Irony, your name is Australia

I read this in a Canadian newspaper just this moment:

Aussies plan prison ship

CAIRNS - Australia plans to use an armed prison ship to hold illegal fishermen and "boat people" in a move that critics say smacks of the county's convict origins.

Under the plan, naval and customs patrol boats will no longer have to return to port to deposit asylum seekers and poachers detained at sea.

Terry O'Gorman, the president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, called it "an immigration prision ship". He said: "It's a delicious historical irony that Australia was founded on convicts who were moved from prison bulks in the Thames. Now we are repeating history".

The vessel, which could be operating by January, would carry up to 30 armed customs officers and two deck-mounted machineguns. It would be able to hold up to 30 detainees for up to a month.

I had a large rant originally planned for this but in the end I thought "why bother". There is no point in trying as Australia already has a tarnished image from people overseas in regards to what we do with "boat people" and illegal immigrants. I just hope the rest of the world doesn't think all Australians agree with it.