Morrison Government to launch new campaign to discourage asylum seekers
A new campaign will be launched to discourage potential boat people as the Morrison Government continues to draw election battle lines with Labor over border protection after announcing the Christmas Island detention centre will be reopened.
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Sea patrols are being increased and the notorious Christmas Island detention centre reopened as the Morrison Government draws election battle lines with Labor over the nation’s border protection regime.
A new campaign will also be launched to discourage potential boat people in the wake of the historic Canberra vote to help asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru reach Australia.
New laws pushed through by Labor, the crossbench and the Greens will give a doctors’ panel the power to green-light asylum seeker transfers to our shores on medical grounds.
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The reform represents the biggest shift in our border protection system since prime ministers Kevin Rudd and then Tony Abbott turned back the boats.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Christmas Island detention centre, mothballed late last year, was being reopened immediately in anticipation of a wave of boats and to process the transfers.
At least 300 asylum seekers on Nauru may lodge medical transfer requests as soon as the new laws take effect, with documents already prepared, say government sources.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton warned of a potential resurgence of people smuggling.
Mr Dutton on Wednesday reminded voters of the 51,000 arrivals and 1200 deaths at sea during Labor’s six years in government. Smugglers were already aware of the legal changes making it easier for doctors to order medical transfers of refugees from Nauru and Manus Island, he said.
The new laws — which passed the Senate on Tuesday morning — will not apply to new arrivals, but Mr Dutton said that was unlikely to be understood by refugees.
Fears have also been raised that the relaxed transfer system will also ultimately be applied to future arrivals.
The Herald Sun has been told that International Health and Medical Services — the company contracted by the government to manage the health records and doctors on Nauru — has had a surge in inquiries from Australia-based doctors asking to access the records of asylum seekers.
Medical group Medicines Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) has already set up a telehealth service to treat asylum seekers who it left behind when it was kicked out of Nauru.
About 1000 asylum seekers remain on Manus Island and Nauru, while 895 have already come to Australia through the medical transfer system and are living in “detention”, either in the community or in guarded onshore centres.
Labor accused the government of a “desperate and shrill scare campaign”, claiming there were no big differences between the major parties on border protection.
“We support offshore processing, turnbacks when safe to do so, and regional resettlement. There will be no changes to this under a Shorten Labor Government,” said immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann.
Mr Morrison said he would do everything he could to stop boats returning, but if they did: “You can thank the Labor Party and Bill Shorten.”