Australia and the boats About 4500 asylum seekers have arrived by boat in the past year (2009-2010).

Compare this to 200,000 new permanent residents each year and about 50,000 visa overstayers from such places as New Zealand, Britain and the US. Despite these statistics, boat people feature heavily in public and political debate. Recently, the Gillard government proposed the Malaysian solution for dealing with asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat. Under the agreement Australia will send 800 asylum seekers who arrive by boat to Malaysia and in return will accept 4000 refugees certified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This policy has come under intense scrutiny from both a moral and legal perspective. On Wednesday 31 August, 2011, the High Court ruled this policy unlawful. The court ruled with a six-to-one majority that the Malaysian deal contravened protections that Australia is bound to abide by in regard to asylum seekers. It also noted that Australia could not be certain of maintaining those protections in Malaysia as it was not a signatory to international human rights laws. It seems there is no easy solution. Your task is to research the facts relating to this issue and formulate an opinion on the matter. Watch the clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehdHHKfmN00 Then, go to: http://www.boat-people.org/?page_id=148 1. A newspaper article has stated that Australia is being flooded by boats full of illegal immigrants. Respond to this article using the facts stated in the information on the website (1/2 page) Go to: http://theconversation.edu.au/explainer-the-facts-about-the-malaysiansolution-and-australias-international-obligations-1861 or search for Malaysia solution conversation facts. 2. What are Australias obligations to asylum seekers under international law? 3. Would the Malaysia Solution place Australia in breach of our international obligations? With each boat arrival, Australias security and sovereignty considerations take another step backwards. However, stopping the boats is not a simple matter. Returning boats and their passengers would raise a variety of complications and, realistically, would be unworkable. 4. In your opinion, is the Malaysia solution the right or wrong approach to deal with boat arrivals of asylum seekers to Australia? Justify your

response and provide an alternate approach if you disagree.