MORE than 150 asylum-seekers held on a Customs ship for nearly a month are to be brought to Australia pending their possible return to India.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison today announced a deal with India on the handling of the 157 Tamils, whose boat was intercepted after setting sail from India early last month.
The whereabouts of the asylum-seekers and the Australian vessel carrying them have been a closely-guarded secret.
Mr Morrison said that following talks this week India had agreed to take back Indian citizens and would even consider taking non-citizen residents such as Sri Lankans.
This was a “significant and generous” extension of the Indian government’s policy, he said.
“It is our intention those who can be returned should and must be returned.”
Mr Morrison said the asylum-seekers, currently being held on a Border Protection Command vessel, would be brought to Australia pending their assessment by Indian officials.
“The Australian government has agreed to bring the BPC vessel with 157 persons on board to Australia where consular access of Indian high commission officials will be provided,’’ Mr Morrison said.
“The final location for the return of those passengers is still to be determined and is subject to operational considerations.’’
He would not go into details of the asylum seekers’ nationalities.
“That is a matter now that Indian consular officials will work through,’’ he said.
The 157 will be the first asylum-seekers to reach Australia in nearly seven months.
However Mr Morrison said they will not remain in the country.
“They will not be resettled in Australia,’’ he said in Canberra.
He said the government’s seven-month record of preventing people-smuggling ventures still stood.
“In the last seven months there has not been a single successful people-smuggling venture to Australia and this remains the case, even for the venture that remains at sea.’’
He said the Australian and Indian governments were working “as one” to stop people-smuggling ventures, which was “significantly impacting” the business.
“We will exhaust any and every measure to prevent people coming to Australia ... with the assistance of people smugglers,’’ he said.
“It is just something we won’t cop, we haven’t copped it, we will continue not to cop it.’’
The asylum-seekers’ detention on the Australian vessel, after being picked up in the Indian Ocean, has been the subject of an ongoing High Court challenge.
Today’s development also follows Australian requests for the Indian government to take back the asylum-seekers, who set sail from Pondicherry in India early last month.
