Fury in Australia after government publishes 'creepy' pictures of distraught asylum seekers who have found out they're about to be deported

The 81 Iranian refugees landed on Christmas Island today in rickety boat



They are first refugees to arrive since asylum deal was announced Friday

The deal allows Australia to send all illegal refugees to Papua New Guinea



In one of the photographs a young woman sobs, her head in her hands

Immigration Department spokesman: 'I'm sure they regret coming here now'

The Australian government has sparked fury after it published photographs of asylum seekers weeping as they await deportation to Papua New Guinea - hours after arriving on a rickety boat from Iran.

In one of the photographs a young woman sobs, her head in her hands, as she sits on the floor of a detention camp on Christmas Island moments after she was told she was to be resettled.

They were the first boatload - carrying 81 mostly Iranian nationals - of refugees to arrive in Australia since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that all unauthorised asylum-seekers will be sent to Papua New Guinea for resettlement.



Distraught: In one of the photographs a young woman sobs, her head in her hands, as she sits on the floor of a detention camp on Christmas Island moments after being told she was to be resettled

'Creepy': The pictures, blurred by the Department of Immigration to withhold the refugees' identities, sparked outrage in Australia

'Creepy': Asylum seeker NGO, House of Welcome, called the photos 'creepy' and 'upsetting' while UnitingJustice national director Elenie Poulos described them as 'heartless and abusive'

The distraught Iranians were told of the new deal between Australia and PNG at North West Point Immigration Detention Centre at Christmas Island.

Immigration Department acting regional manager Steven Karras, who broke the news to the groups, told the Sydney Morning Herald : 'I'm sure they’re now thinking about whether it was wise to come in the first place.



'And I think in fact over the coming days … they will start to contemplate very seriously whether in fact returning home is a better option.'

But the shock policy has sparked protests in Sydney as critics blame the government for ' exploiting people’s private despair for cheap political gain'.

Others blasted the pictures as 'creepy', 'heartless', and 'abusive'.

Asylum seeker NGO, House of Welcome, called the photos 'creepy' and 'upsetting' while UnitingJustice national director Elenie Poulos described them as 'heartless and abusive'.

'Today’s vulgar display from the Department of Immigration ... truly is a move dredged up from the bottom of the barrel,' Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Youngsaid in a statement.

'Full support': Protesters take to the streets of Sydney's CBD to voice their support for Asylum seekers over the weekend

Protest: The shock policy has sparked violent protests in Sydney as critics blame the government for 'exploiting people¿s private despair for cheap political gain'

Breach of rights: Protesters say the policy is a breach of the human rights of people who deserve a better chance at life - something they say they won't get in papua New Guinea

'Not fair': Hundreds gathered to protest Prime Minister Rudd's asylum seeker policy as he arrived for the Labor party federal special caucus in Sydney

'It is shameful that this government is exploiting people’s private despair for cheap political gain.'

However, Immigration Department spokesman Sandi Logan defended the pictures as 'entirely appropriate'.



Mr Logan told Fairfax Media the department had taken the necessary steps to protect the identity of the asylum seekers involved, adding: 'The opportunity to demonstrate graphically to people considering getting on the next boat is an absolutely vital opportunity for us.'

The tough move is designed to prevent people smugglers exploiting refugees and taking vast sums of money putting them on leaky wooden boats with false promises that they will be able to make Australia their home.

In a blunt message to the people traffickers, Mr Rudd said: 'Your business model is over.

'These are nothing but false hopes,' said Mr Rudd, who added that Australia would continue to take 'large numbers' of genuine asylum-seekers through its refugee resettlement programme.

Crackdown: The tough move is designed to prevent people smugglers exploiting refugees and taking vast sums of money putting them on leaky wooden boats such as the one pictured, with false promises that they will be able to make Australia their home

It's over': In a blunt message to the people traffickers, Mr Rudd said, 'Your business model is over

Alternative: Boat refugees will be sent to Papua New Guinea instead (file picture)

The Prime Minister said he would impose the changes as soon as possible as he signed the agreement with the promise that there be no cap on the number of asylum-seekers being sent to PNG's Manus Island detention centre.

'From now on, any asylum-seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugees,' Mr Rudd said in Brisbane at a press conference with PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.

'Asylum-seekers taken to Christmas Island will be sent to Manus and elsewhere in Papua New Guinea for assessment of their refugee status.

'If they are found to be genuine refugees they will be resettled in Papua New Guinea - an emerging economy with a strong future, a robust democracy which is also a signatory to the United Nations refugees convention.

'If they are found not to be genuine refugees they may be repatriated to their country of origin or be sent to a safe third country other than Australia.'