Frazer would have to rate higher than Howard as, while he was a bit of a do nothing PM, he was very active and effective in human rights and global affairs after politics. Too bad he miss placed his trousers before the accolades came.

 

I agree Clinton would be a good pick, far from big noting his achievements, he is actually more open about his failures, in particular Rwanda.

Joe,

 

Circa 600,000 deaths (low estimate if wiki is to be believed) isnt a genocide? For reference modern day Armenia almost 100 years later only has a population of just over 3 million. 600,000 deaths is about 20% of the population of *modern* armenia.

My preference is for people who have actually had to back themselves to do the right thing in the face of a significant risk, as opposed to peddlers of influence on the behalf of others. That is not to disparage the assistance that Fraser was to international efforts to resolve the issues in South Africa and Zimbabwe (though he helped Mugabe into power which with the benefit of hindsight he might not have done), or the work he has done after leaving office, but he never had to make a decision to assist another nation that had the same sort of potentially disasterous consequences for Australia like Howard did with Timor. The closest he came was in facing down racist sentiment in Australia to allow the Vietnamese boat people to settle here. Not a bad effort but not a prize winner in my book.

Speaking of boat people, Rudd just gave the people who blew up their own boat a couple of months ago permanent residency.

The number of deaths or the percentage of the population that were killed is not important, it is the intent and methods of the ones doing the killing that determines if it is genocide.  There was a rebellion being put down, so there was legitimate reason for the military to attack in the area, the question is whether or not the military deliberately killed noncombatants and surrendering rebels, or used excessive force by the standards of the day.

 

That is where the controversy is.

Strange, the story I read said genuine refugees from that boat would be granted refugee status with the exception of any person found guilty of starting the fires would face the full weight of the law and then be deported.

Strange indeed, the story I read indicated that these queue-jumpers would take positions allocated under the Australian Refugee immigration system (around 13 000) and displace persons seeking visas by application who had not sought to flout our laws and had not transited through innumerable safe-havens to reach their destination of personal choice.

Brett.