abbott ignorant of immigration law?

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-unveils-tougher-asylum-policy-20120609-202fw.html

According to this source, Tony Abbott is supposed to have stated that;

"What is happening now is that 90 per cent of people who arrive illegally via boat are given successful outcomes."

Abbott does not appear to realist that it is quite lawful for a person to request asylum after arriving in Australia without documentation.Those who crew the boats that carry them are in breach of our laws but not the passengers.

Allowing such asylum requests is one of our obligations as a signatory under the UNHCR

http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/prsr/prsr.html

http://www.unhcr.org/4ec262df9.html