Navy intercepts two suspected asylum seeker boats
June 18, 2010 5:00PM

TWO suspected asylum seeker boats have been intercepted off northwest Western Australia.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said patrol boat HMAS Armidale, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, intercepted a vessel west of the Lacepede Islands.

The vessel was initially identified by a Dash 8 surveillance aircraft. Initial indications suggested it carried 26 passengers.

Mr O'Connor said patrol boat HMAS Wollongong, also operating under the control of Border Protection Command, intercepted the second vessel northwest of Christmas Island.

Initial indications suggest 48 passengers were on board.

Mr O'Connor said both groups would be transferred to Christmas Island for security, identity and health checks and determination of their reasons for travel.

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``While their nationalities are yet to be confirmed, if these asylum seekers are Sri Lankans or Afghans, the processing suspension introduced by the government on April 9, 2010 will apply,'' he said in a statement.

Asylum boat arrives undetected
NICK BUTTERLY CANBERRA,
June 23, 2010, 11:11 am


Border security agencies have been left red-faced again after another boat carrying asylum seekers managed to sail almost all the way into Christmas Island’s harbour without being detected.

Customs and the Navy scrambled into action this morning after a boat carrying about 50 people appeared just outside Flying Fish Cove – the main port of the island.

The boat is the latest in a series to arrive on the island without being spotted by Border Protection Command. It is the 72nd boat to be picked up in Australian waters this year.

Last month the Government was embarrassed when it claimed a boat had been "successfully intercepted" by Border Protection Command, only to have The West Australian reveal authorities only caught up with the vessel when it bumped into Flying Fish Cove jetty.

The Rudd Government is under increasing pressure in the polls over the issue of boat people and border security, with the Opposition claiming it was Labor's re-write of the rules surrounding protection for refugees that sparked this new flood of asylum seekers to Australia.

The Government recently imposed a ban on the processing of asylum visas for boat people from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, claiming conditions had changed in both countries that might mean they should no longer be given protection in Australia. Most boat people coming to Australia are from Sri Lanka or Afghanistan.

The Opposition says the visa ban is an attempt by the Government to stem the flow of asylum seekers ahead of the coming Federal election.

The Government is due to review the three-month ban on the processing of visas for Sri Lankans in the next few weeks, with some observers suggesting Labor will likely extend that ban.
The Government has imposed a six-month ban on the processing of visas for boat people from Afghanistan.

ooooOOoooohh. They'll be sorry.
I think Julia would have a bit of a temper if they cause her any trouble. (she's a red head and all red heads have fierce tempers. I'm sure it's a scientific fact! well it might be. isn't it?)
Lucky there's 96 of them. They might be able to hold their own.

GypsyDrifter said...

Asylum seeker boat calls 000

Updated 2 hours 54 minutes ago

A boat carrying 73 suspected asylum seekers has made a 000 emergency call off Christmas Island.

Police in Perth say the call was made late last night.

There are 77 people on board the boat; 73 are understood to be Afghan asylum seekers and the other four are crew members.

A person on the boat used a mobile phone to make the 000 call to alert authorities to the fact they had arrived in Australian waters.

The navy patrol vessel HMAS Wollongong intercepted the boat about 12 nautical miles off Christmas Island.

It is understood those on board will be taken to Christmas Island for processing.

It is the 74th boat carrying asylum seekers to arrive in Australian waters this year.

carrot head will probably order another sea container of fresh food for them, lucky buggers,,,,,,
Talked to a C I local 2 weeks ago , he said they ,(the locals) go without , as usual, .
Not a happy camper,

I figure it's because you like picking on the weakest.

"If the one hard commitment Gillard made proceeds, it will be hideously expensive. The Pacific Solution was estimated to have cost around $1b over five years. The Dili version won't be any cheaper. We're also forking out for eight new patrol boats to guard our north-western and northern waters.

Taxpayers will be wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on several thousand asylum seekers, to assuage the xenophobic instincts of a few swinging voters in marginal electorates.

From: www.crikey.com.au/2010/07/06/the-growing-cost-of-unedifying-asylum-seeker-policy/



Thanks xenophobic swinging marginals. Thanks a lot.

evlPanda said...

doggie said...
If thats acurate, we should concentrate on the blue part of that graph imo.

To be fair they are mostly very well off immigrants. Can you say "house prices"?

Its the racial violence that I was getting at more than anything.
Not sure how to tackle the problem, what sort of background checks do they do on these people?
I worked with an Iraq born mechanic a few years ago, nice bloke but it took a bit of time for him to assimilate. The way he talked to women was terrible. But he came around real quick, even has an Australian accent now.

You seem to have that one right wheelnut.

The que jumping "$12,000 to $15,000 per passage" illegal boat arrival people are probably the least deserving of our empathy and charity.

How any genuine refugee in a UN refugee camp could raise that sort of money is highly questionable. Then to arrive without identification of any kind makes it even more questionable.

Being resident in a UN refugee camp suggests safety from political persecution from without but not necessarily safe from criminal persecution from within.

If either is the case, how dare the UN make any suggestions as to how Australia should treat illegal boat arrivals.

We are a sovereign nation and that is to be kept sacrosanct as it is for all nations.

The UN is trying to reduce all nations to the lowest common denominator rather than raise the bar.

The East Timor proposal is a farce and will benfit none but the greedy and criminal people.

