Australia shrinks from boat people
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Australia is considering the drastic step of changing the legal status of Tasmania, the island state south of the mainland, to prevent boat people from landing there and claiming asylum.
Australia is considering the drastic step of changing the legal status of Tasmania, the island state south of the mainland, to prevent boat people from landing there and claiming asylum.
Last weekend, with the stroke of a pen, the government excised thousands of tiny islands off Australia's north coast from the country's migration zone. The move, which means people who reach the islands can no longer claim refugee status, was taken after ministers received intelligence about boatloads of asylum-seekers heading to Australia from Indonesia.
None has tried to reach Australia in the past six months, and the government is signalling it will take whatever measures are necessary – including lopping off bits of the country ad hoc – to keep out illegal immigrants.
Philip Ruddock, the Immigration Minister, said Tasmania could be removed from the migration zone. "If there is creditable information that there have been changes in the modus operandi of the smugglers, we are keeping our options open," he said. "We have taken decisions in relation to the areas we think are appropriate to excise from the migration zone. If there are changed circumstances, we will look at that."
Last year, as part of its crackdown on asylum-seekers from Afghanistan and the Middle East, the government changed the status of Christmas Island and Ashmore Reef, far-flung territories in the Indian Ocean that were popular drop-off points for people-smugglers. The move meant they no longer counted as Australia proper for immigration purposes.
The so-called Pacific solution, which involved diverting boat people bound for Australia to Pacific islands to be processed, appears to be unravelling. Rene Harris, the President of Nauru, which accepted more than 1,000 asylum-seekers, accused Australia of breaking a 30 May deadline for processing them. The Pacific solution, he said, had become "a Pacific nightmare for us".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments