Asylum seeker boat intercepted amid offshore processing debate

Details

Created on Wednesday, 06 June 2012 13:41

Written by Editorial staff

A boat containing asylum seekers has been intercepted, making it the 44th since Tony Abbot rejected plans to consider offshore processing.

The opposition leader revealed earlier this year that he was opposed to offshore processing as a means of enhancing Australia's border protection, as many registered migration agents will be aware.

However, minister for immigration and citizenship Chris Bowen has said that the growing number of boatpeople being turned back is a direct result of Mr Abbott's failure to show support for the legislation.

Mr Bowen stressed that a significant difference can be seen in boat numbers over the past year, saying that an agreement with Malaysia has had a positive impact on reducing asylum seeker arrivals.

"In May 2011, after the Malaysia arrangement was announced, we had a total of six boat arrivals with 304 asylum seekers, as people knew there was no guarantee of resettlement in Australia," he commented.

This is in contrast to May this year, when 14 boats with 1,176 asylum seekers arrived in Australia.

Mr Bowen emphasised: "This shows that the Coalition's wrongheadedness on this issue is encouraging boats to come to our shores."

It has also been suggested that the legislation needs to be passed in order to prevent people dying at sea.

Speaking at the Institute of Public Affairs in Melbourne earlier this year, Mr Abbot identified a number of key immigration concerns.

He said that any immigration legislation needs to be "in Australia's national interest, not as a favour to anyone who would prefer to move to a rich country".

There was an acknowledgement that the majority of Australians are immigrants, or descendants of immigrants, which further emphasises the need for policy changes to be sustainable.

Mr Abbott criticised the previous government by saying that "moral vanity overcame judgment", with the authorities claiming victory for being more compassionate than their predecessors.

Not only did they close down a processing centre in Nauru, but also scrapped temporary protection visas and made provisions for the faster processing of asylum seekers.

Since then, the opposition leader claims there have been "nearly 300 illegal entry vessels and nearly 17,000 illegal arrivals by boat while the border protection budget has blown out by $4 billion".

Immigration minister Chris Bowen was keen to point out, however, that it is not possible to vote against legislation to stop boats and then complain when they arrive.