Greens move to bar 'racist, xenophobic' Trump from visiting Australia [View all]

"The Greens are moving to block Donald Trump from visiting Australia, claiming that his racist and xenophobic policies and opinions, and his contempt for the rule of law, ought to bar him from getting a visa.

"They want to amend Australia’s visa laws to give parliament the power to block any foreign leader from entering Australia on the grounds of character, saying their amendment has been designed with the US president in mind."

(snip)

"The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, told Guardian Australia this week that he wanted to use the first week of parliament of 2017 calling for a renegotiation of the Australia-US alliance, saying it no longer served the country’s interest.

"On Tuesday evening, the Greens senator Scott Ludlam launched a spirited attack on Trump in the Senate chamber, saying his behaviour and policies were “fascism in larval form” and calling for an immediate renegotiation of the alliance."

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/08/greens-move-to-bar-racist-xenophobic-trump-from-visiting-australia


I would guess the major parties will both reject this, but it's timely. For too long, Australia has given unquestioning support to every war engaged in by the United States, always on the understanding that, if we ever needed help, the Americans would be there for us.

Under President Trump, this no longer holds good, and perhaps it is high time that Australia began to look to its own defence. I think the Greens have got this one right, and I think many Australians will be in agreement. Only the sycophantic leaders of our major political parties are likely to scream in horror at the thought.

I doubt that Trump has any interest in visiting Australia – he's probably not too sure just where it is – but it should be made clear that he's not welcome.