The recent revelations by Edward Snowden revealing that the Australia Government is spying on the Indonesian Government has been a hammer blow for the Abbott Government and for the mass surveillance program carried out by the USA.

Ironically it was the Labor Government who had entered into this spying venture with the USA but it is the incompetent Abbott who will pay the price.

Abbott’s refusal to apologise to the Indonesian President has meant that the Coalitions main election platform, “Stopping the Boats” is in shreds because. Indonesia’s foreign minister Marty Natalegawa responded  by saying all cooperation with Australia is off including on the issue of returning refugee boats to Indonesia.

This latest revelation follows the arrogant and stupid statement from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop that (in regard to turning refugee boats back to Indonesia) “Were not asking Indonesia for permission, were asking for their understanding”

Indonesia has understood very well that despite the Abbott Government repeating that Indonesia is our most important neighbor it is well down the list of our real friends like the Americans. They also notice that Abbott is fixated with two issues that are at odds with Indonesia’s best interest. That is preventing refugees passing through the region to Australia, and climate change denial which will result in rising sea levels and more typhoons and sea surges that will be devastating for small islands.

What Abbott does not understand or disregards is that the population of Indonesia will see his blank refusal to apologise as a deliberate insult to their President and therefor to their country. It is likely that this lack of nous by Abbott will set back Australia’s relationship with Indonesia for many years.

Abbott has also fallen out with the world view by supporting Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s war time atrocities against Tamils with a glib statement that things happen in wars. This phrase sounds very close to the phrase shit happens and is horrific in the context of mass murder and rape. 

Finally Abbott is moving backwards on climate change policy and at a crucial time in world negotiations has not even had a minister attend the latest round of talks. His actions are reprehensible to many especially as Australia currently chairs the UN Security Council and because Australia is one of the countries worst effected by climate change and is the largest per-capita emitter of greenhouse gas.

For Australia it signals a period of isolation from world affairs and from the critical discussions that shape the future of the Globe. While the previous government had attempted to expand Australia’s horizon the Liberal National Coalition is attempting to lock out the rest of the world.