Prime Minister Tony Abbott keeps quiet on exact location of Sri-Lankan asylum seekers

BILL Shorten has a message for Prime Minister Tony Abbott. One he repeated at least eight times today. It may not be what you expect.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left, and his wife Akie Abe sign the visitor's book as Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott watches at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. Abe is in Australia on a four day official visit where he will address parliament, sign a trade agreement and visit Perth and the Pilbara. (AP Photo/Stefan Postles, Pool)

OPPOSITION leader Bill Shorten has pulled his neck out of the sand to demand we need to “get to the bottom of the facts” to determine the exact whereabouts of the 153 asylum seekers currently being held by Australian authorities.

Mr Shorten was so determined to get his message across that he said Tony Abbott was “washing his hands” of asylum seekers on eight occasions in the one press conference.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is refusing to give the exact location of the group of asylum seekers, or whether they will be returned to Sri Lanka.

In the High Court yesterday, lawyers acting on behalf of the government confirmed for the first time the existence of the group, which includes children as young as two.

It was intercepted at sea en route to Australia but won’t be processed under the Migration Act because they never entered territorial waters.

The asylum seekers are being held aboard a Customs vessel outside Australian territorial waters, but today Mr Abbott refused to confirm their exact location.

Shadow Minister for Communications Jason Clare told Sky News this morning the asylum seekers were “floating in legal limbo”.

Interception of 153 Sri Lankan asylum seekers in #Australia should be subject to full judicial review: http://t.co/ivyl3AJkUd

— UN Human Rights (@UNrightswire) July 8, 2014

Earlier this morning Mr Abbott declared he would not give into “moral blackmail” after Fairfax Media revealed a dozen asylum seeker mothers attempted suicide, believing they would be better off dead than being sent home.

“No Australian government should be subjected to the spectacle of people saying ‘unless you accept us, I am going to commit self harm’,’’ Mr Abbott told Channel Nine.

“I don’t believe any thinking Australian would want us to capitulate to moral blackmail.

“This is not going to be a government which has our policy driven by people who are attempting to hold us over a moral barrel — we won’t be driven by that.”

In a fiery rebuttal this morning, Mr Shorten took aim at the Prime Minister, telling media that “what we see today is Tony Abbott washing his hands of people in Australian care.

“I am not sure why Tony Abbott said these words,” he said.

“It is not fair to wash your hands of the safety of human beings in the manner that he is doing.

“We need to get to the bottom of the facts here. All we have in the media are reports of Mr Abbott’s utterances.

Sri Lankan asylum seekers sent back by Australia cover their faces as they prepare to enter the magistrate's court in the southern port district of Galle on July 8. Picture: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi

Sri Lankan authorities plan to charge a group of asylum-seekers with attempting to leave the country illegally after they were returned by Australia following a controversial mid-sea transfer. Picture: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi

In the High Court yesterday the government promised to give three days notice before trying to return the group.

“I won’t talk about on-the-water operations. That’s to give aid and comfort to people smugglers. That’s not something that I’m going to do,” he told the Nine Network.

He also would not say the asylum seekers won’t be returned to Sri Lanka.

“I will confirm today, as we always will, that we will operate in accordance with our legal obligation, and we will operate in accordance with safety at sea,” he said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has said it is “deeply disturbed” by the return of 41 asylum seekers to Sri Lanka, “apparently without adequate screening of their protection claims and needs”, it wrote.

“We welcome the High Court of Australia’s issuance of an interim injunction against the return of 153 other Sri Lankan asylum seekers, reportedly including 37 children, intercepted by Australian authorities.

“We understand that since their interception more than a week ago, the individuals on this vessel have not been able to make contact with family members or refugee organisations.

We hope the matter will be subject to a full judicial review in light of Australia’s obligations under international law.”

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A Sri Lankan navy boat (L) patrols after Sri Lanka transferred 41 would-be asylum seekers whose boat was turned away by Australia at the southern port of Galle on July 7. Picture: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi