Refugee arrivals ‘risk swamping NZ deal’

Refugees have been identified among unauthorised maritime arrivals to Australia for the first time since the Albanese government came to power, prompting concerns that a resettlement deal with New Zealand will not be sufficient.

Refugee Action Coalition’s Ian Rintoul. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Refugees have been identified among unauthorised maritime arrivals to Australia for the first time since the Albanese government came to power, prompting concerns that a resettlement deal with New Zealand will not be sufficient if more people with legitimate asylum claims arrive by boat on the mainland.

This is the first time in years that an unauthorised boat arrival is known to have triggered Australia’s protection obligations under the Migration Act 1958.

In the first 16 months of the Labor government, all boats known to have reached Australian waters were from Sri Lanka, meaning Australia was able to rely on a long-standing arrangement with the Sri Lankan government to fly the passengers back to Colombo.

However, the most recent boat arrivals have been more complex cases. Since September last year, one group intercepted at sea and three groups that reached the mainland undetected have been transferred to Nauru for offshore processing.

Some of the most recent arrivals were thought to be economic migrants because they told locals they had come to work in Sydney. However, The Australian has learned that four of the 39 men found on the Kimberley coast in February have now been assessed as refugees.

They cannot lawfully be sent back to their country of origin. The Australian has been told the assessments on Nauru were completed by asylum-seeker law ­experts from Craddock Murray Neumann, a Sydney firm that has been subcontracted by both the Coalition and Labor governments on Nauru since 2013.

“These four have actually been recognised as refugees,” said Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition.

The revelation comes as refugee assessments begin for 10 Chinese men who appeared at the Truscott airstrip in the Kimberley on Friday. No asylum boat carrying Chinese people had reached Australia since 2012, when a group of Falun Gong sailed into Darwin Harbour. However, a group of 15 Chinese nationals caught in late March, allegedly trying to make an illegal boat journey to Australia, had entered Indonesia by Bali.

Chinese tourists are now able to buy a 30-day visa on arrival in Indonesia, making it an increasingly popular destination. The easy to obtain visa can be extended for another 30 days.

Australia has refused since 2013 to take any refugees who ­arrive by boat. To meet its legal obligations, Australia has negotiated with third countries to take people who cannot be sent home.

Some of these arrangements have been highly successful, but some of the refugees sent to the US were not happy.

Australia has a resettlement arrangement in place with New Zealand until June next year. New Zealand agreed in 2022 to take 450 people who arrived in Australia by boat after July 2013. So far it has ­accepted 135 ­people.

Hundreds of people qualify and are living in Australia after being transferred from Nauru on medical or other grounds. Last month, New Zealand took another 10 people under that arrangement.

A government source indicated the recent arrivals could qualify for a new life in New Zealand because although the deal was initially for people who arrived by boat 10 years ago, it is “an active resettlement program”.

The Australian has been told the resettlement program that Australia had with the US is complete. However, the government is continually attempting to negotiate new arrangements with third countries.

There were reports on Chinese news portals of the Chinese citizens detained by Australian Border Force just hours after The Australian broke the news that they had walked into the Truscott base.

“Perhaps it is Australia’s high wages that attract many people,” said one report on China’s Sohu news portal.

“Some analysts believe that they may have chosen to cross the border illegally in search of better job opportunities,” said ­another on China’s NetEase news portal.

Other reports on Chinese ­social media said Australia’s distance from potential conflict may have been a factor. “In an era of global turmoil, Australia has ­become a safe haven in people’s minds,” said one report.

The news stories published on China’s internet all focus on the Albanese government’s “very clear message” that illegal boat arrivals will not be accepted.

Responses from Chinese netizens in the comments sections of the stories are overwhelmingly harsh. “Don’t send them back,” was one of the most popular comments on Monday.

While Chinese boat arrivals to Australia are rare, more than 36,000 Chinese migrants last year crossed into the US from Mexico, according to US Customs and Border Protection. That was nearly 10 times higher than in 2022.

Some of the migrants cite the political crackdowns of the Xi era. But most interviewed after crossing into America have said their main driver was China’s economic slowdown.