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.

Asylum-seeker deals for Malaysia and Papua New Guinea to be decided this week

This week the leaders of Australia and Papua New Guinea will meet to continue their discussions to reopen the Manus Island Detention centre.

In August, Australia made an agreement with PNG to reopen the detention centre on Manus Island for asylum-seekers who try to come to Australia by boat without valid visas.  The plan has been delayed after the Australian High Court decision that the Gillard Government's plan to process asylum-seekers in Malaysia was unlawful. The Government hopes to resume its offshore processing plans after the Australian parliament votes this Thursday on changes to the Migration laws so that asylum-seekers can be sent to Malaysia.

PNG's representative in Australia said that his government "is ready and willing to cooperate with Australia on any solutions through Manus processing centre".

Amnesty International and other refugee groups have criticized the plan to send asylum-seekers to Manus Island, saying that sending them to PNG is no different to sending them to Nauru. 

Another leading Australian organisation condemned conditions on Manus Island.  The Executive Director of the Australian Council for International Development stated that there was “overwhelming evidence” that people detained in Nauru and on Manus Island “suffered mental damage with self harm and suicide attempts a common occurrence, and an absence of trained counsellors and staff being able to cope.”  He also said that many of these asylum-seekers were still being treated for trauma and mental health issues following their detention.

An Australian lawyer who worked on Manus Island in 2008 said that conditions in the detention centre on Manus Island had been very hot, humid and cramped.  He said that “it would be pretty tough going” for asylum-seekers in the centre.

“During my travels around there I was told that people had tried to commit suicide by throwing themselves on power boxes, trying to electrocute themselves obviously in a state of hysteria or despair I should say.  […]  So obviously those people had quite enough and weren't prepared to continue on there. They're the sort of stories that I heard, again only hearsay from locals who observed these things they say”, he continued.

Meanwhile, the UN agency for refugees told parliament today that sending asylum-seekers to Malaysia is better for them than being detained in Australia. UNHCR Regional Representative Richard Towle has said that the conditions in the agreement between Australia and Malaysia mean that an asylum-seeker would be treated better there than they would in Australian detention. Australia’s policy of mandatory detention does not allow asylum-seekers to work or live in the community, which Malaysia would allow.

UNHCR’s support for the agreement with Malaysia is crucial ahead of Thursday’s parliamentary vote to make the Malaysia deal legal. No Australian Prime Minister has lost a vote on changes to the law in parliament for 80 years.

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. 

Australia to reopen Manus Island detention centre

Australia's High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea and Papua New Guinea's Foreign Affairs and Immigration minister signed a memorandum of understanding in Port Moresby on 19 August to reopen Manus Island detention centre for asylum seekers.

Under the deal, Australia will send newly arriving asylum-seekers to the Pacific nation for processing and will provide financial assistance to support the establishment and operations of the detention centre.

The memorandum says the establishment of an "assessment centre" will be a visible deterrent to people smugglers. It also says special arrangements will be made for "vulnerable cases, including unaccompanied minors".

Australian Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen says the signing of the MOU is an ''important development''. He also said the deal sent a clear message that countries in the region were working together "to ensure the integrity of our borders and undermine people smuggling networks".

The two countries will now work together on plans to establish the detention centre, however many of the details are still unclear, including how much it will cost and how many people the centre will hold. Mr Bowen said that the centre would take “several weeks” to be reopened but it would happen as soon as possible.

Manus Island is located near the equator, some 400 kilometers north of the Papua New Guinea`s mainland. The detention centre was used by the former government of Prime Minister John Howard until 2004, and became infamous for its appalling conditions. A number of asylum- seekers detained there attempted suicide in a desperate attempt to draw attention to their plight.

Human rights and refugee groups have criticized plans to reopen the Manus Island detention centre, Amnesty International Australia refugee spokesman Dr Graham Thom has said "in both cases (Malaysia and Papua New Guinea) Australia is outsourcing its humanitarian obligations to developing countries and worsening the trauma of refugees who have fled conflict, persecution and torture."

However, unlike Malaysia, where Australia also intends to send asylum-seekers, Papua New Guinea has signed the UN Refugee Convention.

Mr Bowen said that the signing of the memorandum of understanding commits both governments to treating detainees with dignity and respect in accordance with the United Nations convention on refugees, processing them as quickly as possible and at no cost to the Papua New Guinean government.

Australian treasurer Wayne Swan said the government was determined to break the people smuggling business model. "The message to the people smugglers and to all of those considering coming is that if they come here, they will be processed in another country.”

The signing of the document happened on the same day another boat of 71 asylum seekers was intercepted off the coast of Christmas Island.

Australia makes another regional asylum-seeker deal

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill confirmed that he has approved the re-opening of the Manus Island detention centre to accept asylum seekers from Australia.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says that the centre will be managed and paid for by the Australian Government. He says that the details of the arrangement, such as how many people will be sent to the island, are yet to be finalized. It is up to the Australian Government to determine how soon the centre can open.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says it will be at least several weeks before asylum seekers can be sent to Manus Island as facilities need to be upgraded.

The government has been under pressure to find a second regional offshore processing point, especially as the arrangement with Kuala Lumpur is limited to 800 asylum seekers and the High Court has challenged whether unaccompanied minors can be sent to the Malaysian country as it has not signed the UN convention to protect the rights of refugees.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says a memorandum of understanding will soon be signed on the Manus Island centre. Earlier she said the Government's Malaysian solution would continue despite Papua New Guinea's offer to house asylum seekers.

"We're determined to deliver the Malaysia arrangement and that is before the High Court now," she said.

Mr. Bowen says the arrangement to send asylum seekers to Manus Island for processing will complement the government's refugee swap deal with Malaysia.

He also gave a message for those asylum seekers who are thinking of coming to Australia: "You may be sent to Malaysia or Papua New Guinea, but you're not going to be processed in Australia.”