K-Dudd: the heartless wonder

They part with their life savings and crowd on leaky boats to escape unimaginable horror. They come in greater numbers not through domestic policy failure but as economic collapse and bloody war devastates more of the developed world. From the state-sanctioned brutality of Burma, or caught in the still simmering civil war in Sri Lanka. They come from Afghanistan and Iraq, wars Australian troops participate in.

They set sail for Australia - the tired, the poor; these huddled masses yearning to breathe free - only to face further persecution if they get anywhere near our shores. We lock them up if they’re lucky enough to make the trip, or wipe our hands of them entirely if they fall short.

Presumably Rudd is aware of the barbaric conditions asylum-seekers face in Indonesian facilities. The Australian painted a particularly dismal picture over the weekend. Certainly the 78 Sri Lankans holed up aboard an Australian customs ship are aware of what they face - they’re smart enough not to get off.

Union leader Paul Howes has called on Rudd to show compassion on the issue: “He’s still the most popular Prime Minister ever I think he could change the debate,” he said.

He could. Just like he could have demonstrated real leadership on so many other debates; climate change, education, health, infrastructure, aboriginal living standards, same-sex partner rights … He chose not to.

To say Rudd has squandered the opportunity - with unprecedented public approval ratings and at least 12 months out from an election - is to let him off the hook. To say he turns his back on people in desperate need in search of political approval is almost flattering.

The real charge is much uglier: Rudd just doesn’t care enough; more “tough love” Liberal than sympathetic liberal.

Fair-minded Australians voted for this Prime Minister more in hope than anything. The poll numbers are, to borrow a term Rudd levels at alternative refugee policy, soft. They show approval for the rhetoric, not the reality. Kevin Rudd is a shell of the politician his supporters wish he was or think he is.

No vision. No conviction. No heart.

No hope.