An asylum seeker boat has managed to slip to within 100-200 metres of the shore of Christmas Island before being towed away by the Australian Navy.
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The boat made it within 200m of Flying Fish Cove before it was boarded by navy staff, SBS reported.
The Navy scrambled two speed boats to “intercept” the vessel as soon as they were aware what was happening. “It’s a wicked thing to do”.
In August Mr Dutton said boats carrying more than 630 asylum seekers had been turned back under the Abbott government.
Locals told SBS it is the first time a boat has been that close since January 2013.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection referred inquiries to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, whose office is yet to respond.
“We will not tolerate those people that seek to come to Australia by boat, they will be processed offshore and they will not find a home here in Australia”. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the discovery of the boat raised serious questions about the government’s “obsession with secrecy”. Its population has changed in the past months to include fewer asylum seekers and more so-called 501s, migrants whose visas have been cancelled and who face imminent deportation.
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Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull refused to confirm whether a boat had been intercepted. Senator Hanson-Young said the incident and the government’s tow-back policy was a test for the new prime minister. “So let’s create a regular pathway, one that people understand what the rules are”.
