how Mr Howard could make amends to the Australian people.

"It must begin with an apology but after that I don't believe that the legitimacy ofhis office can be restored," he said.

Australian Democrats Leader Natasha Stott Despoja also said an apology was due.

"The public needs to know exactly what happened and how it happened," Senator Stott Despoja said.

Mr Howard tabled a report yesterday that found the government knew a month before lastyear's election that asylum seekers aboard an Australian-bound boat did not throw theirchildren overboard.

It found former Defence Minister Peter Reith was told four days after the incidentthat children had not been thrown from the boat, while the Department of the Prime Ministerand Cabinet was told a day earlier.

Mr Howard, Mr Reith and Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock all continued to speakof the alleged incident throughout the election campaign.

A Senate inquiry into the incident will examine the role of Commonwealth agencies andpersonnel, the flow of information about the incident to the federal government, and federalgovernment control and use of material such as videotapes.

Former Democrats leader Meg Lees said the government had basically won the electionbecause it had demonised asylum seekers.

"One wonders how this government can accept that they've actually won the election,"

Senator Lees said.

"In other countries you would have a lot of demand for a re-election."

But Liberal Senator Ian Campbell said the prime minister had acted on his best advice.

"The reality is the government dealt very clearly and very sensibly with the illegaldetention and the illegal immigrants in Australia," he said.

AAP so/daw/mjm/br

KEYWORD: BOAT GREENS