The law defining a refugee has not changed over the years, but the practice of it sure has. But then again, circumstances have changed quite markedly.
This week saw Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock step up the campaign against people smuggling and illegal boat arrivals. Some would say his measures verge on the hysterical. Videos of crocodiles, snakes, sharks and desert are to be sent to countries where the illegals are mainly coming from these days: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan. There is not much point in sending them to Afghanistan where the Taliban extremist government has in effect banned television. Ruddock has upped the hysteria at home, citing the case of a war criminal coming in with the boat people and cases of possible disease. The criminal was not named, nor the country he came from, nor were the diseases mentioned, nor was any concern raised about the possibility of these diseases running rampant through the detention centres where the illegals are housed. Ruddock said that one in 10 of the illegals would fit the profile of interest for anti-terrorist bodies. Not that they were in fact terrorists, mind you, just that they would fit the profile of concern.
The law on refugees remains the same. It is grounded in Australia’s acceptance of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. It defines a refugee as some who: “” owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of races, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”
Under that convention, Australia agrees not to send these people back. Australia also agrees not to send people who claim this status back until there is a proper assessment of the claim.
Two issues arise from this. What happens to the refugee claimant in the meantime? And how long is that meantime?
The answers to those questions is changing as a response to changes on the ground, and in the sea.
In 1999 more illegals arrived by boat than by air, for the first time in recent history. And the number grew substantially. In the first half of 1999 about 750 illegal boat people arrived. In the second half of the year it rose to 3300, the larges number of illegals in six months on record. In the first half of this year (which contains the wet season) 1240 arrived. In the second half, with better sea conditions, that might rise to 4000 going on last year’s figures.
Further, the places they came from are different: Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan. It is not easy to send them back, unlike the experience with people from China in recent years. Contrary to popular belief, Chinese boat people are routinely and almost universally successfully sent home. Remember in April last the dramatic picture of the large beached boat off Scott’s Head in NSW last year. All 60 Chinese who came on that boat have departed home. And in December last year the 73 Chinese who arrived on Christmas Island to large media concern. All 73 have gone home.
But the day before those 73 arrived another boat with 232 illegals, including 66 children and two babies, from the Middle East arrived on Christmas Island. None has gone home. All but two are in detention.
This is the hard task facing Ruddock. More and more people from the Middle East arriving and none going home. It is out of control. There are more than 3000 in detention. It means the waiting time for assessment will blow out. Hitherto it has averaged about two months, which is fairly efficient. But when people destroy papers and do not co-operate assessments will be harder. So the answer becomes, illegal boat people are put in detention for longer and longer periods. The detention time might blow out further as more pursue legal avenues. This time last year about 1000 people were in detention. About a quarter had gone to law. Half of them to the Federal Court after being rejected by the department and tribunals. Now there are 3600 in detention. Can the department, tribunals and the Federal Court cope with the three and a half times the work? Certainly not in the same time frames as in the past. It means longer detention.
Ruddock now has to engage in a difficult political balancing act. He has to balance the human concerns of the people here. Many have been abused by regimes at home, exploited by people smugglers and faced danger and death at sea only to be placed in tough conditions in remote places. His actions suggest he is holding out and being tough to prevent a message that Australia is Nirvana going back to countries of origin. It has meant that not one illegal boat arrival since November last year has been given refugee status. Some were given temporary protection status allowing them out of detention. But every single illegal boat arrival this year (with the exception of people in one boat in January given humanitarian status) has either been detained or departed Australia. They include 175 children. The longest-serving current detainee has been held for 35 months.
With One Nation breathing down his neck the tough attitude has been easier, but sympathy for innocent people in detention is bound to rise. The question for Ruddock is can he get in place a program of returns as he has with China before the pressure to release people becomes too much, resulting in released people sending the message back that Australia is a wonderful and inviting more illegals and more problems later.
I wouldn’t be Minister for Immigration for a hundred pounds.