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| Christmas Island boat disaster: victims' families sue Australian government | Christmas Island boat disaster: victims' families sue Australian government |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Australian government is being sued for negligence by the families of those injured or killed in an asylum-seeker boat tragedy that left 50 people dead off the coast of Christmas Island in 2010. | |
| Eight plaintiffs – either survivors or relatives of deceased passengers on the SIEV 221 (suspected irregular entry vessel 221) boat – will lodge their case with the supreme court on Tuesday, with a full hearing not expected for at least a year. | Eight plaintiffs – either survivors or relatives of deceased passengers on the SIEV 221 (suspected irregular entry vessel 221) boat – will lodge their case with the supreme court on Tuesday, with a full hearing not expected for at least a year. |
| Their lawyer, George Newhouse, said the families would argue the government “failed to adequately fund and resource” a rescue service on Christmas Island, putting the lives of asylum seekers and the Australian navy “at risk unnecessarily”. | Their lawyer, George Newhouse, said the families would argue the government “failed to adequately fund and resource” a rescue service on Christmas Island, putting the lives of asylum seekers and the Australian navy “at risk unnecessarily”. |
| The tragedy on 15 December, 2010, arose when SIEV 221 smashed onto rocks on Christmas Island. | The tragedy on 15 December, 2010, arose when SIEV 221 smashed onto rocks on Christmas Island. |
| Aboard were 89 Iranian and Iraqi asylum seekers and three crew. In the monsoon weather, the vessel escaped detection and it was residents on the island watching the disaster unfold who raised the alarm. | Aboard were 89 Iranian and Iraqi asylum seekers and three crew. In the monsoon weather, the vessel escaped detection and it was residents on the island watching the disaster unfold who raised the alarm. |
| Newhouse represented survivors of the sinking at an eight-month inquest in 2012. | Newhouse represented survivors of the sinking at an eight-month inquest in 2012. |
| The inquest firmly blamed the incident on people smugglers but also criticised commonwealth authorities for the lack of adequate rescue vessels on the Christmas Island. The coroner, Alastair Hope, urged that measures be taken to increase surveillance of waters around Christmas Island for incoming asylum-seeker vessels. | The inquest firmly blamed the incident on people smugglers but also criticised commonwealth authorities for the lack of adequate rescue vessels on the Christmas Island. The coroner, Alastair Hope, urged that measures be taken to increase surveillance of waters around Christmas Island for incoming asylum-seeker vessels. |
| The Australian immigration minister, Scott Morrison, told parliament on Monday evening he had been made aware of the legal action. | The Australian immigration minister, Scott Morrison, told parliament on Monday evening he had been made aware of the legal action. |
| He told reporters on Tuesday morning the claim was “shameful and offensive”. | He told reporters on Tuesday morning the claim was “shameful and offensive”. |
| “People have the right to bring cases to court, we’re a free country, but they also have to be accountable for the claims that they bring,” Morrison said. | “People have the right to bring cases to court, we’re a free country, but they also have to be accountable for the claims that they bring,” Morrison said. |
| He said the claim was “like someone who has been saved by an ambulance officer at the scene of an accident, being sued for saving the person’s life. It’s like someone who is being held hostage and saved by the police, and suing the police.” | He said the claim was “like someone who has been saved by an ambulance officer at the scene of an accident, being sued for saving the person’s life. It’s like someone who is being held hostage and saved by the police, and suing the police.” |
| But Newhouse told Guardian Australia that Morrison’s comments were unfair. | But Newhouse told Guardian Australia that Morrison’s comments were unfair. |
| “That’s the kind of ignorant comment from minister Morrison who shoots from the hip without the full facts,” Newhouse said. | “That’s the kind of ignorant comment from minister Morrison who shoots from the hip without the full facts,” Newhouse said. |
| “We’re not suing the paramedics – the brave navy men and women who put their own lives at risk because the government failed to have an operational rescue on Christmas Island in 2010.” | “We’re not suing the paramedics – the brave navy men and women who put their own lives at risk because the government failed to have an operational rescue on Christmas Island in 2010.” |
| Newhouse told AAP that under the Migration Act the Australian government becomes the legal owner of a SIEV when it comes within 12 nautical miles of the Australian mainland. | Newhouse told AAP that under the Migration Act the Australian government becomes the legal owner of a SIEV when it comes within 12 nautical miles of the Australian mainland. |
| He said the government was responsible for SIEV 221 as its legal owner, had failed to maintain a proper lookout, and failed to maintain a rescue service on Christmas Island that could have saved lives. | He said the government was responsible for SIEV 221 as its legal owner, had failed to maintain a proper lookout, and failed to maintain a rescue service on Christmas Island that could have saved lives. |
| “In answer to the minister: it is like having a paramedic service where the ambulance has broken down so it can’t go out to perform a rescue. It’s not the paramedics' fault, it is the government’s,” Newhouse told Guardian Australia. | “In answer to the minister: it is like having a paramedic service where the ambulance has broken down so it can’t go out to perform a rescue. It’s not the paramedics' fault, it is the government’s,” Newhouse told Guardian Australia. |
| Greg Barns, a spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said Morrison’s comments were “extraordinary comments for any litigant to make” and were in clear violation of the Commonwealth Legal Services directions, which requires the government to act as model litigants and behave “with complete propriety, fairly and in accordance with the highest professional standard” when involved in proceedings. | Greg Barns, a spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, said Morrison’s comments were “extraordinary comments for any litigant to make” and were in clear violation of the Commonwealth Legal Services directions, which requires the government to act as model litigants and behave “with complete propriety, fairly and in accordance with the highest professional standard” when involved in proceedings. |
| Barns said it was clear Morrison had not had time to review the claims in any detail and was essentially “trashing the right of people to access the courts”. | Barns said it was clear Morrison had not had time to review the claims in any detail and was essentially “trashing the right of people to access the courts”. |
| “Individuals in our country are entitled to make a claim to the court – it is not for ministers to trash those accessing them,” Barns said. | “Individuals in our country are entitled to make a claim to the court – it is not for ministers to trash those accessing them,” Barns said. |