Australia’s deal with India on the return of Indian residents who sought to come to Australia by boat has also ended with the asylum-seekers’ refusal to be interviewed.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told The Weekend Australian last night: “Those who have been transferred to Nauru will now likely never go back to India and will certainly never be resettled in Australia. Should they be found to be a refugee, they will be resettled on Nauru, not Australia. If they are not found to be a refugee, they will go back to Sri Lanka, not India.
“Going back to India, where they are likely to have family and friends, is no longer an option for those who were living there. They passed up that option when they chose not to meet with Indian consular officials in Australia.
“This is regrettable, disappointing and could have been avoided.”
After refugee advocates spoke to three leaders of the 157 people, the government was told on Thursday the asylum-seekers would not meet Indian consular officials who were going to assist in their return to India.
Mr Morrison had organised a deal with India to take back the Indian residents, as well as non-resident Tamils, who had left from India’s southern coastal city of Pondicherry, near Tamil Nadu, in June. They then spent a month on board an Australian Customs vessel after being intercepted in internationals waters.
“The Australian government created a rare opportunity with the government of India for many of the 157 people who were on that voyage from India, including up to 50 children, to go back to where they were living in safety in India, where they have family and friends, rather than go to Nauru,” Mr Morrison said last night.
“This opportunity has been squandered.”
Mr Morrison said Immigration officials had warned the asylum-seekers of the alternative of going to Nauru if they did not meet the Indian representatives.
He said it appeared the decision not to see the consular officials had been taken “on the advice of advocates and lawyers who spoke to the leaders of the group”.
“If this is true, these lawyers appear to have put their own political agenda against the government ahead of the welfare of their own clients,” he said.
“There are now around 50 more children on Nauru, many of which, if not all, could have been going back to India as a result of the humanitarian option for return secured by my visit to India last week.
“There were only ever two options here: return to India or offshore processing on Nauru. The government was clear about this and provided the options.
“The result of this venture means that, unfortunately, the arrangement with India has come to an end. There was always the risk that advocates would seek to frustrate the initiative, to the detriment of those they claim to support, as it would appear they have on this occasion. The result is that those on that voyage are now even worse off.”
