Rudd on their hands

Rudd lied, now three people died:

Three people have been killed by an explosion on a boat carrying asylum seekers, Australian police have said.

Just a reminder here of the lies that Rudd took into the election about this:

'Mr Rudd said Labor would take asylum-seekers who had been rescued from leaky boats to Christmas Island, would turn back seaworthy vessels containing such people on the high seas, and would not lift the current intake of African refugees.

"You'd turn them back," he said of boats approaching Australia, emphasising that Labor believed in an "orderly immigration system" enforced by deterrence.

"You cannot have anything that is orderly if you allow people who do not have a lawful visa in this country to roam free," he said.

"That's why you need a detention system. I know that's politically contentious, but one follows from the other.

"Deterrence is effective through the detention system but also your preparedness to take appropriate action as the vessels approach Australian waters on the high seas."

And after he reneged on this, here is what we wrote to the Prime Minister in December:

"...there's a great chance there will be an influx of refugees this Summer because of these lax policies, and a significant chance some may drown on the voyage.

If this happens, you and your government will largely be responsible. If and when it does, please don't call it a 'tragic accident' - as all good O,H&S people know, there is no such thing as an unavoidable accident."

UPDATE: Sounds like casualties are likely to rise.