Border Force has stepped up efforts to stop asylum seekers from arriving illegally in Australia by boat following the recent High Court ruling.
The Australia Border Force and Operation Sovereign Borders have launched a joint task force in response to what they say is an increase in activity by people smugglers who are using the decision to release 141 asylum seekers from detention to entice more people to make the journey.
OSB commander Admiral Justin Jones has starred in a series of deterrence videos – translated into 16 languages - to clear up rumors about Australia’s borders.
Vice Admiral Jones warns that those traveling illegally to Australia by boat have a ‘zero chance’ of success, despite what people smugglers may tell them.
In November, at least 141 asylum seekers were released from indefinite detention after a landmark Supreme Court ruling found they were being unlawfully detained.
‘The recent decision by the High Court of Australia does not change Australia’s strict border protection policy. Traffickers will spread lies about this decision in an attempt to take your money, endanger your life and offer you a useless journey in return,” Admiral Jones said in one of the OSB videos.
“Let me be clear: anyone, anywhere, who attempts to illegally migrate to Australia by boat will be stopped, returned to their country of origin or point of departure, or transferred to a regional processing country.
‘You will never settle in Australia. Australian Border and Defense personnel are constantly working. Our borders are guarded and every ship is closely watched all day long. You have zero chance of success.’
The grim warning comes after 12 asylum seekers arrived undetected on a remote stretch of the Anjo Peninsula, at the northern tip of Western Australia.
The all-male group then walked through rugged bushland in 35 degree heat, arriving at the remote Truscott North Kimberley Airport last Wednesday.
They were given food and water by airport staff, who described them as being in ‘poor condition’, before being flown to Nauru within 41 hours.
It was the second group sent to the detention center since eleven people were intercepted in September.
Before then, no asylum seekers had been sent to Nauru for nine years.
State Liberal Party MP Neil Thomson told Ny Breaking Australia news of the arrivals was an “obvious concern” for Australians and indicative of the federal government’s position on asylum seekers.
“It raises questions about the broader messaging Australia has been sending in recent days, especially with the release of the convicted individuals released under the court order,” he said.
Just 24 hours after the last interception, Indonesian police stopped a group of Bangladeshi nationals from boarding a boat to Australia.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has accused Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil of ‘asleep at the wheel’ after two interceptions at the Australian border in September
Those preparing to set sail had reportedly paid $10,000 to travel from Citepus, a city in West Java, to Christmas Island.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has accused Home Secretary Clare O’Neil of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ following the interceptions – including the 11 asylum seekers sent to Nauru in September.
Mr Dutton said she had failed to protect Australians after a series of cyber attacks and was not doing enough to deter illegal arrivals by boat.
“It’s clearly been a very difficult 18 months for the Australians though,” he said.
‘We stole a lot of data on the watch of this minister, who I think was asleep at the wheel.
“I think Clare O’Neil has been quite embarrassed by what we’ve seen on her watch in terms of cybersecurity failures and now obviously people being posted to Nauru.”
Ms O’Neil said the Government’s commitment to OSB was “resolute” and said the Government had invested $1.59 billion in protecting Australia’s borders.
“We support it and implement it, which is why everyone who has tried to get to Australia by boat since our election is either waiting to return to Nauru or has already returned to their home country,” she said. The Australian.
“Our government has no hesitation in funding this properly and making the tough decisions necessary to keep our borders secure.”
Meanwhile, an Iranian asylum seeker who arrived by boat on the Australian coast a decade ago has spent his first night as a free man.
Ned Kelly Emeralds (pictured with supporter, songwriter Dawn Barrington) enjoys his first taste of freedom in Australia after being released from immigration detention
Ned Kelly Emeralds is a free man, ten years after he fled Iran and arrived in Australia
Ned Kelly Emeralds has been held in immigration detention since he fled Iran in 2013 for fear of persecution after renouncing his faith, an illegal act in his home country.
On Thursday, he became the 142nd long-term detainee to be released after winning a Federal Court case in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.
The former metallurgical engineer legally changed his name to Ned Kelly Emeralds, a nod to the 19th century Australian outlaw.
Some of the other asylum seekers recently released by the Albanian government have been convicted of serious criminal offenses including murder and child rape, while four have refused to wear ankle bracelets.
The case of Mr Emeralds, who has never been convicted of a crime or whose visa has never been revoked, was the first to be heard since the High Court ruling.
Federal Court Judge Geoffrey Kennett ruled that Emeralds’ detention in Western Australia was unlawful because there was “no realistic prospect” that his deportation “would become practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future”.
Judge Kennett described it as a ‘particularly disturbing case’ and ordered Mr Emeralds’ immediate release so he could enjoy freedom in Australia for the first time after a decade of being shuttled from one detention center to another.