Australian Politicians Blame Each Other as More Asylum Seekers Arrive

Australia’s major political parties are blaming each other after the arrival of three more boats carrying asylum seekers over the weekend.

The first boat with 15 passengers and one crew member was found near Ashmore Islands off the West Australian coast on Saturday 22^nd October.  Another boat carrying 79 passengers and two crew was found north of Christmas Island during the night of the 22^nd of October.  A third boat carrying 44 passengers and three crew was intercepted east of Christmas Island early on Sunday 23^rd of October.

All 138 people are being taken to Christmas Island for initial health and identity checks and to determine their reasons for travelling to Australia.

Both sides of Australian politics are accusing each other of helping people smugglers. Neither side will support the other's proposals for offshore processing of asylum seekers.  Both the Government and the Opposition want to see no asylum-seekers arriving to Australia by boat but can’t agree on where to send the asylum-seekers. The Government wants to use Malaysia for offshore processing.  The Opposition wants to use Nauru.

The Home Affairs Minister described the Opposition Leader as the "best friend" of people smugglers.

The Opposition Leader accused the Government of providing the people smugglers with their "business model".

The Home Affairs Minister also said he did not know how many more asylum-seekers could be housed in the Christmas Island detention centre before it was full.

With these recent boat arrivals, there have now been four boats of asylum seekers to arrive since the Australian Government had to put the Malaysia Plan on hold. Australia’s Immigration Department had warned that going back to onshore processing could lead up to 600 asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat every month.

With such intense political fighting over the issue in recent months, and as more boats arrive, Australia’s policies may get even tougher.

When the numbers of people trying to arrive by boat has increased in the past, government policies towards boat arrivals become tougher. In 2001 when numbers increased, the Howard Government began processing asylum-seekers in Nauru and Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. This policy lasted 7 years and the number of people arriving by boat dropped from 5,516 to 148. In 2007 when the Prime Minister changed from John Howard to Kevin Rudd policies got better towards asylum-seekers and more people came to Australia by boat. In 2010 when numbers got too high again and 6,879 arrived by boat, the government decided to be more tough towards asylum-seekers again. In 2011 to stop the boats the Gillard Government proposed the Malaysia Plan in which 800 asylum seekers arriving by boat would be sent to Malaysia for processing by the UN Refugee Agency.

Malaysia Plan Still an Option for Australia’s Government

The Australian Government’s plan to send asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat to Malaysia is still up in the air after debate on the law to allow offshore processing was delayed this morning because the Government did not have the votes.

The Government was going to introduce the law for debate today.  After it became clear that they would lose the vote, they held an emergency cabinet meeting and delayed the vote for a later date.

The politician with the deciding vote, Mr Crook, said last night that he would not support the changes.  He said that the new law could stop asylum seekers trying to get to Australia by boat but he was worried about how the asylum seekers, especially children, would be treated in Malaysia.

Malaysia has not signed the United Nation’s Refugee Convention.

But Mr Crook said that he would support the law changes proposed by the Opposition because these would allow offshore processing in countries which have signed the Refugee Convention – like Nauru.

Nauru has recently signed the Refugee Convention and the Opposition would like asylum seekers arriving by boat to be sent there instead of Malaysia.

The Opposition says that the offshore processing centre in Nauru was successful in protecting Australia’s borders and deterring people smuggling.

The system, often called the Pacific Solution, was implemented by the Opposition between 2001 and 2007.  The Leader of the Opposition says that Nauru is a “proven solution for offshore processing”.

Almost all Australian politicians support offshore processing at the moment, suggesting that the Government and the Opposition only need to agree on which country the asylum seekers arriving by boat will be sent.

The Government said this morning that they "remained committed" to the Malaysia swap deal.

Australia sticks to Malaysia plan

Prime Minister Ms. Julia Gillard and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced that the government would change the migration law after a High Court decision that put in doubt the Malaysian refugee swap deal and other forms of offshore processing.

Ms. Gillard said the amendments would simply restore the understanding of the Migration Act that existed prior to the High Court's decision. The processing of asylum-seekers in other countries would be allowed and the Government would have the power to decided where they should be sent.

