still no decision

Still no Australian news on whether Australia will attend the Durban II conference against racism or not. I think we should go. I think we are sophisticated enough to know the difference between malevolence and rhetoric. I think that our policy should not so closely mirror U.S. and Israeli policy on certain matters, far more than many other countries. I wrote to our foreign minister, Stephen Smith, stating my opinion, but I don't think the opinions of the voters in Australia matter much to the government. There is background on the conference in this post, about half way down.

Note: The Australian Jewish Democratic Society is urging attendance, pointing out that:

. . . only six of the 341 paragraphs on Durban 1 singled out Israel, while there was also a resolution stating that the Holocaust “must never be forgotten”.

Note: March 21, Middle East Reality Check has also put up a post on this.