Boatpeople just keep coming

AN asylum-seeker boat intercepted today is the eighth vessel to arrive in Australian waters within the past fortnight.

BORDER protection authorities have intercepted a boatload of 76 asylum-seekers off Ashmore Islands, the eighth vessel to arrive in Australian waters within the past fortnight.

It is the 68th boat to arrive this year, and comes as Tony Abbott today repeated calls for Labor to restore Howard-era temporary protection visas to put people-smugglers out of business.

“We've obviously got a situation where the people-smugglers are doing more business than ever and if the Prime Minister was serious about removing the people-smugglers' business model, before she goes on holidays this afternoon, with a stroke of a pen she could restore temporary protection visas and this would immediately mean that the people-smugglers don't have quite the same product to sell,” the Opposition Leader said.

“It would immediately mean much less of a pull factor for people currently waiting across the Indonesian archipelago.”

Mr Abbott today visited Darwin with opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison and opposition border protection spokesman Michael Keenan. The trio toured the new Wickham Point detention centre and received a briefing from border protection officials on aerial surveillance operations in Australia's north.

“We've already had almost 800 illegal boat arrivals in the month of December,” Mr Abbott said. “Already, and the month is scarcely half over, it's the highest December monthly arrivals on record and it's just going to get worse and worse, because this is a government which plainly has no plan to stop the boats, no plan whatsoever.”

Initial indications suggest the latest boat, intercepted off Australia's north, was carrying 76 passengers and three crew members.

In a statement, new Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said Border Protection Command would now make arrangements for the passengers to undergo initial security, health and identity checks.