More boats intercepted off northwest coast

ArticleData Array ( [Article] => Array ( [article_id] => 1099972 [headline] => More boats intercepted off northwest coast [abstract] => Two more boatloads of suspected asylum seekers have been intercepted by authorities in waters off Australia's northwest coast. [keywords] => boats, asylum seekers [content] =>

Two more boatloads of suspected asylum seekers have been intercepted by authorities in waters off Australia's northwest coast.

Border Protection intercepted a vessel approximately 93 nautical miles northwest of Darwin just after 4pm (AEST) on Sunday.

It was carrying 12 passengers.

About an hour later another boat carrying an estimated 28 passengers and four crew was intercepted seven nautical miles north of Ashmore Island.

All on board the boats are on their way to Christmas Island for security, identity and health checks.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said people smuggling was a worldwide problem and Australia was committed to working closely with its neighbours to address the issue.

"Situations around the world mean that large numbers of displaced people are looking for settlement in stable, democratic nations such as Australia," he said in a statement.

Such people can "fall prey to people smugglers", he added.

"People smuggling is not just an issue for Australia - it is a global and regional problem," he said.

Mr O'Connor maintained recent meetings with government officials in Indonesia and Malaysia "had led to positive steps forward in bilateral and regional cooperation to deter people smuggling".

More than 1,400 people have arrived on 28 unauthorised vessels so far this year.

The opposition wants an inquiry into border protection and believes the increase in boat arrivals is leaving security at sea and airports exposed as customs assets are deployed to the north in increasing numbers.

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An Australian navy patrol vessel has intercepted a boat carrying 98 suspected asylum seekers off Australia's northwest coast.

The vessel was initially detected about 2am (AEST) today before it was intercepted after it entered Australian waters.

Today's arrival is the seventh in a fortnight. 

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said HMAS Glenelg, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, intercepted the vessel at 5am (AEST) northwest of Christmas Island.

The group will be transferred to Christmas Island where they will undergo security, identity and health checks as well as establish their reasons for travel.

More than 1,400 people have arrived on 26 unauthorised boats so far this year, with the latest arrival taking the number of boat arrivals in the past two weeks to seven.

The arrivals have sparked a political row in Canberra, where the opposition has accused the government of going soft on border protection.

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Jan 1954 - Australia becomes a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention

1976 - Thousands of refugees enter Australia in the aftermath of the Vietnam War

1992 -  Mandatory detention laws for all foreigners who arrive in Australia without a visa are introduced by the Keating Labor government, with bi-partisan support.

October, 1999 - The Howard Government introduces Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) for asylum seekers who arrive unauthorised and are subsequently assessed by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) to be refugees.

August 2001 - A diplomatic dispute brews between Australia, Norway, and Indonesia after the Norwegian flagged ship MV Tampa rescues 439 Afghans from international waters off Australia, and is refused entry into Australian waters

September, 2001 - 'Pacific Solution' is implemented under John Howard. This is the policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention camps on small island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland.

October, 2001 -  Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock says asylum seekers on a boat intercepted by HMAS Adelaide have been throwing children overboard  in a ploy to secure passage to Australia. A Senate select committee inquiry subsequently finds that no children were thrown overboard

December, 2007 - During the campaign for the 2007 parliamentary election, Australian Labor Party candidate Kevin Rudd promises to put an end to the 'Pacific Solution' if he were elected.

May, 2008 - The Rudd Government abolishes the Temporary Protection visa (TPV) regime.

2008 - Australia ends its policy of sending asylum seekers into detention on small Pacific islands, with the last refugees leaving Nauru.

In this year 164 boat people arrived in Australian waters.

April, 2009 - An explosion off the West Australian coast of Ashmore Reef kills up to five suspected asylum seekers and injures another 44 people.

September, 2009 - More than 1100 passengers and over 46 crew have arrived in Australia by boat in 2009

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