Refugee Update
Sep. 18th, 2014 10:33 amAccording to Immigration Minister Scott Morrison,despite harsh government policy, asylum seeker boats continue to leave Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka for Australia. Erm, I mean, twelve boats with 383 passengers have been turned back (or replaced by the orange lifeboats) since December, and another 45 boats have been stopped by other means. Minister Malcolm Turnbull acknowledges that many of those on board would have been genuine refugees. (An opinion piece in The Drum argues that if the turnarounds are effective, then deterrence is unnecessary.)
The cost of the government's weeks-long attempt to stop a boatload of Tamil asylum seekers arriving here during June and July totalled $12 million. The High Court challenge to the government's legal power to have imprisoned the asylum seekers goes ahead in October.
Also pricey: the $330,000 theatrette never used for Operation Sovereign Borders media briefings.
The cost of the government's weeks-long attempt to stop a boatload of Tamil asylum seekers arriving here during June and July totalled $12 million. The High Court challenge to the government's legal power to have imprisoned the asylum seekers goes ahead in October.
Also pricey: the $330,000 theatrette never used for Operation Sovereign Borders media briefings.