I have a lot of questions for the Immigration Minister Chris Evans.

We learn today about secret plans to use Defence bases to house an expected surge in unlawful boat arrivals.   Why aren’t we stopping the boats by changing our policies?

The Rudd Government has formed a task force to find places to house an expected influx of boat arrivals.   But it won’t change the policy that’s encouraging the people smugglers.

Christmas Island is expected to fill up in coming months.

Labor’s so-called border protection policies are a magnet for boat people.

More than 30 boats have arrived since the Rudd Government’s new immigration laws were introduced just over one year ago.

30 boats so far since the new law just one year ago.

There were 25 for the 7 years before that.

Here are the numbers.

There were 86 boat arrivals in 1999, 51 in 2000, and another 43 in 2001. 

The Howard Government changed the law and boats slowed to a trickle. 

2002 – 1 boat – 1 person
2003 – 1 boat – 53 people
2004 – 1 boat – 15 people
2005 – 4 boats – 11 people
2006 – 6 boats – 60 people
2007 – 5 boats – 148 people
2008 – 7 boats – 161 people

Source : link here 

It’s crystal clear that it’s back on.   I don’t know why the Rudd Government won’t just admit they were wrong and change the laws again.   What we had was working.   What we’ve got now is leading to the hideous people smugglers putting to sea in dangerous ships.

Mr Rudd said before the last election that he would be tough on border control.   He told Paul Kelly and Dennis Shanahan of The Australian newspaper that a Rudd Labor Government would “turn the boats back”.   It seems he’s changed his mind.

We’re given the spin that it’s not a result of the change in the government’s policy, rather the surge is the result of conflicts in Afghanistan and elsewhere.   Well that’s even more reason to change the policy and stop the queue-jumpers and people-smugglers.

It’s time we started to tell it like it is.

Rudd's open border policy

No Visa?   Doesn’t matter – you’re welcome.

Last night the Rudd Government overturned one of the most important planks of the Howard government’s border protection regime.

The Rudd government has allowed a group of young Afghani youths to arrive on mainland Australia without visas.

Another boatload has just arrived at Christmas Island.

As the boatload lobbed – 10 Afghani youths were put on a chartered Qantas jet and flown at your expense to Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne.

This is a very important development.

The last bit of the Howard regime on border protection is gone.

And of course the message will go up the line with people smugglers.

The move has been welcomed by the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre as “a substantial departure from the previous policy of condemning everyone to detention on Christmas Island.”

These young blokes arrived on 7 May this year – with no relations and no papers.  Just 10 young blokes by themselves.

They will now live in the Australian community – at a hostel called the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation Hostel.   That accommodation used to be used by people who had a visa to be here.   These young blokes don’t have visas.  

They are the first group of asylum seekers permitted to come to the mainland from Christmas Island for processing.

An immigration department spokesman said yesterday that the decision to allow the young blokes to travel to the mainland would give them access to a range of classes and recreational activities.

And they haven’t had their claims for asylum assessed yet.

Well the immigration industry might feel good about this.   I don’t.   This sends entirely the wrong message to those who’d like to jump the queue and lob here illegally.   For every queue-jumper, one more patient and rule-abiding genuine refugee misses out on a spot.