Asylum seekers 'could swamp Australia'

Australia could be "swamped" by asylum-seekers, the federal opposition warns, if
boat arrivals continue at their current rate.
The interception of a third vessel in a week has prompted the coalition to suggest
there is a risk that up to 10,000 asylum-seekers could start heading to Australia by
boat each year.
The Australian Greens accuse the opposition of dog-whistle politics.
"The unfortunate thing here is the Howard government did make some capital out of
dog-whistling on refugees seeking asylum in this country," Greens leader Bob Brown
told reporters on Sunday.
"The whistle now has to get a bit shriller and louder and I think that's a bad thing."
On Saturday evening a navy patrol boat intercepted a boat carrying 65 passengers and
three crew northwest of Ashmore Island.
It is the third boat to be intercepted in the past week.
One carrying 83 passengers and four crew was found on Friday night south of Ashmore
Island. Another carrying seven passengers was found in the same area on Monday.
The coalition claims the Rudd government has softened border protection, encouraging
people smugglers to send their human cargo to Australia.
Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone said people smugglers were using
Australia as a cash cow.
"At the rates we have seen over the last week, Australia could see between 8,000 to
10,000 unauthorised arrivals each year," Dr Stone said in a statement.
"These numbers would replace and completely swamp Australia's own refugee program.
The government denies it's soft on border protection.
A spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the successful
interceptions showed that the government's policies were working.
"The Rudd government has the most significant border protection regime in Australian
history," he said.
The coalition wants an inquiry into Australia's border protection laws.
"The message now, it's well-established in Indonesia, in Malaysia and up through to
places like Pakistan or the further western Middle East: come on down, you're going
to have a fairly trouble-free passage - that's if your boat doesn't go down," Dr
Stone told ABC radio.