Rita's ETA (or Out of the Frying Pan)

Posted on September 22, 2005 by andrewleigh

Poor Scott Parkin. First he’s deported by Aussie authorities for reasons unknown. Next, he gets an $11,000 bill from us for his stay in the Melbourne Assessment Prison, and his flight back to the US with some friendly AFP fellas. And today, he finds himself in the path of Hurricane Rita.

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3 Responses to Rita's ETA (or Out of the Frying Pan)

  1. Frank Golding says:
    September 23, 2005 at 12:01 pm

    The Australian Government has not charged Scott Parkin with a specific crime, but it has charged him $11,000 for the cost of his detention, the flight back to the US for himself and two Government escorts and their accommodation in Los Angeles. None of these costs was freely entered into by Parkin. Maybe Halliburton should pick up the tab. They stand to benefit because Parkin was giving unwanted publicity to their activities in the US and Iraq and in Australia where its operations include numerous Australian Defence projects, the Adelaide-to-Darwin railway and managing the Australian Grand Prix – news that was freely available anyway (Sydney Morning Herald, 1 March, 2005).

    Halliburton can afford to pick up the tab. The company employs more than 100,000 people in over 120 countries and its share price has tripled in the US since the Iraq invasion. They also pay a multi-million dollar pension to their former CEO, Dick Cheney, the American Vice-President and make extraordinary profits from their sometimes dubious operations in Iraq (The Guardian, July 22nd, 2004).

    Thank God I’m an Australian citizen and won’t be deported for discussing these facts – although Vivian Solon probably thought she was safe too.

  2. Sacha Blumen says:
    September 23, 2005 at 1:53 pm

    I find it astonishing that the Australian govt can deport someone without explaining why and then charge them for the expense. At the very least, this should be subject to some judicial review, even if it is done in private (don’t know how, but there must be a way).

    Is anyone else disturbed about this?!

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