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Australia court rules out refugee 'swap' with Malaysia | Australia court rules out refugee 'swap' with Malaysia |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Australia's High Court has ruled that a government plan for a refugee "swap" with Malaysia is unlawful. | Australia's High Court has ruled that a government plan for a refugee "swap" with Malaysia is unlawful. |
Under the deal, Australia would have sent 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia and would have received 4,000 refugees in return over four years. | Under the deal, Australia would have sent 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia and would have received 4,000 refugees in return over four years. |
But the High Court ruled that Malaysia did not offer adequate protection for refugees in law, in what correspondents called a "huge blow" to the government. | |
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said he was deeply disappointed. | |
"Let's make no bones about it: Today's decision by the High Court is a profoundly disappointing one," Mr Bowen told reporters. | |
"It is a significant blow to our efforts to break the people smugglers' business model," he added. | |
The court's ruling was praised by refugee advocates - and there are reports that asylum seekers held at Australia's detention centre on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean clapped when they heard of the judgement. | The court's ruling was praised by refugee advocates - and there are reports that asylum seekers held at Australia's detention centre on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean clapped when they heard of the judgement. |
Tough message | |
The "Malaysian Solution" had intended to deter asylum seekers and the people smugglers who sell them passage to Australia - as well as combat perceptions that the Labor government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard was soft on asylum seekers, observers said. | The "Malaysian Solution" had intended to deter asylum seekers and the people smugglers who sell them passage to Australia - as well as combat perceptions that the Labor government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard was soft on asylum seekers, observers said. |
It would have seen up to 800 people arriving "irregularly" in Australia by boat after 25 July 2011 transferred to Malaysia for "refugee status determination", explains a page on Australia's immigration department website. | |
There they would join a queue of refugees already seeking resettlement. | |
Meanwhile, Australia would have expanded its intake of refugees to include a further 4,000 refugees who entered Malaysia before 25 July 2011. | |
This was supposed to send a tough message to boat people that they would not be processed in Australia and they would not receive "preferential treatment" over other asylum seekers. | |
But in a 5-2 ruling, the High Court accepted the argument made by lawyers for two Afghan asylum seekers that the exchange was illegal as Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the UN convention on refugees, offered inadequate legal protections for asylum seekers. | But in a 5-2 ruling, the High Court accepted the argument made by lawyers for two Afghan asylum seekers that the exchange was illegal as Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the UN convention on refugees, offered inadequate legal protections for asylum seekers. |
It said Australia would fail to meet its international obligations under the terms of the deal. | It said Australia would fail to meet its international obligations under the terms of the deal. |
It also said Immigration Minister Chris Bowen had no legal power to remove from Australia asylum seekers whose refugee claims had not yet been processed. | It also said Immigration Minister Chris Bowen had no legal power to remove from Australia asylum seekers whose refugee claims had not yet been processed. |
Malaysia has already begun sending registered refugees to Australia, and the decision leaves hundreds in legal limbo, reports said. | Malaysia has already begun sending registered refugees to Australia, and the decision leaves hundreds in legal limbo, reports said. |
'Protest' fires | 'Protest' fires |
In a separate development, fires have broken out during a "disturbance" at an immigration detention centre in northern Australia. | In a separate development, fires have broken out during a "disturbance" at an immigration detention centre in northern Australia. |
Police and firefighters were attending the centre in Darwin, which houses 466 men, reported AFP news agency. | Police and firefighters were attending the centre in Darwin, which houses 466 men, reported AFP news agency. |
One blaze had been extinguished but another had broken out, an Immigration Department spokeswoman told AFP. | One blaze had been extinguished but another had broken out, an Immigration Department spokeswoman told AFP. |
Local news reports said the fires were lit after Indonesian detainees reacted angrily to being unable to celebrate the Muslim festival Eid. | Local news reports said the fires were lit after Indonesian detainees reacted angrily to being unable to celebrate the Muslim festival Eid. |