ABC – Rudd attacked over Indonesia detention ‘chaos’
The Greens say it is unacceptable that women and children from the Oceanic Viking are being held behind bars.
Some of the Sri Lankan women say they have been locked up in a facility next to the Tanjung Pinang detention centre, which they say is like a jail.
Immigration Minister Chris Evans says the building has suitable facilities.
But Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says they should not be in any form of detention.
“They may not be in the official detention centre but they are still being detained,” she said. More
Canberra Times – PM insists refugees had no special deal
The Federal Government and Opposition have continued to slug it out in Parliament over the controversial offer made to induce 78 Tamil asylum-seekers to leave the Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd continued his denials yesterday that the group had been given preferential treatment, despite the timetable for assessing their refugee claims being much faster than that faced by other asylum-seekers in Indonesia or on Christmas Island.
The last of the 78 asylum-seekers left the Oceanic Viking on Wednesday and were transported to the Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre on Bintan Island after more than a month aboard the Australian vessel. Mr Rudd has repeatedly denied knowledge of the details of the offer before it was put to the asylum- seekers, despite members of his staff being present at the cabinet committee meeting that authorised the deal and the distribution of the committee’s minutes to his office.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, who attempted to censure Mr Rudd in question time yesterday, ridiculed Mr Rudd’s denials that the asylum-seekers had been offered a special deal and his claims to have known nothing of the ”fast-track access policy” before the offer was made. Mr Turnbull said the deal had ”no counterpart” and had been considered by cabinet’s Border Protection Committee precisely because it was a special deal. ”Now the Prime Minister says, of course, that he doesn’t know anything about that and that his staff didn’t advise him about this deal,” Mr Turnbull said. ”The one thing that is beyond question is that the Prime Minister’s claim that there was no special deal has been comprehensively, universally disbelieved.
”We’ve seen the most extraordinary spectacle of a prime minister looking the Australian people in the eye and unblinkingly saying black is white.” Mr Rudd said the Coalition was attempting to ”whip up a fear campaign” about asylum-seekers and border protection. ”Our policy on border protection is clear, and we’ll continue to implement it in the future,” Mr Rudd said. Meanwhile, the Papua New Guinea Government has canvassed a revival of the ”Pacific solution” as a remedy for Mr Rudd’s difficulties on the asylum-seeker issue. Papua New Guinea Foreign Affairs
Minister Sam Abal said yesterday that his Government was open to the idea of reopening the Manus Island immigration detention centre which the former Howard government used for offshore detention of asylum- seekers. ”If there is a request from Australia, our Government will consider it,” Mr Abal said. Both Papua New Guinea and Nauru received generous aid packages from the former Howard government in exchange for hosting offshore immigration detention and processing centres.
The Australian – PM’s ’special deal’ leaves kids in lock-up
SMH – Mothers and infants behind detention centre bars
ABC – Tamil women, children behind bars in Indonesia
ABC – Rudd attacked over Indonesia detention ‘chaos’
Radio Australia – Oceanic Viking leaves Indonesia after four week stalemate





