Govt seeks more sites for asylum seekers

The federal government is actively seeking more mainland sites to house asylum
seekers due to overcrowding at the Christmas Island detention centre.
As Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Tuesday looked to regain the moral high ground on
asylum seekers, the government confirmed the first transfer of detainees to Leonora
in Western Australia would take place later this week.
But it also revealed that more mainland sites were likely to be commissioned to take
asylum seekers, mostly families, signalling it expected Christmas Island to remain
under pressure.
Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the detainee accommodation pressures on
Christmas Island required his department to investigate a range of private
properties around Australia as "potential additional temporary accommodation
options".
"This temporary, short-term accommodation will provide an alternative and more
suitable option to the use of motels or serviced apartments, for instance," Senator
Evans said.
About 30 families are set to be transferred later this week from Christmas Island to
Leonora, north of Kalgoorlie and about 800 kilometres northeast of Perth.
"My department has consulted stakeholders in a number of locations, including the
Shire of Leonora, and senior officials have had discussions with WA Department of
Premier and Cabinet on its talks with stakeholders," Senator Evans said.
Senior immigration department officials would continue to consult with the WA
government about possible alternative long-term sites for the detention of irregular
maritime arrivals, he said.
Leonora Shire Council president Jeffery Carter said immigration officials had
indicated that about 80 to 90 people would be transferred to the gold mining town.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett criticised the move, complaining about a lack
of consultation on the part of the federal government.
"I can't understand why it was handled in such a secretive manner. I don't see any
reason for that at all," Mr Barnett told ABC Radio.
The federal government on Tuesday also attempted to reclaim some of the moral high
ground on asylum seekers with Mr Rudd telling colleagues he would not be shifting to
the right on the issue.
"We will not be seeking to outflank the opposition on the right on either the
rhetoric or substance," Mr Rudd is understood to have told colleagues during a party
room meeting on Tuesday.
Five Labor MPs raised concerns during the meeting about a sense of fear in their
communities regarding asylum seekers.
Mr Rudd stressed Labor needed to approach the issue in a "balanced and fair" way.
"We're not going to be party to some fear campaign run by the Liberal Party in the
community about asylum seekers," he later said.
But the Australian Greens said the decision to house vulnerable women and children
in desert prisons was both "impractical and inhumane".