Refugee groups are demanding that the Immigration Minister Scott Morrison comes clean about the whereabouts of the asylum boat intercepted by the navy near Bathurst Island on New Year’s Day.
Reports on New Year’s Day said that an asylum boat with around 38 asylum seekers found 95 nautical miles north of Darwin had been boarded by navy personnel and was being escorted in a “westerly direction.”
“With reports of a second boat being found at Rote Island, we are quite concerned that the New Year’s Day asylum seekers have also become a victim of the government’s turn-around policy.
“Normally an asylum boat so close to Darwin would be expected to have docked in Darwin, but there have been no reports of its arrival,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
“The dangers of the turn-back policy cannot be overstated. The government is putting asylum seekers’ lives at risk.
“In 2001, three asylum seekers drowned trying to get to shore when an asylum boat turned back by the Howard government Australian navy beached itself 300 metres off Rote Island. The similarities with the recent reports of asylum boats at Rote Island are uncanny and extremely worrying that the government has resorted to such desperate measures.
“Turning back the boats didn’t work for John Howard; it won’t work for Tony Abbott.”
For more information contact: Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713
