Is it the governments fault people are stuck in Beirut?

[happytrader]

Agree entirely, Happy. I am just so tired of people refusing to take responsibility for their own actions and then expecting the government and us as taxpayers to get them out of their predictable mess.

Julia

Thoroughly agree Happy and Julia, There are just too many children getting around in adult bodies looking around for pseudo mummies and daddies to make it better. Responsibility, whats that?

Cheers
Happytrader

 

[Prospector]

Hmm, have arrived back today from Sabah, a Malaysian state on Borneo. Perfectly safe, idyllic, beachfront resorts. Yet there is a DO NOT GO on the smarttraveller website!

So it isnt just a matter of saying the Govt says dont go - this time last year bombs in London, yet who would say dont go!

 

[twojacks28]

the fact is people if you go over there and ignore the warning signs because you think it wont happen to you then you are an idiot! why would you go to a place which is in the middle of a conflict? it frustrates me so much when people think that we will pay for there ticket home when they are the ignorant ones who went there in the first place!

 

[Happy]

the fact is people if you go over there and ignore the warning signs because you think it wont happen to you then you are an idiot! why would you go to a place which is in the middle of a conflict? it frustrates me so much when people think that we will pay for there ticket home when they are the ignorant ones who went there in the first place!

From ABC 24 Jul 2006

John Howard says the people returning to Australian have only goodwill towards the Government.
"I think some of the comments made last week by certain community leaders were totally unfair and totally unjustified, and completely over the top in their criticism of what the Australian Government was doing," Mr Howard said. ]

Well we did anyway.

 

[Rafa]

hmmm....

besides travelling locally... can't think of one place that is safe to travel...

I was in Portugal for the Europeans Championship (soccer) in 2004, month after the Madrid train bombings... plenty of travel advisories around...


heck... i pay my taxes, I am entitled to get rescued if things hit the fan!

Now... I am more than happy to not pay taxes and contribute to society... and then I will be more than happy to make my own way out of a mess...


ok... that was jest....


what i am getting at is... you guys are making a mountain out of a molehill.... calm down, take a few deep breaths and stop the whinging.... we are turning into a bunch of POMS here...! anyone would think we are living on the poverty line here... struggling to survive and have nothing to give...


As a general rule, i agree that everyone should take responsibility for their own actions.... however, i am happy to show some compassion and some humanity in this instance...


these people need our help to get out of a soup... they are visiting family and got caught up in a problem not of their making.... lets help them... nearly all of them had nothing but praise for the govt's efforts once they got back to Oz.... sure they might have been some complaints when that ferry was turned back... but now that they have had a time to think about, they recognise the govt did a good job... and are happy...

we should be happy too that they are back safe...




it seems the more we have, the more selfish we all become...

 

[Prospector]

the fact is people if you go over there and ignore the warning signs because you think it wont happen to you then you are an idiot! why would you go to a place which is in the middle of a conflict? it frustrates me so much when people think that we will pay for there ticket home when they are the ignorant ones who went there in the first place!

From what I heard today (assuming the media is correct : ) then the rescued people will be required to reimburse the government for their rescue.

And even if they werent required to pay, well, so what! I'm with Rafa here - we cannot dictate where our taxes are spent, I would prefer not to pay the huge medical expenses of people who smoke! We rescue stupid sailors who are ill equipped to sail around the world. These people were visiting their family - gosh, if you were in London when the bombs went off, or Bali, etc etc - wouldnt you expect the Government to lend a hand?

 

[The Mint Man]

Is it the governments fault people are stuck in Beirut?

theres nothing to discuss here IMO.
Simple answer is NO.

PS: and the poll agrees with me

 

[The Mint Man]

From what I heard today (assuming the media is correct : ) then the rescued people will be required to reimburse the government for their rescue.

got a link to this?
what I heared was - People that are Australians but have been living there may have to pay, the rest wont.

 

[Prospector]

I voted no on this but this doesnt mean that the Government shouldnt help out. Is it the Government's fault that people are hurt in car crashes yet they pay their cost in Public Hospitals? Is it the Government's fault that people smoke? Is it the Government's fault that people need education?

 

[Prospector]

got a link to this?
what I heared was - People that are Australians but have been living there may have to pay, the rest wont.

Nope - on the TV report. Channel 10.

 

[twojacks28]

I hear what your all saying but in a way this is different. we didnt know about london bombings before they happened. howevere this conflict in the middle east has been going on for ages and has recently become worse. What im not happy about is those that go over there during this period when they no there is conflict etc going on. I don't care about bali and london they are different situations.

 

[Rafa]

prospector is spot on... we bloody pay for a lot of idiots out there... and i don't beleive we should...!!! thats why mintman, the votes are in favour....

its not the govt's fault... but it doesnt me they shouldn't try to help...
but this is a humanitarian crisis...

far out, you only need to see the faces of the rescued as they arrived back in sydney, and hear their praise for australia to see that this is doing a world of good...


hope they don't meet any of you grumpy lot demanding their money back...

