Our Government believed it for six years. Or it fitted their agenda.
At the end of the day, what the current Gov is doing, is working. Full stop.
Operation Sovereign Borders update Friday January 17:
No boat arrivals in the past week. Voluntary returns to country of origin from Offshore Processing Centres since OSB commenced on 18 September 2013 has increased by 6 over the past week to 139.
http://newsroom.customs.gov.au/channels/operational-updates/releases/operational-update-17-january
Summary of arrivals since this government was elected:
08/09/2013 to 18/09/2013 (caretaker period prior to swearing in): 475 passengers on 7 boats.
Remainder of the week to Monday 23/09/2013: 31 passengers on 1 boat.
Week to Monday 30/09/2013: 95 passengers on 3 boats.
Remainder of the week to Friday 04/10/2013: 79 passengers on 1 boat.
Week to Friday 11/10/2013: No boats.
Week to Friday 18/10/2013: 173 passengers on 3 boats.
Week to Friday 25/10/2013: 166 passengers on 2 boats.
Two weeks to Friday 8/11/2013: No boats.
Week to Friday 15/11/2013: 163 passengers on 3 boats.
Week to Friday 22/11/2013: 35 passengers on 1 boat.
Week to Friday 29/11/2013: 9 passengers on 1 boat.
Week to Friday 6/12/2013: 189 passengers on 4 boats.
Week to Friday 13/12/2013: 3 passengers on 1 boat.
Week to Friday 20/12/2013: 167 passengers on 2 boats.
Four weeks to Friday 17/01/2014: No boats.
Totals since the commencement of Operation Sovereign Borders:
1110 passengers on 22 boats over 17 weeks.
I don't know what to make though of the transgressions into Indonesia's territorial waters. At face value, it looks like a significant operational blunder. With modern navigation such as GPS, one wonders how it could have even been made or risked given the distances involved to get anywhere near Australian territory from Indonesia's 12 nautical mile maritime boundary.Doc, that is music to my ears .....but to Sarah "WATERMELON" Hanson-Yoing, her eyes are shedding tears....to the Labor Party it is now a reminder of the wasted money over the past 6 years.
Perhaps he should consider the more than 1000 who drowned in the name of Labor's ideological nonsense.I think this line is quite striking from Paula Matthewson
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-17/matthewson-abbott-expectations/5203600
I don't know what to make though of the transgressions into Indonesia's territorial waters. At face value, it looks like a significant operational blunder. With modern navigation such as GPS, one wonders how it could have even been made or risked given the distances involved to get anywhere near Australian territory from Indonesia's 12 nautical mile maritime boundary.
Of interest though, on the night before the announcement Friday morning, the story broke in The Australian (News Corp). There was nothing I found at that time either from the SMH (Fairfax) or the ABC. That struck me as odd and leave me wondering whether it was deliberately leaked from within the government to News, just prior to the announcement.
Then yesterday was more reported detail, again from within the News network.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/na...rong-information/story-fni0xqrb-1226804452006
This time it seems some of the internal detail of the operation has been leaked, but for what purpose ?
What it has done is draw Indonesia into announcing a step up of their own patrols along their southern maritime boundary with the purpose of checking up on what our maritime resources are doing. While they're there, they might also spot a few of their Indonesian crewed fishing boats intent on breaching our sovereignty.
What it has done is draw Indonesia into announcing a step up of their own patrols along their southern maritime boundary with the purpose of checking up on what our maritime resources are doing. While they're there, they might also spot a few of their Indonesian crewed fishing boats intent on breaching our sovereignty.
I don't know if that was the intent of the incursion, but it is interesting that Indonesia suddenly is able to come up with a patrol boat to monitor Australian naval activity when for years it said it didn't have enough boats to monitor the illegal traffic in refugees taking place in the same waters.
There have been at least five boats, carrying 215 people, turned back from Australia to Indonesia since December 13. One group last Wednesday was returned on a disposable Australian lifeboat.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has said there have been no boat arrivals in Australia since December 19.
ABC's AM current affairs also had a piece on this and Human Rights Watch also got a big plug as part of the segment.The ABC really should be leaving these sort of outrageous claims to the Guardian.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has issued a stern message to the Indonesian President, saying Australia would ''continue to do what we are entitled to do to secure our borders''.
''Stopping the boats is a matter of sovereignty and President [Susilo Bambang] Yudhoyono of all people ought to understand ... just how seriously countries take their sovereignty. So we will continue to do what we are entitled to do to secure our borders,'' Mr Abbott said.
The Prime Minister made his comments in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the three-day World Economic Forum.
