Coalition wants military commander to lead fight against people smugglers
The Coalition has unveiled plans to put a military commander in charge of the job of stopping people smugglers and securing Australia's borders.
Under the proposal, named Operation Sovereign Borders, the commander would be appointed by the Chief of the Defence Force and would report directly to the Immigration Minister.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said people smuggling was a "national emergency".
He said a Coalition government would ask the Defence Force to appoint a three-star commander to lead a joint agency taskforce to deal with people smugglers and border protection.
He said Operation Sovereign Borders would be put in place within 100 days of the Coalition taking government and would involve all 12 agencies with direct involvement in border security.
"This is one of the most serious external situations that we have faced in many a long year," Mr Abbott told reporters in Brisbane.
Key points
- Coalition unveils Operation Sovereign Borders to combat people smuggling
- Military commander to run operation and report to Immigration Minister
- PNG's PM has accused Coalition of "misrepresenting" foreign aid deal
- Indonesian authorities continue search for survivors after asylum seeker boat sinks
- More asylum seekers have been seen leaving Indonesia bound for Australia
"It must be tackled with decisiveness, with urgency, with the appropriate level of seriousness.
"That's why we need to have a senior military officer in operational control of this very important national emergency."
Coalition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the proposal had come after years of work with senior defence advisors.
"Operation Sovereign Borders is about having a clear mission, a clear chain of command and a clear policy framework for doing that," he said.
Retired Major General Jim Molan was one of the advisers who worked on the policy.
"This is not a military operation, it is a military-led operation," he said.
The Coalition says it will also finalise details on its plans to turn back asylum seeker boats when safe within its first 100 days in office.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has already dismissed the policy as another slogan from the Opposition.
"He's got a new three-word slogan today, I think its called Operation something-or-other," he said. "So we've now got two three-word slogans: 'Stop the boats - Operation something-or-other'".
The Coalition's announcement came a day after Papua New Guinea's prime minister launched an extraordinary attack on the Coalition, accusing it of "misrepresenting" Australia's foreign aid deal with his country.
Meanwhile, more asylum seekers were reportedly last night leaving the Puncak region, south of Jakarta, to get on a boat bound for Australia.
And Indonesian authorities have resumed the search for survivors from an asylum seeker boat that sank in choppy seas off Java on Tuesday, retrieving the bodies of two children among several others.
Bodies of children among those found after asylum boat sinks
The official death toll from the sinking off Java rose to nine overnight, with the bodies of two children among those retrieved.
Local search and rescue coordinators say 189 survivors have been found.
Some of them are now understood to be in the custody of Immigration officials.
It is thought that up to 200 people were on board.
More asylum seekers prepare to depart Indonesia
A people smuggler has told the ABC that dozens of asylum seekers had been gathering overnight in the renowned asylum seeker gathering spot of Puncak, in the Bogor region, from where they planned to head to the coast and take to the seas.
The asylum seekers were carrying personal belongings and did not say which part of Java they were leaving from.
A people smuggler who spoke to the ABC slammed the decision by a fellow smuggler to send the boat that sank on Tuesday, saying the weather was too rough to make it to Australia.
The ABC is trying to identify the smuggler responsible.
PNG PM Peter O'Neill warns Coalition to stop misrepresenting foreign aid deal
Papua New Guinea's prime minister Peter O'Neill has launched an extraordinary broadside at the Opposition, after its foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said Mr O'Neill had told the Coalition he was now in control of the aid money coming from Australia to his country.
It is likely aid funding to PNG will increase after it agreed to process and resettle refugees who come by boat to Australia.
Mr O'Neill has accused the Opposition of misrepresenting a private briefing he gave them last week about the deal for political gain.
"I don't particularly appreciate being misrepresented by others for their own political interests," he told the ABC.
"I am disappointed with some of the debates put forward by some of the leaders in the Opposition in Australia, in particular statements I am alleged to have made to them.
"They are completely untrue."
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has suggested the foreign aid money would not be spent responsibly and with accountability.
Mr O'Neill is calling on the Opposition to show more respect in its dealings with his government.
His outburst follows more subtle public criticism from Indonesia about the Coalition's "turn back the boats" policy.
Indonesia's president recently signed a communiqué calling on leaders to refrain from "unilateral action" that would undermine regional cooperation on people smuggling.
