Arrival of second asylum boat in a week

19 Jan 2012, 9:23 pm   -   Source: AAP
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A boat carrying 56 probable asylum seekers was detected on Thursday - the second this week.

The second boat carrying asylum seekers to arrive off Australia this week has been intercepted north-east of Christmas Island.

Navy ship HMAS Maitland, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, intercepted the boat on Thursday after it was detected by a customs plane, Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said.

It is believed there are 56 passengers and two crew on board.

They will now be transferred to Christmas Island for security, health and identity checks.

A boat with 74 suspected asylum seekers was intercepted on Tuesday.

Opposition customs spokesman Michael Keenan said the newest arrival reinforced the perception that Labor had lost control of Australia's borders.

He said the government's apparent lack of resolve on offshore processing for asylum seekers had "given an enormous green light to people smugglers".

"Only when we see a return to offshore processing, temporary protection visas and turning the boats back around when it is safe to do so, will we see an end to this continued influx of boats," he said in a statement on Thursday night.

The government and opposition met before Christmas for talks to try and break the stand-off over asylum seeker policy.

While that discussion did not throw up any solutions, both sides said the door was still open to further talks early this year.

Labor conceded it might reopen the processing centre on Nauru, which the coalition wants, but said its deal to send 800 boat arrivals to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 confirmed refugees would have to be implemented.

So far the coalition has refused to budge on any of its policy points, including rejecting the Malaysia deal.

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