Refugee intake not being revised: Smith

4 Nov 2009, 12:27 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The stalemate aboard the Oceanic Viking has not prompted the government to consider upping its annual intake of refugees, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says.

The stalemate aboard the Oceanic Viking has not prompted the federal government to consider upping its annual intake of refugees, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says.

A group of 78 asylum seekers is still refusing to disembark the Australian customs vessel, which has been moored off the Indonesian coast for more than two weeks.

As debate continues to rage over the issue, Mr Smith denied the plight of the Sri Lankans had forced the government to re-think its annual intake of asylum seekers.

"We already provide a generous number," he told ABC Television on Tuesday night.

"We are not going to be giving consideration to an expansion of that to deal with the Oceanic Viking matter."

But the government has conceded an expected surge in arrivals from Sri Lanka, where the group of 78 ethnic Tamils is from, has required more proactive measures.

Former high commissioner John McCarthy will be sent to Sri Lanka in the near future for high-level discussions with the government on how to deal with the impending influx, Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith said there were many issues to be canvassed by the special envoy, including how Australia could assist, as well as the state of refugee camps, from which many asylum seekers are allegedly fleeing.

He left open the possibility of Mr McCarthy inspecting the camps.

"I would not put that out of contemplation myself.

"It is very important that the relevant international agencies have access."

Meanwhile, the government said it wanted a "dignified" resolution to the stalemate aboard the Oceanic Viking.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said Australian and Indonesian authorities were having "productive discussions" about the situation.

"We want to ensure that we realise the

agreement reached between the two countries and we want to do it in a way that is patient, dignified and orderly," he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.

"There are issues and sticking points on the vessel itself... and we want to deal with this in a way that will result in the peaceful transfer of these passengers onto Indonesian soil."

Mr O'Connor admitted the situation was "getting difficult" for those on board the boat, but said they were being treated well.

"There has been a change of crew, all passengers on board are being well fed, well looked after and there's plenty of amenities for them," he said.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd meantime has defended the way his government has handled the recent rescues of suspected asylum seekers, saying it has been consistent with Australia's international obligations.

Mr Rudd said Australia had acted consistently "with international obligations and practice".

The Cocos Islands group had been rescued in the Australian search and rescue zone and was being taken to the nearest Australian port.

The other group had been rescued in the Indonesian search and rescue zone.

"That is why these circumstances are different," Mr Rudd told ABC Radio on Wednesday.

Mr Rudd again defended his government's his "tough but humane" approach to asylum seekers, despite an apparent voter backlash in the latest Newspoll.

"It follows that there are going to be reactions against those decisions from people to the right of Australian politics, people to the left of Australian politics," he said.

The Newspoll, published in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday, found Labor fell seven percentage points to 52 per cent on a two-party preferred basis compared to a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, the coalition clawed back the same margin to 48 per cent.

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