 

[visual]

prospector is spot on... we bloody pay for a lot of idiots out there... and i don't beleive we should...!!! thats why mintman, the votes are in favour....

its not the govt's fault... but it doesnt me they shouldn't try to help...
but this is a humanitarian crisis...

far out, you only need to see the faces of the rescued as they arrived back in sydney, and hear their praise for australia to see that this is doing a world of good...


hope they don't meet any of you grumpy lot demanding their money back...

Rafa and yet this is the puzzling part,they are all grateful,yet after the cronulla riots and at other times whenever even moderate muslims have been interviewed on television thay have always made clear their loyalty for Lebanon .And by the way this is the part I cant get past,the fact that they are telling us what we want to hear.Look I`ve no problems with the humanitarian aspect of the operation,but a lot of these people were residents of Lebanon with an Australian citizenship ,and frankly I feel as though they are using Australia`s generosity in their time of need.
A part of me wants to believe that they will now accept that they just have to mingle and trust people,Muslims Christian Jews who cares .

 

[Rafa]

Rafa and yet this is the puzzling part,they are all grateful,yet after the cronulla riots and at other times whenever even moderate muslims have been interviewed on television thay have always made clear their loyalty for Lebanon .And by the way this is the part I cant get past,the fact that they are telling us what we want to hear. Look I`ve no problems with the humanitarian aspect of the operation,but a lot of these people were residents of Lebanon with an Australian citizenship ,and frankly I feel as though they are using Australia`s generosity in their time of need.
A part of me wants to believe that they will now accept that they just have to mingle and trust people,Muslims Christian Jews who cares .

Yes, i know what you saying Visual...
I have similar doubts...

However, to me the reaction of the of the people at the airport is more indicative of me than the comments that were being circulated in the media prior to the rescue...

Its really hard to say whether the comments portrayed in the media (esp commercial media), regardless of what they are, are really representative of the general public... most of the time its just comments, without hearing the question the person commenting was asked in the first place... and blown out of all proportion!

Ones answer can vary significantly depending on the question asked...

Also, the media like beating up the Aus Govt... so off course they are going to look for controversial statements.... and times when they have stuffed up... Imagine if they didn't find a single person to complain about the delay in rescuing people... they would not have a story!

I don't trust commercial media at all....

That is why, to me the spontaneos responses for the returning folk said a lot more to me that the numerous media reports prior... They were asked clearly to critisise the Aust Govt at the airport... and not one of them did... !


To me, that suggests we have once again been suckered in by sensationalist media beat up!

 

[Happy]

Racism, second class citizenship, skin colour are trump cards often used to gag and intimidate.

Many fall for it and oblige.

 

[The Mint Man]

prospector is spot on... we bloody pay for a lot of idiots out there... and i don't beleive we should...!!! thats why mintman, the votes are in favour....

its not the govt's fault... but it doesnt me they shouldn't try to help...
but this is a humanitarian crisis...

far out, you only need to see the faces of the rescued as they arrived back in sydney, and hear their praise for australia to see that this is doing a world of good...


hope they don't meet any of you grumpy lot demanding their money back...

I hope that last comment (or the post in general) isnt directed towards Prospector or myself in particular.
If so I suggest you read our post (above) back again. We were just repeating what we had heared through media sources. They were not statements nor were they put accross as such.

 

[Rafa]

I hope that last comment (or the post in general) isnt directed towards Prospector or myself in particular.

Certainly wasn't directed Prospector...
dunno about you tho


Kidding... it was general statement... imagining the joy of being safely returned to Australia, being tempered by someone demanding they now pay up!


What my post said was that I agree that the govt shouldn’t be held responsible for the people who get themselves in trouble... but in this instance, i am happy for taxpayer dollars to be spent rescuing these people from what is an un-imaginable situation... mainly thru no fault of their own... something i would never want to be in!

As prospector rightly said, and i quote...

I voted no on this but this doesnt mean that the Government shouldnt help out. Is it the Government's fault that people are hurt in car crashes yet they pay their cost in Public Hospitals? Is it the Government's fault that people smoke? Is it the Government's fault that people need education?

 

[The Mint Man]

no probs.

What my post said was that I agree that the govt shouldn’t be held responsible for the people who get themselves in trouble... but in this instance, i am happy for taxpayer dollars to be spent rescuing these people from what is an un-imaginable situation... mainly thru no fault of their own... something i would never want to be in!

yah, I agree with that.

 

[Stan 101]

I see no problem with the government getting tourists to safety if it doesn't put other lives at risk. I think rightly that Australians on assignment in foreign countries should be transported to safety in times of trouble before all others, but for people heading to lands of uncertainty on their own free will should think themselves lucky they have been saved. There are no certainties in life; often it is unfair.

cheers,

 

[Julia]

We've all been discussing this in a completely objective and uninvolved way because we are not personally affected as far as I can see from reading this thread.

But then on tonight's news there was the heartbreaking sight of a woman being boarded onto a small rescue boat but there was no room for her children who were pictured (aged about 8 and 11) on the dock while she screamed from the boat. I don't know how this happened, but it appeared she would have boarded the boat expecting her children to follow, but then was told there was no room and the boat took off leaving the children behind.

So much personal tragedy, loss of life and horrific injuries while the political game players watch in comfort which is devoid of personal risk.

Julia