He stressed that President Yudohoyono was ''a great president of Indonesia'' but said he would not be deterred in his mission to ''stop the boats'', despite the diplomatic tensions being caused by the aggressive policies.
''And again I reiterate: the way is shut for the people smugglers and their clients, or would-be clients as far as I am concerned. No illegal boats can expect to get to Australia. Simple as that,'' Mr Abbott said.
In response to the naval incursion, Indonesia vowed to boost naval patrols to its south, including with an extra frigate, and insisted on its ''right to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity''.
But experts and Defence sources have said the close military-to-military ties mean any escalation - of the kind predicted by former prime minister Kevin Rudd last year under an Abbott government's boat turn-back policy - is highly unlikely.
A greater Indonesian navy presence in the seas south of Java would actually increase their responsibility for patrolling for asylum-seeker vessels heading off from their territory, a Defence source said.
TONY Abbott has strongly reasserted Australia's right to turn back asylum boats to Indonesia, amid growing tensions with Jakarta over the policy.
Less than a week after an official apology to Indonesia over border incursions by Australian ships, the Prime Minister declared: "Stopping the boats is a matter of sovereignty.
"President Yudhoyono of all people has got to understand - does understand - just how seriously countries take their sovereignty.''
Mr Abbott also declared that Nauru's recent expulsion of senior judicial figures was a matter for the Nauruan government, and the government was committed to processing asylum-seekers there, but that the rule of law was very important.
"Nauru remains an important part of a range of policies, which are proving to be much more effective than the policies of former government in stopping the boats,'' he said.
"But obviously as a large and friendly neighbour we are making it clear that the rule of law is very important."
Mr Abbott made the comments in Davos, Switzerland, overnight, where he is attending the World Economic Forum with 2600 of the world's political and business leaders.
Mr Morrison says the claims are unsubstantiated.
"The Australian Government is not going to put up with people sledging the Australian Navy with unsubstantiated claims when they have high levels of motivation for spinning stories in order to undermine this government's very successful border protection program," he said.
"There has been no police investigation in Indonesia, there has been nothing of that sort."
However, the ABC's correspondent in Jakarta George Roberts later reported that Indonesian police had launched an investigation into the allegations.
Speaking to reporters in Sydney, Mr Morrison also attacked the ABC for broadcasting the claims.
"I think the mere publication of things that are clearly so unsubstantiated I think is very unfortunate," he said.
In an interview with Fairfax Radio this afternoon, the minister repeated his concerns about the report.
"I want to address something pretty appalling that was being reported by the ABC this morning - airing unfounded, unsubstantiated, outrageous allegations against our Navy and our Customs and our border protection service," he said.
"I mean there [has] been no police investigation in Indonesia."
However, the ABC understands Indonesian police are investigating the allegations.
Local police from Kupang, where the asylum seekers were taken, say they have statements from the passengers.
Chief detective Sam Kawengian says the claims warrant investigation and he has invited Australian authorities to travel to Kupang and view the evidence.
LEIGH SALES: You've previously expressed your opposition to Australia's stop the boats policy, but many fewer boats are trying to make their journey to Australia, lives are being spared and people smugglers are losing business. Isn't that evidence that it is a successful policy?
TANTOWI YAHYA: I say many, many times that the asylum seekers are not Indonesians and they came to our territory without our knowledge and then their intention is going to Australia. So, as a matter of fact we don't have anything - we don't have anything to do with this except for the reasons of humanity. So when Australian Government comes with the pushback policy or boat return policy, which is very unilateral, for us this policy is hard. I mean, we have to cooperate. But the sad fact is that we don't have any bilateral cooperations on this issue anymore.
Indonesian politician TANTOWI YAHYA on the ABC's 7:30 report.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-22/indonesian-mp-criticises-turn-back-policy-after/5213890
My bolds.
There's nothing I've seen to link this particular story to the Greens.Doc, do you think there might be a remote chance the Greens are behind the fabrication of of this slur on the Australian Navy?
"These are just claims without any apparent facts to back them up.
"I fully support the statement of the minister on this subject and I have complete confidence in the decency, the humanity and the professionalism of Australia's naval and customs personnel, who I commend for a magnificent job. A job which is increasingly effective and successful."
Asked if the aired footage constituted as evidence, Mr Abbott said: "Who do you believe?
"Do you believe Australian naval personnel or do you believe people who were attempting to break Australian law? I believe Australian naval personnel."
Okto George Riwu, a spokesman for Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara provincial police, said earlier officers were looking into the allegations but did not yet have evidence to back up the allegations.
Mr Abbott said the claims would not impact upon Australia's longstanding policy of turning back asylum-seeker boats "when it's safe to do so".
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