Boatpeople ‘not testing’ Labor rules
Paul Maley & Paige Taylor; 3/10/08
The first boatload of illegal migrants to be processed on Australian soil since Labor announced an overhaul of the mandatory detention system has arrived on Christmas Island. As the 14 men and women arrived for processing yesterday morning, Immigration Minister Chris Evans was busy hosing down suggestions the group’s arrival heralded the beginning of a fresh wave of unlawful arrivals. Senator Evans said the interception of a boat off Ashmore Reef, off Australia’s northwest coast, on Monday did not mean people smugglers were “testing the waters” following Labor’s changes. The changes were aimed at softening the treatment of detainees and asylum-seekers. “What we know is that there are thousands of people trying to find safe haven in countries around the world,” Senator Evans said. “The reality is we’ve been dealing with this for years.”
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24438769-5013404,00.html
Island wait for boat people
Yuko Narushima & Mark Metherell;3/10/08
The first boatload of people to be intercepted off Australia’s coast by the Rudd Government arrived at Christmas Island yesterday, but the lack of detail on the detainees has drawn accusations of secrecy from the Opposition. The navy detected a boat with 11 male passengers, one female passenger and two crewmen off Ashmore Reef on Monday. The group was transferred to Australia’s detention facility in the Indian Ocean by Customs. The Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, used the swift action dealing with the group to demonstrate the Government’s strong stance on border protection.
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/island-wait-for-boat-people/2008/10/02/1222651267632.html
Let’s not rush to judgment on latest boat arrivals
Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone’s initial response to the interception of 14 boatpeople near Ashmore Reef (”Arrivals prompt asylum warning”, 2/10) indicates she is taking the same low road travelled by her predecessors in government. She warns the Rudd Government to take a tough stand, raising fears of a fresh wave of asylum-seekers and refers to “an extraordinary rush to our borders via the open sea” which she (incorrectly) claims occurred before 2002. All this hysteria before we know anything about the circumstances of this small number of people she has already rushed to demonise. It could be Philip Ruddock talking.
See: http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/ theaustralian/comments/lets_not_rush_to_judgment_on_latest_boat_arrivals/
Tags: Australia, Migrants & Refugees