Tampa affair
[3] Within a few days, the government introduced the Border Protection Bill[4] into the House of Representatives, saying it would confirm Australian sovereignty to "determine who will enter and reside in Australia".
In the years leading up to 2001, increasing numbers of people attempted to travel to Australia by boat to seek asylum as refugees.
At dawn on 24 August 2001, a 20-metre wooden fishing boat, the Palapa 1, with 438 (369 men, 26 women and 43 children) mainly Hazara, became stranded in international waters about 140 km north of Christmas Island.
On 26 August, Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) Australia, which had been aware of the vessel's distress, possibly through Coastwatch surveillance, requested all ships in the area to respond.
Vessels within 10 hours report best ETA and intentions to this station.Captain Arne Rinnan of MV Tampa responded to the mayday call: "We are on a voyage from Fremantle to Singapore via Sunda Strait… We have changed course and are headed for position of distress… Please advise further course of action.
10 to 12 of them were unconscious, several had dysentery and a pregnant woman suffered abdominal pains.During the rescue, Rinnan received a call from Jakarta advising him to disembark the passengers at the ferry port of Merak, Indonesia.
About half an hour after Tampa had set sail toward Indonesia, a delegation of five asylum seekers visited the bridge to demand passage to Australian territory, specifically Christmas Island, or any western country.
"[11] Although Rinnan reported that he did not feel threatened and there was no risk of him losing his ship, he was conscious of the fact that there was now insufficient safety equipment or rations for all persons on board.
[13] The Australian government refused permission for the ship to enter Australia's territorial waters, and threatened to prosecute Captain Arne Rinnan as a people smuggler if it did so.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer explained to parliament that "It is important that people understand that Australia has no obligation under International law to accept the rescued persons in to Australian territory.
"[17] Faced with Australia's threats of prosecution, Captain Rinnan agreed to turn slowly back towards Indonesia in the hope that the asylum seekers would not notice.
Captain Rinnan, concerned that if the ship continued to sail to Indonesia the asylum seekers could jump overboard or riot and harm the crew, decided to head back towards Christmas Island.
He reported that several of the asylum seekers were unconscious, and others were suffering from dysentery,[19][20] statements subsequently supported by the Special Air Service (SAS) physician, but later disputed by Australian authorities.
[31] Many viewed the asylum seekers as "queue-jumpers" falsely claiming to be refugees, and criminals who "hijacked" Tampa to gain illegal entry into the country.
Some public commentators, including then-Minister for Defence Peter Reith, suggested that groups of asylum seekers arriving by boat could harbour terrorists.
[34] In July 2007, an unauthorised biography of John Howard claimed that he had received advice from the Attorney-General's Department that refusing the asylum seekers entry into Australia would breach international law, but that he did so to gain public support in the then upcoming election.
[36] The refugees from Tampa were loaded onto a Royal Australian Navy vessel, HMAS Manoora, which transported them to the small island country of Nauru, where most were held in two detention camps, State House and Topside.
[38] When those refugees not claimed by New Zealand arrived on Nauru, many of them refused to leave the boat after several additional weeks on board waiting for temporary shelters to be constructed, recognising they were to be held in detention camps pending the adjudication of their cases.
Those eventually found to be refugees were granted three-year temporary protection visas, under which they could be returned to their places of origin in Afghanistan and Iraq at a time of the government's choosing.
The Federal Government decided to grant refugee status to 92 Afghans detained on the Pacific island nation, while 11 applications were refused.
[39] Holders of a Temporary Protection Visa were not allowed multiple entrances into Australia and did not have access to the same services as normally recognised refugees (for example, free English language lessons and help with job search).