Ms. Gillard says the Government is determined to continue to implement the agreement with Malaysia.

Under the Malaysian deal, Australia would send the next 800 asylum-seekers that arrive by boat to Malaysia in exchange for 4,000 processed and recognized refugees.

The government's advice remained that the Malaysian agreement would send a strong message to people-smugglers and deter asylum-seekers from making the dangerous sea journey by boat.

"That is why Malaysia, when we announced it, was the best option for smashing the people smugglers' business model. It remains the best option", Ms. Gillard says.

The government would also use the changes to send asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea.

The Government insists the new policy will fulfill Australia's obligations under the United Nations convention.

The proposed changes will be introduced to Australia's Parliament next week for approval.

Australia is currently detaining all asylum-seekers arriving by boat, including several hundred in a Centre on Christmas Island which has seen riots in recent months. 

Decision to send asylum-seekers to Malaysia will be made next week

The High Court of Australia met on 22 and 23 August to consider the lawfulness of the Australian Government’s plan to send 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia.

On August 8, refugee lawyers requested that the High Court prevent the Australian Government from sending the first group of 16 asylum-seekers to Malaysia under a deal that was made on 25 July to send 800 newly arriving boat people to Malaysia. In exchange Australia would accept 4,000 refugees registered with the UN in Malaysia over four years.

This week the High Court heard the legal arguments of refugee and government lawyers.

Refugee lawyers argue that Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen does not have the power to send asylum-seekers to Malaysia because Malaysia has not signed the UN Refugee Convention and therefore has no legal obligations to protect the asylum-seekers. The lawyers also argue that sending unaccompanied minors to Malaysia is not in their best interests.

Government lawyers say the agreement and declaration of Malaysia as a suitable destination is legal and does meet the obligations Australia has under the UN Refugee Convention. Australia's only obligation is to ensure protection of those with a well-founded fear of persecution.

Government lawyers told the court that Australia could declare a country a suitable place to send asylum-seekers regardless of whether it was a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention or have relevant domestic laws, which is consistent with the previous Government’s policy of sending asylum-seekers to Nauru.

After hearing both sides of the case, the High Court will deliver its verdict on Wednesday 31 August. Until then no asylum-seekers will be sent to Malaysia.

Five boats carrying 335 asylum-seekers, including 92 children of whom 39 are unaccompanied minors have arrived in Australia since the government signed the Malaysia deal on July 25.

Australian High Court delays transfer of asylum seekers

The transfer of the first 16 male asylum seekers due to be sent to Kuala Lumpur under Australia's swap deal with Malaysia has been delayed by the Australian High Court.

The High Court prevented the Australian government from transferring asylum-seekers to Malaysia on Monday morning, until the Court can determine how to implement the agreement lawfully and with respect to the rights of the asylum-seekers.

Refugee advocates argue that Malaysia, which has not signed the UN refugee convention, has a record of mistreating asylum-seekers and refugees. Refugee lawyer David Manne says his clients are "distressed and fearful" about facing persecution in Malaysia and want to remain in Australia.

Mr Manne said the main question for the High Court is whether Malaysia is the best country for people to be sent to. Particularly when the Government is considering sending unaccompanied children there.

Amnesty International's refugee spokesman Graham Thom says, "This deal is not punishing people smugglers, it is punishing children. The minister as their legal guardian is supposed to act in the best interest of unaccompanied children, not send them to face serious abuse in the slums of Kuala Lumpur."

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says the Government is prepared for protests and legal challenges but remains determined to see all the asylum-seekers sent to Malaysia, despite the High Court delaying the transfer.

Mr Bowen said he believed the Government was on “very strong legal grounds” with the policy and hoped that the delay would not give people smugglers time to distort the truth and tell asylum-seekers that they will not be sent to Malaysia.

"One of our arguments to the High Court is that people smugglers will spin this and lie about this and say this is some sort of green light. It's not," he said.

“Stopping people smugglers from selling the journey to Australia on leaky boats like the one which smashed against the rocks at Christmas Island last December remains important. I'm confident that when the High Court considers the case, the transfer will occur and the arrangement will be implemented.” He said.

A decision will be made by the Australian High Court in the next few weeks.