114网址导航Australia blocks second immigrant ship | Daily Mail Online
Australia blocks second immigrant shipAustralia intercepted a boat carrying about 200 asylum seekers off the country's northwest coast and put them on a troop ship already carrying hundreds of other asylum seekers bound for Papua New Guinea.Prime Minister John Howard told reporters on Saturday the Indonesian-registered boat was intercepted in international waters on Friday night.Howard also announced the government would introduce legislation into Parliament, which would be backdated to take effect from 2 p.m. (0400 GMT) Saturday, to make it tougher for people arriving by boat to lodge claims for asylum.The latest asylum seekers were transferred to the HMAS Manoora, which is taking 433 mostly Afghan boat people to Port Moresby for resettling elsewhere after Australia refused to accept them late last month."At no stage did this latest vessel reach Australian territorial waters. It did enter the contiguous zone, but it did not enter the territorial waters and as a result questions of application for asylum status do not arise," he said.He told reporters Indonesian authorities had declined permission for the ship to be boarded while it was still in Indonesian waters.He said the vessel was later boarded in international waters near Australia's Ashmore Reef after warnings for it to turn around."Discussions are now underway regarding the future processing of these people and I would expect than an announcement in relation to that will be made in the next day or two by the relevant ministers," he said.The 433 asylum seekers already on the Manoora were the centre of a diplomatic standoff between Australia, Indonesia and Norway when they were rescued from a sinking Indonesian ferry by the Norwegian ship Tampa.The cargo ship remained off Australia's Christmas Island for eight days after Australia refused permission for it to dock. The asylum seekers were later transferred to the Manoora under the regional resettlement deal.The Manoora is due to take on provisions outside Australian territorial waters near Darwin before continuing to Papua New Guinea from where the 433 asylum seekers are due to be flown to New Zealand and Nauru.New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said her country, which volunteered to take 150 asylum seekers off the Tampa, would not be taking any more."We will not be taking any more than we have indicated," Clark said through a spokesman.Howard said legislation would be introduced into Parliament this month to remove Christmas Island and the Ashmore reef islands from Australia's migration zone, the area within territorial waters from where applications for asylum can be lodged.The two areas off Australia's remote northwest coast are the most popular destinations for the dozens of boats which carry illegal immigrants from Indonesia to Australia every year.The legislation would need the support of the Australian Labor Party or Australian Democrats to be passed by the Senate.The latest interception comes after an Australian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, visited Jakarta to try to stem the flow of immigrants using Indonesia as a staging post to enter Australia.Howard said the talks were "quite good discussions" but had not yet produced the agreement Australia was seeking."We'll continue to persevere with Indonesia, but in the meantime we will continue to do everything we can within the law and behaving in a humane fashion to deter people from coming to Australia illegally," Howard said.But Howard's goal of preventing the 433 asylum seekers coming to Australia could be thwarted.The Federal Court has still to rule on a case brought by civil liberties lawyers who claim Australia acted illegally in refusing to accept the Tampa asylum seekers.A decision is expected either later on the weekend or on Monday. If the ruling is against the government, it would mean the Tampa asylum seekers could land in Australia after all.
Share or comment on this article
MOST READ NEWS
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts,
We are no longer accepting comments on this article.
DON'T MISS
MORE DON'T MISS
EDITOR'S SIX OF THE BEST
SHARE PICTURE
Copy link to paste in your message114网址导航}