Labor blasts 'Stalinist' silence over reports Government will buy lifeboats to send asylum seekers back to Indonesia

Updated

The Federal Government has been accused of running a "Stalinist" and "North Korean"-style media blackout after refusing to comment on reports Australia will buy 16 lifeboats to ferry asylum seekers back to Indonesia.

Fairfax media and the West Australian newspaper say the Government is in the process of buying the large, engine-powered lifeboats to return asylum seekers to Indonesia if they are intercepted on unseaworthy boats.

The news follows revelations yesterday that the Australian Navy recently turned or "pushed" back two asylum seeker boats to Indonesia.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison is refusing to confirm or deny the story, saying the Government will not comment on "operational" matters, and saying the release of any more information could help people smugglers.

"People smugglers have used official commentary on such matters to make dangerous assumptions about our maritime operations, which puts people at risk," Mr Morrison said in a statement.

"The Government's policy of no public comment on operational matters is based on the advice of border protection agency and operational leaders to protect the security of our operations and to ensure that they can be conducted with maximum safety and effectiveness for all involved."

Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese says it is time the Government told the public what is happening.

"This is not North Korea. This is not a Stalinist regime," he said.

Labor's acting immigration spokesman Mark Dreyfus also demanded answers.

"We are being left to guess what our Navy is being asked to do - that is not acceptable," he told AM.

"The only justification for this cover-up is a political one where the Minister and the Prime Minister are not wanting to explain to Australians what's going on because that would make clear just how disastrous the impact this has had on our relationship with Indonesia."

The Greens have ridiculed the plan, with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young saying it is a ludicrous idea and that the Coalition's border protection policy is in tatters.

"It's dangerous and of course it not just flies in the face of everything they promised before the election but also is in complete disregard to the lives of our brave men and women who have to conduct these operations," she said.

"First we heard they were going to stop the boats, then they said we'll buy back the boats, now they're going to start giving away boats."

The Fairfax report cites Defence sources, who say the lifeboats would counter the people smugglers' tactic of using old fishing vessels and sabotaging them in order to force Australian authorities to rescue them.

The report says the high-visibility lifeboats could carry dozens of passengers along with food and water for at least a week.

Indonesia still opposed to 'turning back the boats'

Building an asylum seeker lifeboat Commercial lifeboat supplier Ravin Ramasamy services lifeboats for oil and gas platforms, commercial shipping and the cruise industry.



He says the Government would need specially modified lifeboats if it was to use the vessels to transport asylum seekers back to Indonesia.



Engine speeds would need to be increased from current speeds of 6 - 10 knots.

Current engines carry enough fuel to run for about five hours so modifications would be needed here.

Lifeboat sizes vary from 30 passenger to 296 passenger boats.

An average 100 person lifeboat would cost around $112,000 Commercial lifeboat supplier Ravin Ramasamy services lifeboats for oil and gas platforms, commercial shipping and the cruise industry.He says the Government would need specially modified lifeboats if it was to use the vessels to transport asylum seekers back to Indonesia.

Yesterday Indonesia's foreign minister Marty Natalegawa reiterated his country's opposition to the policy of turning back asylum seeker boats to Indonesia.

"Let me just once again put on record our rejection of policies that resemble the pushing back the boats," he said.

Mr Natalegawa also revealed that he is in almost daily contact with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, in an effort to resolve diplomatic tensions in the wake of the spying scandal.

The revelations that Australia spied on Indonesia's president and inner circle led to the suspension of bilateral cooperation on asylum seekers late last year.

Mr Natalegawa maintains that it will take time to restore the trust that was lost over the spying scandal.

Asylum seekers found on remote Indonesian island after being 'pushed' back

Over the weekend reports emerged that a group of 47 asylum seekers told Indonesian authorities they were intercepted on December 13 by the Australian Navy and "pushed" back to Indonesian waters.

On December 19 they were found on Rote Island, after running out of fuel and running aground.

Map: Rote Island, Indonesia

A second boat carrying 45 asylum seekers has been found on the same island and the local police chief says they too were pushed back by the Australian Navy.

Mr Morrison refused to comment on those reports for "national security reasons".

"Australia respects Indonesia's territorial sovereignty and will continue to do so, just as Indonesia has stated it respects Australia's territorial sovereignty," he said.

"It is not the policy or practice of the Australian Government to violate Indonesian territorial sovereignty. Any suggestion to the contrary is false."





Topics: federal-government, government-and-politics, defence-and-national-security, refugees, immigration, foreign-affairs, indonesia, australia

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