Secret government documents from 2002 - until now - have revealed the extent to which the Howard government tried to prevent asylum seekers from reaching the Australian mainland, despite cost and human rights issues. The cabinet papers provide a rare insight into how national security issues shape immigration policy - many of which are still being applied today.
On 12 October 2002, the Bali Bombing rocked Australia.
Two days later, the then Prime Minister, John Howard talked about that in a parliamentary meeting.
A month later, cabinet documents revealed that Australia had been singled out as a target for Al Qaeda terrorists.
In 2002, Australian troops were already in Afghanistan... and Cabinet documents reveal that John Howard spoke to US President George W Bush, about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction... ahead of the US-led invasion in 2003.
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