Record 1800 seek asylum in a month

A further two boats carrying 108 people have been intercepted in Australian waters, bringing the total number of illegal boat arrivals for June to 1781 people.

That is a record number of arrivals in a single month, said coalition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison.

One boat carrying 41 people was picked up northeast of Ashmore Islands in the Timor Sea on Friday evening, and a second carrying 67 passengers was intercepted at Cocos Islands that night. Passengers from both boats will be processed on Christmas Island.

Parliament failed to agree on a compromise bill on asylum policy this week, despite about 100 people dying in twin boat disasters in the past 10 days. Prime Minister Julia Gillard last week announced the creation of an independent expert group to examine asylum policy and deliver a report on a way forward by the time Parliament resumes on August 14.

Morrison repeated the opposition’s calls for Nauru to be reopened, saying the Government’s inaction was encouraging the illegal boats.

Former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer said previous governments should be condemned for opening Australia to people smugglers and Indonesia should not be allowed to get away with dumping the problem.

Mining tycoon Clive Palmer said a cheaper and safer solution would be to allow asylum seekers to buy plane tickets at one-tenth the cost of boat travel. — AP