Morrison climbs down in funeral row.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/16/3140131.htm



Morrison climbs down in funeral row

Updated 5 hours 12 minutes ago



Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison has admitted he was "insensitive" to question the cost of funerals as families mourned for those lost in the Christmas Island shipwreck tragedy yesterday.

The Opposition had attacked the Federal Government over its decision to fly 22 asylum seekers to Sydney for the funerals of eight people, including two babies, who died in the December shipwreck.

The Muslim and Christian burials were carried out in Sydney yesterday at the request of family members who live in Australia.

This morning, Mr Morrison conceded he had stepped over the line in the timing of his questions about the decision to hold the funerals in Sydney and his comments that relatives should not have been allowed to attend at taxpayers' expense.

"There is a time and a place ... if you step over the mark I think you have got to say so, and I'm prepared to do so," he told 2GB radio.

"Timing in terms of comments is very important ... the timing of my comments was insensitive and inappropriate."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott backed Mr Morrison's comments yesterday but shadow treasurer Joe Hockey was among those calling for more compassion to be shown.

This morning Mr Abbott praised Mr Morrison for acknowledging he went too far and denied the Liberal Party was split on the issue.

"Scott has shown a lot of guts this morning accepting that he might have gone a little bit too far yesterday," he said.

"I think it's very important that we have a tough border protection policy, but we will never depart from being humane. And I want to thank Scott for being man enough to accept that perhaps he did go a little bit too far yesterday.

"I don't believe that there is or was a divide in the Liberal Party position. We are totally united in wanting effective border protection," he added.

"I think the most humane thing you can do is put in place policies that stop the boats, and I invite the Government and the Prime Minister to reach up to the shelf, to take our border protection polices down and put them in place, that will make a difference, that's the main thing you can do."

This morning, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen launched a defence of the Government's decision to pay for the funerals, saying it would not have been fair to carry out the burials on Christmas Island.

He said relatives would have been unable to visit the gravesides of their loved ones if they had been buried on the island, and those in detention would not be likely to be able to go back there after their release.

"The alternative here was to say we will bury people at Christmas Island in the full knowledge that you will not be able to visit the grave because once you leave Christmas Island you are very unlikely to go back to it," he said.

"So we consulted, and the Federal Police consulted, with the families, and in those instances families said they have relatives in Sydney who can tend to the grave and that's where we would settle if we get to stay in Australia, so we agreed to that request."

He said the flight from Christmas Island cost about $300,000 but said the Government had struck the right balance between cost and compassion.

"I don't want to get into a political match with the opposition about funerals. I think it's disappointing that it's been politicised ... but I think we got the balance right," he said.

"A charter from Christmas Island will cost about $300,000 for this amount of people, but as I say the alternative is to be quite harsh.

"And to say you cannot attend the funeral of your loved ones - I don't think that is something that at the end of the day would be fair."

One Nation

Even One Nation's NSW president Richard Putral was seeking to distance himself from Mr Morrison's comments.

"That is not my viewpoint, and as the president of the One Nation Party in New South Wales, it is definitely not my stance," he said on ABC Radio this morning.

But Mr Bowen said an orphaned 10-year-old boy who was flown from Christmas Island to Sydney for his parents' funerals yesterday would be among those sent back to the island today.

Mr Bowen said he had rejected a request from the boy's cousin to look after him, but said the boy would be moved into the community soon.

"I've said that I will release the majority of the children into the community before June, and I will prioritise those who have been traumatised," he said.

"It's not as simple as saying we will drop them off in Sydney, there is a process to go through.

"We've been working with psychologists, the Red Cross, churches and charities.

"Every child who is in detention in Australia has been through a lot and we are moving them into the community but we do so with the appropriate care." Tweet