Brynhild
04-18-2009, 02:13 AM
More boat people on the way: govt
It's been revealed that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) warned Prime Minister Kevin Rudd just weeks ago that the government's border protection laws are making Australia a magnet for people smuggling.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper says the warning came in secret intelligence briefings prepared by the AFP that were delivered to senior government ministers.
The AFP also expressed reservations last year as the Rudd government ended the Howard government's approach to border protection.
Federal Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus refused to release details of the AFP intelligence, the paper says.
In another development, authorities are believed to be tracking another boatload of asylum seekers en route to Australia.
Government sources told the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday that another boat had been under surveillance for about two days and would be intercepted once it entered Australian waters.
Meanwhile, two Indonesians who survived a blast on a boat carrying Afghan asylum seekers to Australia will be critical witnesses as police try to determine the cause.
News that the two survived came as Indonesian authorities said they'd arrested another boatload of Afghan migrants near Jakarta, seeking to sail illegally to Australia.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday labelled people smugglers "the scum of the earth" and said they deserved to "rot in hell" for their crimes.
As Mr Rudd stressed the need for Australia, Indonesia and other nations to cooperate to fight people smuggling, Northern Territory police leading the probe into Thursday's boat blast in Australian waters revealed two Indonesians were among those on board.
"Two people are Indonesian," said NT Police Assistant Commissioner Mark McAdie, who is leading the investigation into the incident.
Hospital officials said one Indonesian was being treated in Perth, and another in Darwin.
They were among 44 people who survived Thursday's blast, a day after their wooden boat was intercepted by the navy in Australian waters reportedly on an illegal voyage from Indonesia.
The explosion sank the vessel. Three of those aboard died and two remain missing.
Navy Lieutenant Commander Barry Learoyd, who on Friday addressed reporters about the mission to rescue the survivors, said others on the vessel said they were Afghanis.
He said all 49 people on the boat had been thrown into the sea and the crew of the navy vessels HMAS Albany and HMAS Childers had faced some "pretty horrific" scenes as they pulled injured survivors to safety.
"The scenes were pretty horrific," he told reporters in Darwin.
"We had a number of people injured and certainly there were a number of people who were deceased."
The boat had been intercepted by navy patrol boats near Ashmore Reef off the northwest coast of WA early on Wednesday.
Navy personnel gave the asylum seekers food and water.
A 'high threat' was called on the Childers, indicating that something was wrong, minutes before the explosion.
"We were told high threat was called and we were actually in the vicinity and close to Childers to support Childers," Lieutenant Commander Learoyd said.
At least five of those injured in Thursday's blast are on life support, and all 44 who survived are receiving medical care in Darwin, Perth or Broome.
Many have very serious burns.
Five navy personnel were luckier. They've been treated for minor injuries caused by the blast.
Mr McAdie, who is leading an investigation that also involves Australian Federal Police and West Australian police, told reporters every witness would be interviewed to determine what caused the blast.
That process began with interviews with defence personnel on Friday.
But he warned no findings would be made public until the coroner had completed an official coronial inquiry, adding that could take months.
"We expect this to be lengthy," he said.
The bodies of the three people killed were taken to Darwin aboard navy vessels on Friday. Mr McAdie said post-mortem examinations would be carried out on the weekend.
He said forensic officers had taken possession of clothing from injured asylum seekers being treated at Royal Darwin Hospital.
"(The officers) are looking for evidence of what happened on the boat," he said.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett on Thursday said he'd been advised that asylum seekers aboard the boat doused the vessel in fuel before the explosion.
The government has not confirmed that but has promised the investigation will look at all possibilities.
Mr Rudd on Friday promised the timely release of facts as they come to light.
"As each fact is determined and established we will make that public," he said. "But prior to that I do not intend to engage in speculation on what might or may not be the case."
Mr McAdie said the investigation would be difficult because "parts of the crime scene are in deep water at 250 metres".
"The starting point is to treat these deaths as suspicious deaths and since we have not spoken with any witnesses we have no insights into what happened," he said.
