Australia to appeal boatpeople ruling

The deck of the Norwegian ship Tampa was home to the asylum seekers for more than a week

By Grant Holloway
CNN

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Canberra will appeal a federal court ruling that allows more than 400 asylum seekers to come to Australia.

Authorities turned away a group of asylum seekers two weeks ago, and they were en route to Papua New Guinea on an Australian naval vessel in what was seen as a resolution to a drawn-out spat involving three countries.

But now a federal court judge has overruled that move and said the refugees should be allowed to land in Australia.

A Minister for Defense statement said late Tuesday the government has lodged an immediate appeal, and is asking the court to hear it as soon as possible.

Australia's immigration minister has defended Canberra's policy of refusing to let the asylum seekers land on Australian soil.

In the past two weeks alone, three groups of asylum seekers have been turned away by Australia.

'Illegally detained'

VIDEO Europe also struggles with the immigration issue Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • One too many asylum seekers     EXTRA INFORMATION Australia's tide of refugees     AUDIO Judge Tony North on the verdict 686 KB / 1 min 3 secs WAV sound The asylum seekers' lawyer discusses the case 3.41MB / 2 min 42 secs WAV sound    CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition   COUNTRY PROFILE At a glance: Australia Provided by CountryWatch.com

Federal Court justice Tony North ruled Tuesday the government had acted illegally in denying access to 433 mainly Afghan boat people rescued from a sinking ferry in the Indian Ocean by a Norwegian freighter on August 26

He ruled that the asylum-seekers should now be allowed to land on Australian soil and gave the government until 5 p.m. (0700 GMT) Friday to comply unless there was an appeal.

The asylum-seekers are currently aboard the Australian Navy troop carrier Manoora, which is about one day's travel away from the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby.

The 433 asylum seekers, plus another 237 picked up in another batch, were due to be flown to either Nauru or New Zealand to have their refugee status assessed.

But just hours after the federal court's decision, Australia said that one of its navy ships carrying hundreds of unwanted asylum seekers would head straight to Nauru instead of offloading them in Papua New Guinea for a flight to the tiny Pacific island nation.

A spokesman for Australia's Department of Defense has told CNN the government would "act lawfully" in deciding how to handle the Manoora and its human cargo.

Australia's Minister for Immigration Phillip Ruddock said on Tuesday he believed the government had behaved legally despite the court ruling.

Stunning defeat

"Let me just say we disagree very strongly, we believe the decisions we have taken all through this, on advice from senior commonwealth officers, have been lawful, " Ruddock said.

The Minister of Defense added that Australia has the authority to prevent unlawful citizens from entering Australia's territorial waters.

The asylum seekers were heading towards Papua New Guinea before the ruling

William Maley from the Australian Refugee Council described the decision as a "stunning defeat" for the government, and warned it could encourage more asylum seekers to try to come to Australia.

The court decision arose after civil rights lawyers challenged the government's decision to turn away the mostly Afghan asylum seekers and followed six days of hearings in Melbourne.

Government lawyers had argued the boatpeople lost any rights to seek asylum in Australia after they forced the captain of the Norwegian freighter to head to Christmas Island -- an Australian territory -- rather than Indonesia, which was closer.

The law of the sea stipulates that people rescued from ships in distress should be taken to the nearest port.

However, civil rights lawyers, acting on behalf of the asylum seekers, successfully argued that because the refugees are effectively detained by Australian troops on board an Australian vessel, they fall under Australian jurisdiction.

They therefore have the right to seek legal advice on their asylum application in Australia, the lawyers argue.

If the court decision is upheld, the government fight to deter asylum seekers from reaching Australian shores will be weakened.

Sensitive time

The saga drew international attention

The drawn-out saga that has embroiled three countries and shows little sign of ending soon comes at a sensitive time for the country.

Over the past year, the Australian public has grown increasingly resentful over the mounting number of illegal immigrants arriving in the country.

More than 3,700 people have arrived on Australia's vast coastline so far this year, compared with 2,939 for all of 2000. While those arriving seek a new life, instead they are detained in camps.

Rioting in these centers, set up to house and process illegal immigrants, has added fuel to the debate.

More than 3,500 illegal immigrants are now being held in detention in Australia, including women and children.

Many Australians are irked at what they see as a spiraling cost to the taxpayer, amid claims the South Pacific nation is increasingly becoming the target for people smuggling operations.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, currently in the United States, has said the government will introduce legislation into parliament, which would be backdated, to make it tougher for people arriving by boat to lodge claims for asylum.