*Ø* Blogmanac | Navy tows asylum seeker boat out to sea

"An Australian navy ship is towing an asylum seeker boat out to sea, away from Australia.

"The boat is being towed away from Melville Island, north of Darwin.

"The Immigration Department says the boat is carrying 14 people, who claim to be Kurds from Turkey.

"Defence Minister Robert Hill says the asylum seeker boat has been fixed and this afternoon is being towed further out to sea by HMAS Geelong."
Source: ABC
Ministers tight-lipped on boat

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More on Aussie govt's racist oppression of people fleeing persecution

Going Overboard in the Abuse of Human Rights Law

Vanstone chops off more of Australia to avoid refugees
"One of Amanda Vanstone's first acts as new immigration minister has been to rush through parliament the excise of a large part of Australia to avoid the claims of a boatload of refugees who arrived on Melville Island on Tuesday night. (This excise is in response to the arrival of only 14 refugees and 4 crew).

"They have also placed an exclusion order on the area so that the media cannot film or approach the area. Over 3000 islands have to date been cut from the Australian migration zone as the Federal government continues to shirk it's responsibilities to the human rights of refugees."
Source: Indymedia Brisbane (with a good cartoon)

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Detainees riot at Port Hedland
"A riot at the Port Hedland Detention Centre in Western Australia overnight has caused extensive damage to facilities.

"The Immigration Department says the disturbance was started by a group of male detainees in the dining hall of the facility.

"Sources at the centre say many detainees are frustrated at the length of time they have been in detention and this has led to several disturbances in recent weeks.

"Earlier this week, two detainees attempted to harm themselves by slashing their bodies with razors."
Source: Indymedia Sydney

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Asylum seekers in limbo as excision remains
"Moves to overturn regulations excising thousands of islands from Australia's migration zone failed today in the Senate as the fate of 14 asylum seekers hangs in limbo.

"The government on Tuesday retrospectively gazetted regulations excising thousands of islands from the migration zone to prevent a boatload of asylum seekers applying for refugee status."
Source: Sydney Morning Herald

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Asylum seekers refused refugee status on Christmas Island
"A group of 53 asylum seekers has been refused refugee status after being detained at the Christmas Island detention centre since July.

"The fishing boat was intercepted off Western Australia's north-west coast near Port Hedland, and was the first to be seized in Australian waters since 2001."
Source: ABC News

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Ministers tight-lipped on boat
"The Federal Government remained tight-lipped today about with whom it was negotiating to accept 14 asylum seekers whose boat reached an Australian island this week.

"Moves to overturn regulations excising thousands of islands from Australia's migration zone failed in the Senate as the fate of 14 suspected Turkish Kurds and four Indonesian crew remained in limbo.

"Defence Minister Robert Hill said the patrol boat HMAS Geelong was towing the fishing boat, which landed on Melville Island on Tuesday, away from the Australian coast today.

"But he refused to say where HMAS Geelong might be headed.

"'I think it will ultimately go somewhere, but I think you should wait for that,' Senator Hill said."
Source: News.com.au



Read about Australia's shame: The SIEVX Disaster