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Australia's boat payment policy four years old
The Australian government has paid thousands of dollars to turn back boats of asylum seekers for at least four years, a document reveals
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he Australian government has paid thousands of dollars to turn back boats of asylum seekers for at least four years, a document reveals.
An exclusive report by Australian media group Fairfax states that the policy, called boat payment, has been in force for some time, including under the former Labor government.
Quoting multiple sources, the report reveals that the practice has existed since 2010 under the Rudd government.
The practice involves intelligence officers paying members of Indonesian people-smuggling rings for information about their operations or to discourage them from operating the boats, the report states.
The practice emerged in the media last week when the captain and five crew members of a boat carrying 65 asylum seekers told local police on Rote Island in East Nusa Tenggara that they were each paid US$5,000 by an Australian official to return to Indonesia.
The revelation has soured relations between Jakarta and Canberra, with the Indonesian government demanding confirmation from Tony Abbott's administration.
Australian media have reported that the opposition has attacked Abbott for this policy. Yet, the report finds at least one former Labor immigration minister was aware of this practice during his tenure. (ika)(+++)
