Coroner & Legal
Asylum seekers arrive in Tasmania … as the screws turn on Gillard
The first group of asylum seekers have been moved from the Curtin Detention Centre in Western Australia to the country’s newest detention centre, in Tasmania.
The 35 Afghan asylum seekers arrived in Tasmania this afternoon.
They are the first of up to 400 detainees who will live at the $15 million temporary facility.
It has been set up inside old army barracks in the small town of Pontville, about half an hour from Hobart.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says the men are low-risk detainees who are in the process of having their asylum claims assessed.
One local group is pleased to see them. Emily Conolan from the Tasmanian Asylum Seeker Support Group says more than 150 people are interested in volunteering inside the centre.
“We are discussing with Serco at the moment what their volunteer procedures and protocols are,” she said.
“We’re going to start signing people up very soon for things like soccer club and music and maybe some English language tutoring as well.”
Some locals were unhappy when the news broke that the Government was building a detention centre in Pontville.
But the local mayor Tony Foster says attitudes have softened.
“I think the Tasmanian community will be as I would expect, and that would be very welcoming,” he said.
“I know there was some concern earlier on but time as moved on.
“All the discussions that I’ve had in and around the community of Hobart and indeed in Tasmania in general have been very, very positive.”
Premier Lara Giddings wants Tasmanians to welcome the men, despite their circumstances.
“It concerns me seeing asylum seekers put behind barbed wire, but it is a policy of the Australian Government and I hope Tasmanian’s make them as welcome as we can,” she said.
… as the screws turn on Gillard
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard is facing a damaging fight among Labor MPs over asylum seeker policy and renewed questions about her leadership after the High Court’s decision to strike down the Malaysia solution.
Ms Gillard has also come under fire over her extraordinary attack yesterday on the High Court, in which she accused Chief Justice Robert French of behaving inconsistently and claimed that the law had been turned on its head.
Wednesday’s court ruling against the Malaysia people-swap deal has thrown Labor’s asylum seeker policy into chaos, and raised doubts about the legality of any offshore processing.
Besieged: Prime Minister Julia Gillard continues to prove that there’s no truth to the phrase “Things couldn’t get any worse”.
Besieged: Prime Minister Julia Gillard continues to disprove the adage “Things couldn’t get any worse”. Photo: Paul Harris
Senior Labor sources said last night the crisis had reinforced the view that the government had lost its authority, which inevitably raised questions about Ms Gillard’s leadership.
MPs critical of Ms Gillard said there was a general level of despair. One said the High Court decision was a cathartic event that had reinforced concerns ” about the way we’re going”.
Another said Ms Gillard was ”unelectable” and the party needed to come to a conclusion about how to replace her. The court had done what caucus should have done in sinking the Malaysian solution, the MP said.
But the caucus sources said the talk was background chatter, with people very cautious because last year’s change of leader had backfired.
This week, Ms Gillard was criticised by some MPs over her refusal to hold an inquiry into manufacturing, with Left convenor Doug Cameron calling it ”politically dumb”.
As ministers weigh up how to handle the asylum seeker crisis, sharp backbench divisions are emerging. Some are warning against tough measures – such as reopening the Nauru processing centre or bringing back temporary protection visas.
Senator Cameron said: “We can’t go down [the path of] a Pacific solution.”
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/infighting-turns-heat-up-on-pm-20110901-1job1.html#ixzz1Wjok2qkg