Australia - a regional bully ?

It seems that the Australian government is determined to foist a refugee processing centre on our poor little neighbour - East Timor - despite clear and unequivocal signals that it would be unwelcome. Australia is the nine hundred pound Gorilla in the south Pacific and East Timor owes us plenty for our help in assisting it to break away from a cruel Indonesian occupation. As a result, Prime Minister Gusmao has to be careful how he phrases his comments on the proposal - but it is clear that the East Timor people think Australia is simply dumping it's problems on their doorstep. It seems that this issue boils down to a matter of pride on the part of Julia Gillard. Our Prime Minister has decided the centre will go to East Timor and she is prepared to use our Pacific power to bully the small nation into submission. It is also a matter of politics - and losing face to the opposition if she bends - and picks up the phone and speaks to a prime minister willing and waiting to provide these facilities. Nauru would welcome us with open arms. This other tiny country needs the jobs and money the centre would bring - and there are facilities already in place on that island. Pride and prejudice - and being stubborn - are not the way to run good government. Surely the voters of New South Wales delivered such a message as recently as last Saturday !