“The arrival of the 20th boat since the Rudd Labor Government softened Australia’s border protection policies is further testimony to its utter failure to manage Australia’s migration strategy. The Government is clearly sending the wrong message to people smugglers”, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Dr Sharman Stone said today.
“With 77 people on board, the latest boat is the biggest group of asylum seekers to arrive since the Rudd Government was elected in November 2007. A staggering 782 unauthorised arrivals have now arrived since Mr Rudd softened Australia’s border protection policies in August 2008. We haven’t seen these numbers since 2001-2002.
“Millions of dollars have been paid to people smugglers to make the dangerous journey to Australia in leaky boats. Understandably, the Christmas Island community is saying it has had enough, as the new arrivals push up local prices for food and other essentials. Clearly the government’s mismanagement of the issue will lead to serious problems on the Island.
“Mr Rudd and his incompetent ministers refuse to acknowledge their role in creating the pull factors that have triggered this surge in arrivals. The Government’s budget has failed to put road blocks in front of people smugglers. Instead, it will spend the majority of the money allocated in the budget into improving our capacity to guide the boats to Christmas Island.
“Minister Bob Debus keeps repeating standard lines lauding the success of Australian officials to locate people smugglers. What he does not say is that these boats and their cargo look to be found by Australian officials so they can be taken to Christmas Island to lodge their asylum claims. It’s like lining up more ambulances at the bottom of the cliff,” Dr Stone said today.
“Continued softening of government policy results in more good news messages for the people smugglers as their queues of customers continues to climb. The Opposition calls upon the Government to immediately launch an independent inquiry into the relationship between the Rudd Government’s softened stance on border protection and the surge in people smuggling into Australia,” Dr Stone said.
Contact: Ann Duffield 0409 842 069