Police detain asylum seekers on Queensland island

A group of migrants caught crossing illegally into Australiaallegedly used fake travel documents before they attempted to enter waters off Far North Queensland.

Saibai Island, which is part of Queensland, sits about 4km off PNG. Picture: Google Maps

A group of migrants caught crossing illegally into Australia have been taken into custody on a Queensland island in the Torres Strait.

The small group of men, who are believed to be unlawful non-citizens, were found by the Australian Border Force on Saibai Island, which is located about four kilometres from mainland Papua New Guinea in the Torres Strait.

It is understood that the men were intercepted following a search conducted by the ABF and relevant stakeholders.

An Australian Border Force spokesperson said the “ABF has well established operational processes to manage irregular movements of people in the Torres Strait”.

Torres Strait Island Regional Council Mayor Phillemon Mosby was briefed on the incident by divisional councillor Chelsea Aniba.

“I was only told that five illegal immigrants were identified on the island,” Mr Mosby said.

“The information about how they got there, where they came from, I’m not fully versed on it, I haven’t been informed of that.”

Torres Strait Island Regional Council Mayor Phillemon Mosby. Picture: Brendan Radke

Mr Mosby told The Courier Mail that the incident emphasises the need for government investment in border security.

“It goes to show our arguments since day one about the high rates of exposure of people smuggling in the Torres Strait that happens and how important it is to have government investment into ensuring that there’s frontline officers, fully-fledged sworn officers on the ground to ensure that the border is protected,” he said.

“There is an international border between Papua New Guinea and Australia - our 15 island communities need to be rest assured that we have capability and capacity on ground by government presence, fully sworn officers on Saibai to make sure that we can combat those illegal activities.”

Mr Mosby described the incident as a “reality check” for the current border protection measures in place.

“I’m not happy that in this day and age and the technology that we have that this has occurred, but it’s a reality check of the current system and investment and interest of Australian government presence in our region,” he said.

PNG Police Commissioner David Manning told the ABC that the men travelled to Papua New Guinea via Indonesia, allegedly using fake travel documents, before they attempted to cross into Far North Queensland.

The small group of men are currently undergoing medical checks in the Torres Strait.

The divisional councillor for Saibai Island Chelsea Aniba was alerted to the sighting of the group of men by family members.

“I received a call from family members that they had seen (people) sitting on the seawall at the front of the community,” Ms Aniba said.

“They were shocked, you don’t see this every day. It’s alarming.

“They didn’t know anything about it and I didn’t know anything about it, so I rang our local border monitoring officer and she didn’t know anything about it as well.”

Ms Aniba said she felt like she was kept in the dark regarding the incident.

“The local border monitoring officer and I didn’t have any information,” she said.

“We are key people in the community that should be informed about these things.

“No one has informed me about anything. I haven’t heard anything from them and apparently they’re on ground.”

Ms Aniba said it was crucial that the relevant authorities work together to respond effectively.

“I suggest that these agencies work together with the regional council and local officers on the ground,” she said.

“Our local officers have been living in these communities and worked these jobs for years and I think it is about time they get acknowledged for their work and given the rate of pay that they should be getting for protecting our community.”

The illegal entry follows a number of unlawful boat entries in Australia recently.

In February this year, more than 40 asylum seekers were found roaming in remote Western Australia after their boat hit the shoreline.

Locals discovered the asylum seekers, who are believed to come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, at Beagle Bay, about 100km north of Broome, and at Pender Bay, about 51km north of Beagle Bay.

The men were relocated to Nauru, where Australia runs an offshore immigration detention centre.

 

Originally published as Police detain asylum seekers on Queensland island