Boat turn-backs ‘make offshore detention meaningless’

A former immigration official says boat turn-backs — not off-shore detention — have stopped the people-smuggling trade.

A boat with asylum-seekers approaches Christmas Island. Picture: AFP

A former immigration official says the government could settle refugees in Australia from Nauru and Manus Island without restarting the people-smuggling trade because of the almost complete ­success of boat turnbacks.

In a policy paper sent to every federal MP, Shaun Hanns said Operation Sovereign Borders turnbacks had been far more ­effective in preventing asylum-seekers from getting on boats than offshore detention.

“I have been of the opinion that the system as it stands in 2018 relies entirely on boat turnbacks,” Mr Hanns said in his 10-page briefing to MPs. “This makes the continuing detention of those on Manus and Nauru not just tragic, but meaningless.”

The intervention by the recently retired Department of Home Affairs official comes amid growing pressure on Scott Morrison, including from within the government, to get refugees off Nauru and Manus Island.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said yesterday the government was standing firm on its hardline border protection policy.

“We are not going to allow those boats to restart. We are not going to allow the US deal to be undermined,” Mr Dutton told parliament.

“We are not having ­people come to our country who would pose national security risks to our country.”

Mr Hanns said there had been 36 attempts by boats to make it to Australia since the start of the turn-back regime in 2013, including 23 from Indonesia.

He said only one boat — from Vietnam — had made landfall, while the 100 per cent success rate in stopping boats from Indonesia had been the key factor in stopping the people-smuggling trade.

“This pathway to Australia, the one utilised by the vast majority of asylum-seekers, has been comprehensively severed,” Mr Hanns said. “More than anything else, this is what is preventing large-scale attempts at irregular ­migration to Australia.”

The former refugee status ­decision-maker said fears that relaxing current arrangements would lead to a flood of asylum-seeker boats were unfounded because “successful journeys” would be required to restart the trade, and these would be prevented by boat turnbacks.

“Past experience suggests that responses to policy changes build slowly, meaning they are unlikely to be able to quickly overwhelm the current system. All of this points to the refusal to resettle in Australia being meaningless.”

Mr Dutton revealed this week that 13 children on Nauru had been rejected for resettlement in the US because of to adverse security assessments of family members by US authorities.

National Council of Churches president Phillip Huggins said the refugees were being denied natural justice. “They are nameless and faceless (people) against whom no charges have actually been made, other than that they have sought refuge,” Bishop Huggins said.

He said children should not be punished for the alleged actions of their parents.

“Whatever the history of the parents, is it fair for that history to now be a cause of the children being robbed of childhood’s ­enchantment, and as we hear from the medical profession, suffering the consequences of their detention?”

Mr Morrison says he will not accept a New Zealand offer to take 150 refugees unless Labor backs legislation in the Senate to prevent them ever coming to Australia.