Mr McAdie confirmed the search for the two missing asylum seekers was continuing, adding: "We have grave fears for the two people".
He said there was debris in the water and a team had been sent to collect what they could before it disappeared.
Mr Rudd deflected opposition claims that his government's softer policies on immigration detention were to blame for a recent spike in illegal boat arrivals.
He said Australia was experiencing a "global phenomenon" of rising numbers of refugees fleeing nations affected by civil unrest and war, and stressed that international cooperation was vital.
"The ability for us to work effectively with Indonesia and Malaysia and a whole range of other countries, is as critical in this fight as anything else," he said.
"This is a fight on many fronts. It is a fight which we have been engaged in for some time and a fight which other countries around the world are equally engaged in with us."
His comments came as Indonesian authorities said they had arrested 68 Afghan migrants allegedly planning to sail to Australia.
The Afghans were apprehended without proper travel documents at a hotel at the beach resort of Anyer, near the capital Jakarta, on Friday.
"The 68 Afghan citizens will be picked up by immigration officials this afternoon (Saturday)," Cilegon district police chief Dwi Gunawan was quoted by the state-run Antara news agency. They planned to travel to Australia, he said.
However, a spokesman for Indonesia's immigration department told AAP the group's plans and intentions were still under investigation. He declined to comment further.
The leader of the 68 Afghan migrants told ABC's Lateline program many of the group began their journey from Afghanistan to Australia while John Howard was in power.
"They are saying that we love Australia, we want to come to Australia," asylum seekers spokesman Nur Abdul Hassan Hussaini told the ABC.
"All of them are from Afghanistan , refugees, they have travelled. They came from different countries here by boat, by car. They have spent two or three weeks in the jungle, living."
The group is asking to be transferred from the care of Indonesian immigration authorities into the care of the International Organisation for Migration .
Indonesia has long been a transit country for asylum seekers seeking to reach Australia, but has yet to specifically outlaw people smuggling, despite promising Australia it would do so.
Source (http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5506265/boat-people-way-govt/)
Well done, Kev. Change the border security restrictions, and this is exactly what we're going to get more of! :mad::mad::mad::mad:
It's been revealed that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) warned Prime Minister Kevin Rudd just weeks ago that the government's border protection laws are making Australia a magnet for people smuggling.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper says the warning came in secret intelligence briefings prepared by the AFP that were delivered to senior government ministers.
The AFP also expressed reservations last year as the Rudd government ended the Howard government's approach to border protection.
Federal Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus refused to release details of the AFP intelligence, the paper says.
In another development, authorities are believed to be tracking another boatload of asylum seekers en route to Australia.
Government sources told the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday that another boat had been under surveillance for about two days and would be intercepted once it entered Australian waters.
Meanwhile, two Indonesians who survived a blast on a boat carrying Afghan asylum seekers to Australia will be critical witnesses as police try to determine the cause.
News that the two survived came as Indonesian authorities said they'd arrested another boatload of Afghan migrants near Jakarta, seeking to sail illegally to Australia.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday labelled people smugglers "the scum of the earth" and said they deserved to "rot in hell" for their crimes.
As Mr Rudd stressed the need for Australia, Indonesia and other nations to cooperate to fight people smuggling, Northern Territory police leading the probe into Thursday's boat blast in Australian waters revealed two Indonesians were among those on board.
"Two people are Indonesian," said NT Police Assistant Commissioner Mark McAdie, who is leading the investigation into the incident.
Hospital officials said one Indonesian was being treated in Perth, and another in Darwin.
They were among 44 people who survived Thursday's blast, a day after their wooden boat was intercepted by the navy in Australian waters reportedly on an illegal voyage from Indonesia.
The explosion sank the vessel. Three of those aboard died and two remain missing.
Navy Lieutenant Commander Barry Learoyd, who on Friday addressed reporters about the mission to rescue the survivors, said others on the vessel said they were Afghanis.
He said all 49 people on the boat had been thrown into the sea and the crew of the navy vessels HMAS Albany and HMAS Childers had faced some "pretty horrific" scenes as they pulled injured survivors to safety.
"The scenes were pretty horrific," he told reporters in Darwin.
