Refugee Boat Arrivals
Due to the Abbott government’s decision to call for a media blackout on reporting the arrival of boats carrying refugees it is important that we report the arrival of refugee boats any way.
Through out the election campaign I was disgusted by the fact that the arrival of a relatively small number of refugees arriving on Australian shores was made out once again to be such a big issue.
Even more disgusting is the Labour government’s plan to not settle any refugees who arrive by boat in Australia (this is continuing about the Coalition).
Because I don’t want to encourage people to look at website owned by the mainstream media I am going to republish the articles on this site. Maybe with slight editing to remove mainstream media bias and add my own.
[UPDATE]
Protesters stormed the Darwin offices of the Department Immigration and Citizenship after the shock deportation of six West Papuan refugees to Port Moresby.
The small group held placards and chanted “stop the deportations” before they entered the Cavanagh St office at lunch time today.
The group of Papuans including a woman and a 10-year-old child fled in a tinnie to Boigu Island in the Torres Strait on Tuesday.
The Department of Immigration has refused to answer any questions about them and has deported them to the Papua New Guinean capital within 48 hours.
They landed in the Papua New Guinean capital this morning.
Asylum seeker advocates fear they may be deported straight back to Indonesia as Papua New Guinea signed an extradition treaty with Indonesia in June, a month before Kevin Rudd announced Australia would process and resettle asylum seekers in the Pacific nation. ]
This one comes from a Murdoch publication published on September 25 2013.
SIX asylum seekers have cruised across the Torres Strait in a basic craft and another 19 intercepted off Darwin.
More than 500 people have arrived on 10 boats since the Coalition won the election with the latest arrivals kept quiet under a media blackout imposed by immigration minister Scott Morrison.
The six, believed to be a West Papuan family, were found on remote Boigu Island in Far North Queensland on Tuesday.
They were being taken by Customs officers to immigration detention and are expected to be sent to Manus Island or Nauru.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman warned the PNG Solution, struck by Kevin Rudd and adopted by Mr Morrison, would open a new asylum route in Australia’s north.
Just 4km separates southern PNG and the northern most Australian island in the Torres Strait.
Another vessel was intercepted off Darwin this week.
The 19 asylum seekers on board were taken to Darwin to be detained.
Both arrivals have come just a week after Mr Morrison imposed a blackout on the release of information about boat arrivals as part of the new government’s operation sovereign borders.
Mr Morrison said: “The Government provides details of SIEV arrivals as part of the OSB weekly briefing programme. The next briefing will be held early next week.”
Regular releases of boat arrivals under Labor have been replaced by a weekly briefing because Mr Morrison said it was crucial to the Coalition policies to stem boat arrivals.
Head of the operation Lieutenant General Angus Campbell said last week people smugglers had previously lied, saying their boats had reached Australia to attract future customers.