not that the spazzo left give a toss about anything as frivilous as that.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nationa ... 6057808842TWO new boatloads of asylum-seekers are expected to arrive at Christmas Island in the coming days amid claims that Julia Gillard has surrendered Australia's negotiating leverage with Malaysia and Papua New Guinea by flagging detainee transfer deals before details have been agreed to.
Thirty-two asylum-seekers, said to be men from Afghanistan and Pakistan, are due to arrive today aboard the Customs vessel Triton and a second boatload of 21 people was picked up near Ashmore Reef on Monday.
The opposition yesterday opened a new line of attack against the government, accusing it of imposing what is effectively a processing freeze on new asylum claims while Canberra finalises the detail on its refugee swap with Kuala Lumpur.
However, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen continues to defend his policy. Writing in The Australian today, Mr Bowen warns that disasters such as the December 15 shipwrecking at Christmas Island are "inevitable" if the boats aren't stopped.
Mr Bowen also takes aim at the Coalition and the Greens, which oppose the Malaysia initiative.
Mr Bowen says if the Greens are truly concerned about the plight of refugees in Malaysia, they should welcome a deal that transfers 4000 of them to Australia.
"The Greens party position implies that we should care deeply about asylum-seekers who manage to get to Australia's shores, but not those who don't have the resources or the inclination to make such a journey," he says.
Referring to the Coalition's claim that Mr Bowen struck a dud deal with the Malaysians, the minister accuses the opposition of hypocrisy. He says an additional 4000 refugees is "a better deal than Tony Abbott's promise to double the refugee intake in return for Andrew Wilkie's vote on the floor of the House of Representatives".
But there are concerns the Gillard government has undermined Australia's negotiating position with Kuala Lumpur and Port Moresby by announcing, or foreshadowing, agreements where details have not yet been decided.
It is understood the decision to announce the deal was driven in part by fear it would leak.
"In some ways, she's lost her strength in bargaining," one senior government source told The Australian. "The Malaysians and the Papuans will sheet it home to her."
PNG is expected to agree to reopen the Manus Island detention centre within weeks. It is likely to hold 400-600. Sources close to the negotiations with Malaysia, which has agreed to take the next 800 asylum-seekers intercepted by Australia, say a deal will probably be signed early next month.
Mr Bowen has come under mounting pressure to deal with the 87 asylum-seekers who have arrived since the Malaysia deal was announced.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said by not processing new claims, or deporting new boat arrivals, the government had effectively introduced a new asylum freeze.