DAVID HICKS'S 500,00 DOLLAR TRIP HOME

The Australian Government used $500,000 of taxpayer money to charter a luxurious Gulfstream jet to fly David Hicks from Cuba to Australia, where he will serve the rest of his prison term. All seven months of it!

The convicted terrorist, who trained to kill Australians with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, could not be flown on a commercial airliner, according to the Government:

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock yesterday confirmed the charter had cost "approximately" $500,000.

The Government has said it was not possible for Hicks to be sent home on a commercial flight, as the US would not allow him to transit through American air space or stop on US territory.

What utter hogwash. Commercial flights leave Havana for Europe every day, and this load of trash could be flown from Europe to Australia without coming within thousands of miles of the USA.