Government's Brain Explosion

[Matilda]

This morning, at 9.17 a.m., it was announced in Canberra that tomorrow, members of the newly-christened Australian Border Force would be boarding public transport in Melbourne's CBD to check the IDs and visas of people going about their business

Since white Australians don't normally have visas, we assume the intended targets were non-white people, most likely those who looked Middle Eastern.

"Officers will be positioned at various locations around the city and will speak "with any individual we cross paths with", ABF regional commander for Victoria and Tasmania Don Smith said in a statement."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-28/border-force-to-check-visas-on-the-streets-of-melbourne/6732086

There followed an outburst on social media, with #Operation Fortitude (as it was cutely named) quickly trending.

Then came this:

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Took just a few hours for demonstrators to gather in Melbourne's Flinders Street (the main street) and block traffic, waving signs against this latest Abbott brain explosion.

And now, it seems, the government is having a rethink. Surprise – Australia isn't entirely made up of ugly racist xenophobes after all. It didn't go down too well for Abbott today.

What a bunch of pathetic Nazi wannabees, little boys trying to play in a grown-ups' world, waving their toy guns and trying to intimidate innocent people. The brainwave, no doubt, of Peter Dutton, aka the Talking Potato, Minister for Immigration. (And Border Control - let's not forget Border Control). Perfect job for an ex-cop.

So much for Operation Fuckup. These people get more juvenile and more desperate and ugly by the day.

[Kath1]

1. Thank you!

"These people get more juvenile and more desperate and ugly by the day."

They do here in the US, too.

[Matilda]

2. Something good came out of this.

Within hours of the announcement by the Australian Border Force that they would be joining Victoria Police in randomly stopping people and conducting identity and visa checks, in an exercise dubbed Operation Fortitude, Twitter had been used to mobilise protesters to converge on Flinders St. Police Station, blocking traffic in the street outside.

Six hapless ABF officials involved in the announcement were trapped inside a police booth at Flinders St. Station as it was surrounded by protesters and had to be rescued by cops.

The ABF hastened to lay the blame for its involvement at the feet of an unidentified "low level" official - as if. Minister Dutton, whose bright idea this probably was, was not available for comment. Of course he wasn't.

And congratulations are being given to Melburnians, who moved so quickly to shut down this idiotic and nasty exercise in racism.

Nice to know that Australian Border Farce's pathetic attempt to turn us into a police state rebounded on them (and on the Minister, who may, we hope, pay the price at the next election).

Australians aren't all as xenophobic as Abbott & Co. would like to believe.

I always enjoy seeing People Power at work.

[Mickju]

3. I Love Australia.

I lived in Brisbane 1975-1980. My friends there were some of the most brilliant people I've ever known. When Whitlam was deposed I went with my friends to King George Square to demonstrate. I traveled around and met many wonderful, intelligent people. It breaks my heart to see such a great country taken over by a bunch of right wing assholes. It is sad to see another country almost destroyed by the Murdoch Empire.

[SwissTony]

4. Any information on how much this stupid exercise cost?

God, Abbott really is an idiot.

[Matilda]

5. No references anywhere to the cost

Bet they're hoping nobody asks.

We do know that it cost $10 million to outfit the ABF, including "rebranding", uniforms, badges, etc.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/10-million-splurge-to-rename-australian-border-force-20150825-gj7rz2.html

I hope the Opposition will ask questions about it when Parliament resumes.