The Howard Years: why am I not surprised?

The Australian yesterday:

THREE of the biggest decisions of the Howard years - the GST, the intervention in East Timor and the Pacific solution - were decided with virtually no consultation with cabinet, it can be revealed for the first time.

A new television documentary, which is based on more than 20 hours of interviews with John Howard and 180 hours of interviews with key players in Australia and overseas, confirms how dominant the former prime minister was in running the affairs of the nation for almost 12 years.

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer reveals how one of the most controversial policies of the Howard years - the so-called Pacific solution under which asylum-seekers from Australia were moved to neighbouring island nations - was devised.

Mr Howard had told him: "Go and find someone who will take them."

Mr Downer said: "So I went back up to my office and got my staff together there and said: 'Well, now we are literally going to have to think up a country to send these people, that'll take them.'

Let us hope that the Australian Broadcasting Commission really has solidly tackled its subject. Time is well overdue for Australian citizens to hear more of the details of what was done in their name (though it is a certainty that all the usual suspects kept very quiet when in front of the cameras about their parts in the AWB scandal, just in case any documentary viewer actually recalls details of previous 'evidence' presented to Commissioner Cole).

Given that Howard stacked the ABC board with neo-con sympathizers during his almost eleven years in office, I expect that a genuine exposé is out of the question and what we will be treated to is a watered down version of events and reams of self-serving footage of the former prime minister.