Australia seals agreement to reroute asylum-seekers to Papua New Guinea
- 9 years ago
Originally published on July 19, 2013
Reuters reports: "Australia announced tough new measures to stem a dramatic increase in refugee boats from Indonesia on Friday, with a new deal to send all boat arrivals to Papua New Guinea (PNG) for assessment and eventual settlement.
"Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also said Indonesia was poised to toughen visa arrangements for people from Iran, a major source country of those trying to make it to Australia by boat, by ending arrangements for Iranians to get visas on arrival there.
"'From now on, any asylum seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugees,' Rudd told reporters, adding anyone assessed to be a refugee would be permanently settled in PNG.
"More than 15,000 asylum seekers have arrived by boat in Australian territory this year, igniting a heated debate on refugee policy and prompting opposition accusations that the ruling Labor government is soft on border protection.
"Australian elections are due within weeks and Rudd, who has revived Labor's support, needs to take tough action on asylum seekers to have a chance of winning key seats in western Sydney, where anger at the boat arrivals is a major issue.
"Since 2001, about 1,000 people have died while trying to reach Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island on unseaworthy boats. As many as 200 died when a boat sank off the coast of East Java in December 2011, while 50 were killed when their boat crashed into rocks at Christmas Island in December 2010."
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Reuters reports: "Australia announced tough new measures to stem a dramatic increase in refugee boats from Indonesia on Friday, with a new deal to send all boat arrivals to Papua New Guinea (PNG) for assessment and eventual settlement.
"Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also said Indonesia was poised to toughen visa arrangements for people from Iran, a major source country of those trying to make it to Australia by boat, by ending arrangements for Iranians to get visas on arrival there.
"'From now on, any asylum seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugees,' Rudd told reporters, adding anyone assessed to be a refugee would be permanently settled in PNG.
"More than 15,000 asylum seekers have arrived by boat in Australian territory this year, igniting a heated debate on refugee policy and prompting opposition accusations that the ruling Labor government is soft on border protection.
"Australian elections are due within weeks and Rudd, who has revived Labor's support, needs to take tough action on asylum seekers to have a chance of winning key seats in western Sydney, where anger at the boat arrivals is a major issue.
"Since 2001, about 1,000 people have died while trying to reach Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island on unseaworthy boats. As many as 200 died when a boat sank off the coast of East Java in December 2011, while 50 were killed when their boat crashed into rocks at Christmas Island in December 2010."
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