• Savitri Taylor

02 December 2009Our border cooperation with regional neighbours has entered questionable territory, writes Savitri Taylor in Inside Story

BETWEEN 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2009, 5304 individuals sought refuge in Australia by applying for a protection visa onshore. Some of them – 966 to be precise – happen to have arrived by boat without prior authorisation. The federal opposition argued that Australia was experiencing these boat arrivals because Australia’s renewed reputation for respecting human rights under the Rudd government had encouraged a renewal of people smuggling through Indonesia to Australia. Although there may be a small element of truth to this, the government is correct to insist that the recent upsurge is part of a worldwide phenomenon largely explained by events in source and transit countries. The four largest refugee populations in the Asia-Pacific region are Afghans, Burmese, Iraqis and Sri Lankans, and it isn’t surprising that some of them have come our way using any means available...

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