Asylum seeker boat carrying ten arrives

The government has defended its tough stand on asylum seekers as a move in the
national interest, rejecting the suggestion that anyone coming from a troubled
country should automatically be classed as a refugee.
That came after Border Protection Command intercepted yet another boat, which was
carrying eight suspected asylum seekers and two crew, the 39th to arrive so far this
year.
Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the government's move to suspend processing of
asylum applications from Sri Lankan and Afghan people for up to six months achieved
the right balance between Australia's commitment to the UN Refugee Convention and
the Australian people's interest.
"The government won't be backing away from the decision it has taken," he told
reporters in Perth on Saturday.
"There's some criticism been made that somehow because conditions in Sri Lanka and
Afghanistan may be difficult, therefore people will be found to be refugees. That is
a nonsense."
"The requirements of the refugees convention are that people face a real fear of
persecution, not that they come from a country where circumstances are difficult."
Senator Evans said improving circumstances in Sri Lanka, where the civil war had
ended, were leading to rejection of more asylum claims from Tamil people.
In Afghanistan the once-persecuted Hazara people were now experiencing better
conditions, he said.
Senator Evans said the change announced on Friday would not automatically halt the
flow of boats as there were many people in South-East Asia intent on coming to
Australia.
But he said more were likely to face rejection of their asylum claims, he said.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the government's plan was an election fix not a
solution.
"The test ... is will it stop the boats. Even the Labor party doesn't think that it
will stop the boats. People inside the government are admitting that they have lost
control of our borders," he told reporters in Albury, NSW.
"There is no likelihood of that flow slowing under these changes."
The boat intercepted on Friday evening was the first since the government announced
changed procedures for dealing with asylum seekers designed to deter the growing
influx of arrivals from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the nationality of those on the latest
vessel wasn't known.
But if they come from Sri Lanka or Afghanistan, they face an extended delay in
processing of their claims, plus greater likelihood of rejection.
The opposition said that vessel was also the 107th to arrive since Labor backed away
from the coalition's tough stance on dealing with asylum seekers.
The government's scheme continued to attract strong criticism with the Greens and
lawyers suggesting it could face a legal challenge.
Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the scheme breached
international law and could also transgress Australia's Racial Discrimination Act.
"It's clear that the federal government's suspension of processing Sri Lankan and
Afghan asylum claims is in breach of international law through the UN Refugee
Convention," she said.
Australian Lawyers Alliance director Greg Barns said the government's scheme to
freeze the legal process was offensive and reprehensible.
"It would be no surprise if the decision is challenged on the basis of it being
offensive to our principles of administrative law such as fairness and natural
justice," he said in a statement.
"It is a fundamental tenet of the Australian judicial system that our laws apply
irrespective of race or nationality and our constitution is based on prohibiting
such discrimination since 1967."