"We had a number of people injured and certainly there were a number of people who were deceased."
The boat had been intercepted by navy patrol boats near Ashmore Reef off the northwest coast of WA early on Wednesday.
Navy personnel gave the asylum seekers food and water.
A 'high threat' was called on the Childers, indicating that something was wrong, minutes before the explosion.
"We were told high threat was called and we were actually in the vicinity and close to Childers to support Childers," Lieutenant Commander Learoyd said.
At least five of those injured in Thursday's blast are on life support, and all 44 who survived are receiving medical care in Darwin, Perth or Broome.
Many have very serious burns.
Five navy personnel were luckier. They've been treated for minor injuries caused by the blast.
Mr McAdie, who is leading an investigation that also involves Australian Federal Police and West Australian police, told reporters every witness would be interviewed to determine what caused the blast.
That process began with interviews with defence personnel on Friday.
But he warned no findings would be made public until the coroner had completed an official coronial inquiry, adding that could take months.
"We expect this to be lengthy," he said.
The bodies of the three people killed were taken to Darwin aboard navy vessels on Friday. Mr McAdie said post-mortem examinations would be carried out on the weekend.
He said forensic officers had taken possession of clothing from injured asylum seekers being treated at Royal Darwin Hospital.
"(The officers) are looking for evidence of what happened on the boat," he said.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett on Thursday said he'd been advised that asylum seekers aboard the boat doused the vessel in fuel before the explosion.
The government has not confirmed that but has promised the investigation will look at all possibilities.
Mr Rudd on Friday promised the timely release of facts as they come to light.
"As each fact is determined and established we will make that public," he said. "But prior to that I do not intend to engage in speculation on what might or may not be the case."
Mr McAdie said the investigation would be difficult because "parts of the crime scene are in deep water at 250 metres".
"The starting point is to treat these deaths as suspicious deaths and since we have not spoken with any witnesses we have no insights into what happened," he said.
Mr McAdie confirmed the search for the two missing asylum seekers was continuing, adding: "We have grave fears for the two people".
He said there was debris in the water and a team had been sent to collect what they could before it disappeared.
Mr Rudd deflected opposition claims that his government's softer policies on immigration detention were to blame for a recent spike in illegal boat arrivals.
He said Australia was experiencing a "global phenomenon" of rising numbers of refugees fleeing nations affected by civil unrest and war, and stressed that international cooperation was vital.
"The ability for us to work effectively with Indonesia and Malaysia and a whole range of other countries, is as critical in this fight as anything else," he said.
"This is a fight on many fronts. It is a fight which we have been engaged in for some time and a fight which other countries around the world are equally engaged in with us."
His comments came as Indonesian authorities said they had arrested 68 Afghan migrants allegedly planning to sail to Australia.
The Afghans were apprehended without proper travel documents at a hotel at the beach resort of Anyer, near the capital Jakarta, on Friday.
"The 68 Afghan citizens will be picked up by immigration officials this afternoon (Saturday)," Cilegon district police chief Dwi Gunawan was quoted by the state-run Antara news agency. They planned to travel to Australia, he said.
However, a spokesman for Indonesia's immigration department told AAP the group's plans and intentions were still under investigation. He declined to comment further.
The leader of the 68 Afghan migrants told ABC's Lateline program many of the group began their journey from Afghanistan to Australia while John Howard was in power.
"They are saying that we love Australia, we want to come to Australia," asylum seekers spokesman Nur Abdul Hassan Hussaini told the ABC.
"All of them are from Afghanistan , refugees, they have travelled. They came from different countries here by boat, by car. They have spent two or three weeks in the jungle, living."
The group is asking to be transferred from the care of Indonesian immigration authorities into the care of the International Organisation for Migration .
Indonesia has long been a transit country for asylum seekers seeking to reach Australia, but has yet to specifically outlaw people smuggling, despite promising Australia it would do so.
Source (http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5506265/boat-people-way-govt/)
Well done, Kev. Change the border security restrictions, and this is exactly what we're going to get more of! :mad::mad::mad::mad: