Dog whistling?

Federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott is reported as indicating that Jesus would understand if he turned asylum-seekers away from our shores. Alas, there's no statement on whether other deities would be as permissive.

Mr Abbott explained that -

Jesus didn't say yes to everyone.

Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it's not necessarily everyone's place to come to Australia.

I'm not sure about the implication: refugees should obligingly stay in Darfur and similar places on the basis that God wants them to be slaughtered?

Asked what Jesus would do on the issue of asylum-seekers, Mr Abbott reportedly replied -

Don't forget, Jesus drove the traders from the temple as well.

That may well be so, but sundry investment advisers, hedge fund managers, journalists and regulators might also be driven. And let's not forget legal academics while we're in purification mode!

Mr Abbott went on to say that -

This idea that Jesus would say to every person who wanted to come to Australia, 'Fine, the door's open', I just don't think is necessarily right.

(But) let's not verbal Jesus, he is not here to defend himself.

Perhaps he doesn't need to defend Himself when the leader of the Liberal Party is in action.

The comments are an illustration of fashion in invoking divine authority - or dog whistling for people who have anxieties about 'refugees' (ignoring the reality that illegal immigration overwhelmingly involves people from N Europe and N America who arrive via jet rather than a leaky boat) and are nostalgic for the likes of Joe Lyons. Notions of Christian charity are apparently not an issue when it's time for politicians to emote about "sealing" the borders.