Illegal Immigrants – Fresh Approach Needed

"You think Australia’s got problems, try a figure of as much as one thousand illegal immigrants entering my country per night". These are the words of one European country’s Ambassador to me some four weeks ago when we were discussing the question of the recent illegal boat arrivals.

The first thing that needs to be said is that while Australia’s illegal immigrant problem is as bad as it has been for many years and even worse than the period of the Vietnam boat arrivals, it nevertheless is a minor problem compared to that being experienced by many overseas countries.

The world is facing a huge refugee problem and being an international problem it follows that an international response has to be found.

Australia is fortunate because we are a country surrounded by vast stretches of ocean.

Most recently the transitional point for illegal immigrants has been Indonesia.

Why then, has Australia suddenly become a target for illegal immigrants often arriving as willing victims of organised people smuggling gangs?

To answer this question I believe we only need to look at events that occurred when the Australian public witnessed the spectacle of a large boat carrying boat people, beaching itself at Holloway’s Beach near Cairns in Far North Queensland, completely undetected. In fact, it was a newsagent who first spotted them walking along a North Queensland road who alerted the authorities.

Not long thereafter a similar occurrence saw a bowls green keeper alert authorities when another ship was seen off the coast of Nambucca Heads in Northern New South Wales.

These two incidents sparked a furore amongst the Australian public, resulting in the Prime Minister getting involved and ordering a second inquiry under Max Moore-Wilton. This inquiry superseded another inquiry set up by Philip Ruddock, then headed by Commissioner Allan Heggen.

The Prime Minister acted after he heard the public outcry most probably on his favourite radio talkback programs.

As a result of the Max Moore-Wilton inquiry the Prime Minister later announced a package of measures costing some $124M which he said would enhance our coastal surveillance capacity and led us to believe that this would stop the continual incursions and breaches of our borders.

Obviously the measures have not worked. Indeed, if the Government and the Australian public are searching for one major reason why Australia is seen as an easy target by the people smugglers it is that they think we are amateurs when it comes to securing the integrity of our national borders.

The Government through its Minister, Mr Ruddock has now been thrashing around for months trying to find solutions. Its response has included a number of tough measures which according to Ruddock withdraws the "pull" factor which he says provides incentives for overseas people smuggling gangs to choose Australia as a favoured destination.

Measures include the strengthening of legislation providing penalties of up to twenty years for direct involvement in people smuggling operations and a number of other measures.

In recent times, the Government has introduced a regulation providing for refugees to be only given a three year temporary residence visa if they have entered the country illegally. While this visa does not give the holder the right to sponsor family and to obtain travel rights, it nevertheless gives access to work permits, special benefits and some access to Medicare.

The Government also introduced amendments to the Border Protection Act which gives added powers to customs officials and allows them to carry firearms. The amendments also include provision for interception of ships carrying illegal immigrants in international waters.

All the above measures have received bi-partisan support from the Federal Opposition.

The most controversial of these measures was the three year temporary residence visa.

The debate was conducted at a time when Ruddock, playing wedge politics, made alarmist statements suggesting that up to ten thousand illegal immigrants were about to descend upon Australia with whole Middle Eastern villages preparing to pack up and head for Australia.

There is little doubt that the Minister plucked this figure out of the air and when questioned by journalists was either unwilling or unable to supply any credible details as to the reliability of his so called intelligence. In the Ministers own words, the boat arrivals had reached a "scale of ten on the Richter scale" and had become a "national emergency".

It is my firm view that faced with the frustration of not being able to handle the problem, he created a diversion to deflect attention away from his incompetent handling of the issue.

To date, the evidence suggests that nothing the Government has done seems to be working. Indeed, shortly after the passing of legislation to substantially increase penalties for people smuggling, the number of arrivals dramatically increased and continue to arrive with alarming regularity.

What then is the solution to this crisis? Given the Government’s efforts seem to be having little or no effect, the Federal Opposition suggests a fresh approach.

Firstly, an effective coast guard, modelled on the United States should be considered. We believe this would provide a strong deterrent to overseas people smugglers and would give them the clear message Australia is a "no go" zone.

The Government has rejected the suggestion, although I am sure the Australian public would welcome such a move.

Secondly, and just as importantly, the Federal Opposition has been urging the Government to redouble its diplomatic efforts in the source countries of these illegal immigrants.

This approach has worked in the past. Some months ago intelligence reports were received by the Government advising that some two thousand people were ready to board a large ship in Mogadishu in Somalia, with the intent of travelling to Australia as part of a people smuggling operation. The Government to its credit was able to use diplomatic and other measures to stop this ship.

Further, up to some four months ago, most of the illegal boat arrivals were coming from the Fujian Province in China. The Government with the strong support and urging of the Opposition sent high level delegations to the Fujian Province and engaged local authorities and Governmental officials explaining that if they persisted in coming to Australia they would be swiftly processed and deported back.

In fact, it is not well known that illegal immigrants who are simply economic refugees are deported back to their country within a period of no more than four to six weeks.

These efforts have proved successful and for some months now to my knowledge there have been no arrivals from the Fujian Province.

What I cannot understand is why the Government refuses to accept our suggestions and try the same tactics in source countries where the latest arrivals are coming from.

Further, the Government should intensify its efforts in rebuilding our relationships with Indonesia. Prior to the events in East Timor, Indonesia was of great assistance in helping us with this problem.

It is obvious the solution lies in increased resources for better policing using Federal Police, immigration and customs officers, as well as increased diplomatic and intelligence efforts in overseas source countries. Instead, the Government over recent years has substantially decreased resources to these agencies.

The Labor Shadow Ministry last week set up a working group, chaired by me, to come up with suggestions and a response to the illegal immigrant problem. This working group will make its proposals public within months and hopefully the Government will take some notice, although I must admit I am not holding my breath.

The Prime Minister and Philip Ruddock need to accept the fact that the measures they have imposed are simply not working. The more domestic laws we seem to pass the more the illegal arrivals seem to come.

They must realise that this is an international problem, and therefore, an international solution must be found. They will no longer be able to blame everyone else but themselves and create useless sideshows simply to deflect attention away from their obvious inability or indeed incompetence to handle the problem. They are the Government and they are responsible for dealing with incursions and maintaining the integrity of our national borders. They have received every co-operation from us, and we will continue to assist the Government where possible. We will not support equal access to entitlements for refugees who come in via the back door because they can afford it when those that do the right thing are displaced in the queue.

Mr Ruddock needs to re-evaluate the situation and take a completely fresh approach.

Along with the majority of the Australian public we want a solution found. So far the Government simply does not seem to be up to the task.