Boatpeople deaths pressure Australian asylum policy

By Michael Perry

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia came under pressure Friday to toughen its asylum policy after three asylum seekers were killed and more than 30 seriously injured in an explosion on an Indonesian boat heading for the Australian coast.

Conservative opposition politicians blamed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's softening of Australia's asylum policy for a surge in boatpeople, with one going further and linking the deaths on Thursday to the government's policy.

"You can't announce a softer policy and then expect people not to lose their lives through people-smuggling efforts, which is, of course, all about cash," opposition immigration spokesman Sharman Stone told Sky News.

The latest boat, carrying 49 people believed to be from Afghanistan, was detected by the Australian navy at Ashmore Reef, between Australia and Indonesia, and was drifting under the watch of the military when the explosion occurred.

The leader of Western Australia state said the boat may have been deliberately doused in petrol before the explosion.

But the government stood firm, defending its asylum policy.

Rudd said people smugglers were engaged in "the world's most evil trade" and that was why his government had a "hardline, tough, targeted approach to maintaining border protection."

"We've dedicated more resources to combat people smuggling than any other government in Australian history," he said.

Rudd said the fight against people smuggling would also require the cooperation of countries like Indonesia and Malaysia from where boatpeople launch their bids for Australia.

The Labor government, elected in 2007, dumped the previous conservative government's policy of automatically detaining boatpeople in offshore centers in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The policy, which was criticized by the United Nations and human rights groups, was called the "Pacific Solution" as it aimed to stop boatpeople landing on Australian soil and thereby stopping them automatically claiming refugee status.

A poll by Australia's Sky TV News Friday found 83 percent of Australia's believe the country's border protection policy should now be hardened in the wake of the boatpeople deaths.

Several online readers of Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper also called for tougher action to stop asylum seekers.

"Rudd has blood on his hands. The softening of our stance on refugees has resulted in a revolving door in Australia and anyone is welcome," said Bill from the Sydney suburb of Drummoyne.

BACKLASH

If the Labor government, due to go to the polls by the end of 2010, toughens its asylum policy it could expect a backlash from its traditional voter base, many of whom are migrants, and especially after its criticism of the earlier hardline stance.

"A disaster has catapulted border protection into a risky issue for the government," wrote The Age newspaper's Michelle Gratton, referring to the 2001 election, which an opposition Labor lost due to its softer border protection policy.

"The government will be under pressure to examine whether its policy needs change. It should resist being spooked."

Thirteen boats carrying around 379 asylum seekers, mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka, have reached Australian waters since the government softened the asylum policy last July.

People-smuggling to Australia peaked in 2001 when more than 1,200 people arrived, mostly from the Middle East and organized by professional people-smuggling rings.

A dilapidated Indonesian fishing boat en-route to Australia sank in international waters in October 2001, killing 353 people.

Immigration advocates said there had been a 12 percent increase worldwide in asylum-seeker numbers during 2008, and Australia was seeing only a fraction of that, with numbers last year up from 3,970 in 2007 to 4,750.

(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)