Very simple solution to the multi billion dollar problem. Shut down the Christmas Island facility. This will make it necessary for illegal boat arrivals have to happen on the Australian mainland. Then let it be known that the que jumpers will be immediatly repatriated the their declared country of origin and do it.

We have a humanitarian immigration policy in this country which no doubt is world's best practice. Get rid of political correctness and let it be known that those that want by pass the process will get no truck, boi truck, taxi or any sort of ride except for a plane trip back to where they say they came from.

Gizmo said...


If Australia went through similar checks on ALL incoming people it would certainly reduce the immigration into the country.

They do.
Exactly what i had - and that was 15 years ago.

Gizmo. If your son had trouble getting paper work together it seem fair to assume that the task would be even harder if you were avoiding getting your family shot or bombed at the same time. i'm pretty sure my paperwork wouldn't be up to date. it may be a little hard to get that second copy signed by the JP before the mall closed for your son but hey, i think they got it tougher in Afghanistan for eg.

Wheelnut.....

Which airport would you catch a commercial flight from?

This one perhaps.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6154280/Taliban-suicide-bomber-in-attack-at-Afghan-airport.html

Taliban suicide bomber in attack at Afghan airport
A Taliban suicide car bomber detonated his explosives outside a NATO military base at the international airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least one civilian, officials said on Tuesday.
(last sept)







or maybe the one just outside the city, you know, just a couple of blocks past this guy.





article.wn.com/view/2010/01/18/Taliban_militants_attack_Afghan_capital_12_killed_7/
(Jan this year)

Smedg.......at no stage did I say or imply my son had trouble getting his paperwork in order quite the contrary he did what all potential legal immigrants do he followed the correct legal process. He was interviewed on multiple occasions asked for extensive background information eg Mother/Father birth dates, occupations, addresses, previous work history amongst other info. All of which was checked if to be true and correct, it was. He got his green card and is working...legal immigrant.

Even in the most dire situation we can all supply that sort of information to be checked if not being able to access paperwork for some reason. A 'boat person' throwing their paperwork overboard prior to arriving in Australia then refusing to supply accurate truthful background information of themselves appear to have something to hide in my opinion.

I'm not suggesting that legitimate refugees are not deserving our help but lets make sure that they are in fact genuine.

Gizmo said...

I'm not suggesting that legitimate refugees are not deserving our help but lets make sure that they are in fact genuine.

Isn't that what the immigration department does? I didn't think anyone was accepted as a refugee otherwise. And some do get sent back as non-genuine... used to be about 10% under Howard but I hear it is growing to more like about 30% currently.

Smedg said...

Gizmo. If your son had trouble getting paper work together it seem fair to assume that the task would be even harder if you were avoiding getting your family shot or bombed at the same time. i'm pretty sure my paperwork wouldn't be up to date. it may be a little hard to get that second copy signed by the JP before the mall closed for your son but hey, i think they got it tougher in Afghanistan for eg.

Wheelnut.....

Which airport would you catch a commercial flight from?

This one perhaps.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6154280/Taliban-suicide-bomber-in-attack-at-Afghan-airport.html

Taliban suicide bomber in attack at Afghan airport
A Taliban suicide car bomber detonated his explosives outside a NATO military base at the international airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least one civilian, officials said on Tuesday.
(last sept)
or maybe the one just outside the city, you know, just a couple of blocks past this guy.

article.wn.com/view/2010/01/18/Taliban_militants_attack_Afghan_capital_12_killed_7/
(Jan this year)

And your point is???

I am not worried about boat people.

I am worried about the Mamby Pamby way ALL of our politicians and beaurocrats are dealing with the issue. One day, this way. Next day, the other way.

Why are we getting these "Border Security" shows on TV. They are trying to con us into believing they are doing a good and proper job. Bollocks!!!!

As for "50,00 people are here illegally already circumventing protocols rules policies etc - they are not even at risk of persecution in their home countries."

Yes they crap me off too for the drain they place on our economy as well as the lousy backpackers who lie about how much they earn here and the amount of tax they fraudulently claim in refunds.

Nobody arrives here by plane with out some sort of documents which can be checked and traced.

The boat people arrive with no documents at all. They have already sacrificed their life's savings or whatever to get here physically, so don't try to tell me they will not lie through their teeth to get themselves here politically.


"Cisco clearly you are intimate with this subject matter, " Not so.

What I do know is that if I am trying to cross the Malay/Thai border on a Friday and my Malay visa has expired, the stinking Malay Police will lock me up for the weekend unless I pay a bribe.

We play it by the rules in this country, fair and square, straight and true. Not so on the Asian sub continent. They play our rules against us.

If the boat people get a clear message that they will not gain entry to Aus by that method, they will stop arriving and the multi millions of dollars we waste on them can be better directed to helping them in their own country.

maxm said...

So what's your solution cisco? Return those fleeing murder/rape/oppression to the places where those acts can be perpetrated on them? Frankly, I think that's an incredibly appalling suggestion. People smuggling is illegal, sure. So your solution is don't worry about punishing the people smugglers - just send the people they've scalped off to face their worst nightmare. And all because they don't have the right paperwork?? How mean and small minded can you get?

I didn't say anything remotely like what you describe above.

What I am saying is "Stop the Boat Arrivals" and "Stop supporting the People smugglers."