Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil is set to announce a major funding boost to Operation Sovereign Borders after the arrival of at least two dozen asylum seekers reignited fierce debate over Australia’s border security efforts.
On Tuesday, Ms O’Neil hit back against claims from the opposition that the government had stripped funding from its military-style response to asylum seekers and refugees, after at least 39 men who had arrived by boat were discovered in WA’s north-west on Friday.
She said Labor had spent $470m more than the Coalition on border security, including an additional $252m this year, firing shots at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton who yesterday accused the Prime Minister of being “weak” in securing the nation’s coastlines.
“This operation is better resourced and better backed by our government than it ever has been before,” Ms O’Neil told ABC’s Radio National.
“We should not telegraph to people smugglers or anyone else about the specifics of how we are patrolling our borders and it’s very disappointing, reckless and damaging that in recent days, Peter Dutton has chose to depart from that - presumably because he sees that we can make political gain.”
Following the groups arrival on Friday Mr Dutton launched an attack against the Prime Minister, telling reporters on Monday that the Albanese government had given people smugglers the “green light” to enter the country.“It’s a weak Prime Minister being tested by people smugglers and when the Prime Minister says to you, there’s nothing to see here, you know, once again, he’s not telling the truth,” he said.
Mr Albanese later slammed the response as “unhelpful”, accusing his political opponent of hindering border security efforts.
Ms O’Neil also defended Australia’s border operations on Tuesday arguing that it was was run by one of the most senior naval officers in the country and was a force Australians “should be proud of.”
“It is very effective at policing our borders,” she said.
“We will continue to adjust our approach, of course, because the people smugglers continue to adjust their approach. But we do not need politicians running around the country, as Peter Dutton has done, telling outright lies.”
Two groups of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi nationals, who arrived on the same boat and were spotted on Friday afternoon, have now been flown to Nauru for processing and offshore detention.
Asked about a recent annual from Human Rights Watch calling Australia’s offshore processing “inhumane”, Ms O’Neil said the men’s fate was now a matter for the Nauran government.
She would not say how long they would be held in detention.
“I would just say to those who are disputing the ethics of this approach – it was not a very good humanitarian outcome when we had boatloads of people coming to Australia and many people very tragically dying because they failed and drowned in their journey,” she said.
“That is not in my view, under any definition, a humanitarian approach. We have a better system of managing this now.”
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2024-02-19 21:33:06Z
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