Australia defends ‘tough’ asylum-seeker policy
AUSTRALIA: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Sunday
defended her decision to send asylum-seekers arriving by boat to Pacific
islands, saying it was a “tough” policy but could save lives.
Canberra's plans to reopen shuttered camps on Papua New Guinea's
remote Manus Island and on Nauru have prompted criticism from rights
advocates who have described it as a backward step.
It also represents an about-face by the Labor Party which abandoned
the policy after winning power in 2007, after complaints people had
languished for years on the islands before being resettled in Australia
under the previous government. “Yes, this is tough policy. And I
understand for many people that it's hard for them, that it's
emotionally hard for them -- I've seen that written on the faces of some
of my Labor colleagues,” Gillard told Sky News.
“With respect, the feelings of me or any Labor member are a second
order issue, indeed a hundredth order issue, compared with saving lives
at sea.” Gillard could not say how long people would wait on Nauru or
Manus before being resettled, but admitted it could be for an “extended
period of time”. Australia has struggled to cope with a record influx of
boatpeople this year, many originally from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran
and Iraq who make their way to Australia via Asia.
The government hopes the prospect of years in detention on remote
Pacific islands will deter asylum-seekers from attempting the dangerous
sea voyage which has cost hundreds of lives over the past decade.
Rights activists have expressed alarm at the policy, saying it
appears discriminatory because asylum-seekers arriving by boat will be
processed offshore but those who come by plane will have their claims
processed in Australia. AFP |
