Reality dawns in battle to beat people-smugglers

Indonesia has now turned away at least 1000 boatpeople from Myanmar, from where they say they are fleeing persecution.

In doing this, it virtually replicates the policy of the Abbott government, which it has repeatedly condemned.

At the same time, the European Union is seeking to destroy the boats the people-smugglers are using to move vast numbers of would-be migrants from North Africa to Europe. The EU wants to destroy the boats in order to destroy the people-smuggling industry, and likens its efforts to an anti-piracy campaign.

Both the Indonesian government and the EU demonstrate that the only difference between Australia and other nations on people-smuggling is that Australia has been successful in stopping it. That owes much to our geography, but also owes a great deal to the determination and innovation of government policy.

Indonesia reverses towback plan

Around the world there are vast, unregulated flows of people. Some of these people are trying to escape persecution and their rights to seek at least temporary refuge should be respected. But a huge amount of the movement involves people motivated primarily by the desire to live in a more prosperous society.

Indonesia is vastly wealthier than Myanmar, Malaysia is another two steps up in development, and where many of the boatpeople are headed is paradise by comparison.

Malaysia has recently cracked down on illegal migrants and even expelled some who have been living there for years.

In the past, Kuala Lumpur often turned a blind eye to illegal immigrants, both because they are inherently too difficult to control and because sections of the Malaysian economy benefit from the very low-wage labour provided by illegal immigrants.

For a long time Jakarta has been schizophrenic on the issue. A few years ago it withdrew its ambassador from Canberra in protest when Australia refused to turn back a boatload of Papuan would-be asylum-seekers. Jakarta was incensed that Canberra could even consider that Indonesian Papuans might have refugee claims worth assessing.

More recently, although privately understanding the Abbott government policy and covertly wishing it to work, Jakarta has protested at the “turn back the boats” approach. Now it is doing the same, as do a number of Southeast Asian nations.

No one has an easy solution to illegal people movements. But no country that values its sovereignty readily surrenders control of its borders.