500px |The "Children Overboard" controversy of 2001. Australian Prime Minister John Howard says the refugees he falsely accused of throwing their children into the ocean deserve no apology because they did the next worst thing - "they irresponsibly sank the damn boat, which put their children in the water". The "children overboard" affair became a controversial focus in the 2001 federal election campaign, when the Prime Minister was roundly accused of cynically exploiting Australia's fears of illegal immigrants by demonising asylum-seekers. Mr Howard and senior ministers falsley claimed on the eve of the election that children had been thrown in the water to guarantee their rescue by the Australian navy.
350px |The "Children Overboard" controversy of 2001. Australian Prime Minister John Howard says the refugees he falsely accused of throwing their children into the ocean deserve no apology because they did the next worst thing - "they irresponsibly sank the damn boat, which put their children in the water". The "children overboard" affair became a controversial focus in the 2001 federal election campaign, when the Prime Minister was roundly accused of cynically exploiting Australia's fears of illegal immigrants by demonising asylum-seekers. Mr Howard and senior ministers falsely claimed on the eve of the election that children had been thrown in the water to guarantee their rescue by the Australian navy.
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