Ashmore reef blast: Not a reason to reconsider Howard Government policies
by Ntsiuoa Sekete

As far as we know at 6:15am on April 16, near a tranquil reef off the coast of Australia, a small overcrowded fishing boat carrying Afghan asylum seekers burst into flames and exploded, killing five and injuring 31.

This spectacular and tragic incident has again re-surfaced Australian society’s lingering concern over refugees arriving by boat. This was witnessed through hostile letters to the editor, and participatory media outlets.

Malcolm Turnbull, the Federal Opposition Leader, has predictably claimed that the Rudd government’s ‘soft’ border policy is the direct cause of more refugees trying to make it to Australia illegally. But the explosion off Ashmore Reef must not be used to re-heighten fear of the arrival of refugees by boat to Australia. Nor should it provoke a return to the harsh and inhumane refugee policies of the Howard government.

The Howard government’s Pacific Solution [1], and introduction of Temporary Protection Visas undoubtedly ignored Australia’s responsibilities as a signatory of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention [2]. We are supposed to welcome and protect asylum seekers and to process applications from refugees who arrive on this shore, regardless of the means by which they arrive.

Changes in the asylum seeker policy [3] made after 2007 by the Rudd government were a welcome acknowledgment of these responsibilities, and marked a shift back towards Australia’s previous humane treatment of people displaced by conflict.

Dr Wendy Lambourne, human rights expert and lecturer at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, says “Asylum seekers do not pose a threat to our security; by contrast, Australian policy has in the past posed a threat to the security of asylum seekers”. Harsh border policies, such as those under the Howard government, are not only a breach of our international legal obligations, but do not effectively deter people from undertaking dangerous journey to Australia by boat.

Dr Eileen Pittaway at the University of New South Wale’s Centre for Refugee Research, points out that statistically, boat people are genuine refugees, not terrorists or security risks. As such they are fleeing genuine conflict: Australian refugee law hardly figures into their decision to seek asylum. “We should remember these people are not running for fun, they flee assault, hunger, violence, watching their spouses being raped and worse,” she said.

It should also be remembered that the majority of these refugees flee conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which this country played a part in creating. Logically, if the situation is so desperate in those countries to require the aid of Australian troops, it is hypocritical to turn away or fear refugees fleeing those war zones.

The explosion off Ashmore Reef was either an accident or an act of desperation by dispossessed and disenfranchised individuals who have lost everything.
It is illogical, not to mention inhumane, to use this incident to incite fear of refugees or return to the policies of the Howard government.

Although Australia’s borders need to be secure and protected, efforts to deal with people smugglers who prey on refugees trying to make it to Australia must be intensified. Genuine asylum seekers should be wholeheartedly welcomed to Australia regardless of how they arrive, in accordance with this country’s United Nations obligations.