People fleeing political persecution, war, and religious strife look for nations that will offer them a better life. Australia is one of those nations, and it is committed to offering humanitarian refuge to such people. Here is an article describing the preparation of a processing center for such refugees . But the back story is littered with incompetence, intransigence, and death. As a recent arrival in Australia, I can give only my flawed impression of the history, and of recent events. It is not a positive impression.
A large number of asylum-seekers are from Afghanistan and Iran, where danger, religious persecution and turmoil abound. Australia had committed to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that they would accept a significant number of at-risk refugees. The UNHCR process was time consuming. To circumvent this, years ago asylum-seekers started attempting to resettle in Australia by crossing the ocean on boats from Indonesia.
Relationships between Indonesia and Australia were perhaps not the best, so the Indonesians were doing little to stop this traffic. The previous government had put in place several measures to try to stem this human tide, not because Australia could not accept the volume of immigrants, but because the boat voyages were so dangerous. Processing stations for asylum-seekers were erected in neighboring nations, such as Nauru and Papua New Guinea. The Australian Navy would force boats to return to Indonesia, if safety permitted. There was a "no-advantage" situation: you could gain asylum in Australia no more quickly if you came by boat than if you went through the normal waiting period for a grant of asylum. With these measures, the boat traffic was reduced to a trickle.
However, life in the offshore processing centers was not pleasant. They are essentially on the equator, so the heat and humidity must have been stifling. There is an awareness that significant mental health problems arose.
The present government had flailed this "inhumane policy" as one of its campaign issues. Shortly after taking power (2008, I believe), the offshore processing centers were closed, and the effort to turn boats back was discontinued. The people-smugglers were back in business--including encouraging their "customers" to destroy their passports before being rescued. So who is really in danger in their home country, and who merely an opportunist?
To maximize profit, of course, people-smugglers board as many people per boat as possible. More than the boat can safely hold, to be sure. Between 2008 and this year, over one thousand people drowned attempting to reach Australia, which includes its far-flung possession Christmas Island.
Does the "inhumane policy" start to look a little less so?
The drownings also happened to come in large batches--so they were newsworthy. Late last year, the government's Immigration Minister recommended to the cabinet that the old policies be reinstated. However, the paper that was the basis for the new government's "more humane approach" was "substantially authored" by the current Prime Minister. So, not gonna happen. The drownings continued. The official tally of deaths since the Immigration Minister was rolled is 338.
A few months ago, the Government's embarrassment became unbearable. It appointed a three-member expert panel to decide what it itself was incapable of. Unsurprisingly, the panel recommended policies that had worked in the past. The offshore processing centers are now being reopened. Australia is increasing the number of refugees per year that it will accept. And once again there will be a "no-advantage" policy (although the expert panel balked at turning the boats back.)
Some people believe that even the restored "inhumane" measures won't work, because the Government has shown itself to be a "soft touch." Certainly, without interdiction at sea, it would seem so. However, there is a new countermeasure to naval interdiction. Reports are that the smugglers drill holes in their boats, and then cork them. When the Royal Australian Navy shows up, the corks are pulled, the boats start to sink, and no choice remains but to rescue them. Once again, however, the asylum-seekers will be delivered to the offshore centers.
Maybe. The first link said that the capacity of the Nauru center "will be 500 by September." And how many people have arrived by boat in 2012? Over eight thousand.
My prediction: more inhumanity, more death, and more government indecision. So sad for Australia.
You can read a statement by the Prime Minister here .
UPDATE: the deaths continue , new policy or no.
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