Industrial Relations-style Hostage Negotiations

Heard on Tuesday on ABC Am, Alexander Downer speaking about Australia's policy about terrorists (in the context of the kidanapping of Douglas Wood):

LEIGH SALES: Alexander Downer says Australia is willing to negotiate, but that certain principles will not be compromised.

ALEXANDER DOWNER: We're satisfied with the contingency plan we have, but of course there's no guarantee, not by a long shot that we'll be able to get Douglas Wood released, but we'll do everything we can, with two exceptions.

We won't be paying ransom and we won't be changing our policies. We're not subcontracting our foreign policy to terrorists and we're certainly not going to have the money of Australian taxpayers expropriated by terrorists.

No nationalist fervour, no flag -waving jingoistic patriotic slogans about freedom or liberty or self-determination, no, we have our pragmatic foreign minister speaking to the hostage takers as if they were recalcitrant unionists.