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| Down Under |
| Australia to send asylum-seekers to PNG |
| 2013-07-20 |
| Asylum-seekers arriving by boat will no longer be resettled in Australia but will go to Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced. Australia has seen a sharp rise in the number of asylum-seekers arriving by boat in recent months. Following the news, rioting reportedly broke out at an asylum centre in Nauru. It was unclear if there was a link. The cause of the disturbance, involving 150 detainees, had not been established, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) added. Mr Rudd had said the "hard-line decision" was taken to ensure border security. It was also aimed at dissuading people from making the dangerous journey to Australia by boat. "Our country has had enough of people-smugglers exploiting asylum-seekers and seeing them drown on the high seas," he said. The deal - called the Regional Settlement Arrangement - was signed by the Australian and PNG leaders on Friday. Mr Rudd, who ousted Julia Gillard as Labor Party leader amid dismal polling figures last month, made the announcement in Brisbane flanked by PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. "From now on, any asylum-seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as a refugee," Mr Rudd said. Under the agreement, new arrivals will be sent to PNG - which is a signatory to the United Nations Refugees Convention - for assessment and settled there if found to be a refugee. To accommodate the new arrivals, an offshore processing centre in PNG's Manus island will be significantly expanded to hold up to 3,000 people. No cap has been placed on the number of people Australia can send to PNG, Mr Rudd said. "The new arrangements will allow Australia to help more people who are genuinely in need and help prevent people smugglers from abusing our system." The rules would apply to all those arriving in Australia by boat from today, Immigration Minister Tony Burke said. In return, Australia is to channel aid to PNG, including to a major regional hospital and the university sector, The Australian reported. No costs were disclosed in connection with the deal. Boat arrivals have soared in the past 18 months, with most asylum seekers coming from Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. They make their way to Indonesia and from there head to Christmas Island, the closest part of Australian territory to Java. They travel in boats that are often over-crowded and poorly-maintained. Several have sunk in recent months, killing passengers. Last year, the Australian government reintroduced a controversial policy under which people arriving by boat in Australia are sent to camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea for processing. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 I dunno. Good for Australia, but "Send him to...PNG!" just doesn't resonate like "Send him to... Detroit!" Although the idea of {derogatory Australian slur redacted} ending up on a island with wild pigs and headhunters is rather heartwarming. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2013-07-20 22:18 |
| #2 Cuba, Skidmark. Then it's a two-fer... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2013-07-20 13:31 |
| #1 Great idea, just great! We should send our repeat Mexican 'asylum-seekers' to PR or Haiti instead of flying them deeper into Mexico. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2013-07-20 12:55 |