Tamil Asylum Seekers

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, which means the motion failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) more than 240 Tamil asylum seekers remain on their boat in the Indonesian port of Merak, in increasingly squalid conditions after more than 3 months, and

(ii) this boat was intercepted by Indonesia at Australia’s request in October 2009;

(b) recognises:

(i) of the 240 on board, 100 have been found to be genuine refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, yet they are afraid to leave the boat under the threat of removal to Indonesian detention centres, and

(ii) Australia’s obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees; and

(c) calls on the Government to immediately step in and end the standoff over the Tamil asylum-seekers who have been left in squalid conditions on a boat at Merak, Indonesia for 115 days.