Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to announce changes to Australia's asylum seeker policy amid a spike in the number of boat arrivals in domestic waters.
Speaking at a press conference in Queensland yesterday, Mr Rudd expressed his concern with the Refugee Convention, the international agreement to which Australia is a signatory. It was first tabled in 1951, and defines who is considered a refugee and what legal protections they are entitled to.
“We are looking at this right now globally in terms of effectiveness of the Refugee Convention,” Mr Rudd said.
Last night, Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC another asylum boat had requested help after coming into difficulties in waters off Christmas Island.
As assessment is currently underway into the drowning deaths of four asylum seekers after their boat capsized while being escorted by an Australian naval vessel on Tuesday, and a separate investigation is being conducted into the death of a baby boy during another boat capsize last week.
Mr Albanese said “politics had got in the way” of more definitive action on asylum seekers, and that the party would seek to make amendments without legislation.
“There's a range of things which can be done without legislation and there's some things that need legislation,” he said. “That will be a matter for the appropriate announcement by the appropriate minister.”
“We certainly believe that it is the case that as the people smuggler's model changes, so must policy change.
“There's no point in time in which you can say all the work is done.”
Former Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans told the ABC that while he didn't think Australia would ever “walk away” from the Refugee Convention, there was still room for discussion on some points.
“It's perfectly sensible to open up an international conversation about the scope of the convention,” he said.
Around 120 people were taken to Christmas Island last night after their boat came into difficulty in nearby waters.
Yesterday, the adminstrator of Christmas Island Jon Stanhope said up to 20 boats had arrived in the past few weeks.
“I think we're probably averaging somewhere in the order of 100 [asylum seeker] arrivals a day. If one averages it out, 700 or 800 arrivals a week,” he said. “The arrivals are constant.”
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