AAP
Australia’s border-protection command needs more funds to deal with asylum-seeker boat arrivals after two more vessels were intercepted, the federal opposition says.
The first vessel, carrying 79 passengers and two crew, was spotted north of Christmas Island overnight on Sunday by a RAAF surveillance plane and was later assisted by HMAS Pirie.
A second vessel, carrying 44 passengers and three crew, was intercepted east of the island early on Sunday morning by HMAS Larrakia.
“With the arrival of two more illegal boats it has become clear that the situation for Customs Border Protection Command has become untenable,” opposition border protection spokesman Michael Keenan said.
“Despite the surge in illegal arrivals, the Gillard Labor government has not offered customs one extra cent to deal with the growing costs for border operations, in fact they have done the opposite and stripped funds and personnel from customs at this critical time.
“Customs can only operate at this breakneck tempo for so long before Australia’s national security is seriously jeopardised.”
The latest arrivals take to three the number of boats to arrive in the past 24 hours.
On Saturday a boat with 15 passengers and one crew member was found west of Ashmore Islands off the West Australian coast.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor said the latest arrivals were being transferred to Christmas Island, where they are to undergo initial checks.
The new arrivals also take to four the number of boats that have come to Australia since the federal government conceded it could not achieve legislative changes aimed at reviving its Malaysian asylum-seeker swap deal through the parliament.
The first boat, with 51 passengers and four crew, was intercepted by Australian Customs vessels near Scott Reef, about 250 kilometres north-west of Broome, on October 18.
The Malaysia plan was shot down by the High Court in August, effectively curtailing the government’s right to pursue offshore processing options for asylum seekers.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the government should adopt the coalition’s plan to reopen the Nauru offshore asylum-seeker processing centre, which was shut down by Labor when it won government in 2007.
“As long as Labor continues to cling to policy failures like their Malaysian people swap the boats will continue to arrive,” Mr Morrison said in a statement.
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