http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/time-to-back-malaysia-plan-on-as...

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called on the opposition and the Greens to back her government's people-swap plan with Malaysia, after another asylum seeker boat tragedy.

Ms Gillard said the ''incredibly distressing'' deaths of a young boy and a woman in her 30s, believed to be from Afghanistan, from a boat that capsized near Christmas Island on Monday underlined the danger of boat journeys to Australia.

The other 93 people on the boat were rescued by Australian border authorities, and a badly injured pregnant woman, a boy, and a 36-year-old man were flown to hospital in Perth.

The boat was hit by two freak waves minutes after being boarded by two border protection officials within 15 nautical miles of Christmas Island.

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The deaths have led to calls for a review of protocols for intercepting asylum seekers' boats.

The tragedy – the first off Christmas Island since the Gillard government accepted all the recommendations of its expert panel on asylum seekers – prompted warnings of more deaths at sea from former immigration minister Gerry Hand.

''Many Australians will have been moved to see that loss of life, particularly the loss of life of a child,'' the Prime Minister told ABC radio on Tuesday.

She blamed the ''belligerence and negativity'' of the opposition for stopping the government from implementing all measures recommended by the panel headed by former defence force chief Angus Houston.

She also took a swipe at the Australian Greens for not supporting the plan Australia negotiated with Malaysia.

''An obligation lies on their shoulders to show they can put the national interest first in this debate,'' Ms Gillard said.

''Each and every time it has been presented to parliament they have said no to the national interest and yes to their own political interests.''

The Greens had ''preferred to see more boats on our horizon because they think it's good for them politically''.

''It's an incredibly destructive attitude,'' Ms Gillard said.

Under the plan, 800 asylum seekers would have been sent to Malaysia for processing in exchange for 4000 processed refugees.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott rejected the Prime Minister's call, telling reporters in Sydney that when Ms Gillard referred to the Malaysia people swap deal, she was looking for an excuse to do nothing.

''(It) involves just 800 people and just at the moment we're getting 800 people a week,'' he said.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said on Monday the boat was one of several launched by people smugglers during a break from monsoonal weather that had ''provided an opportunity for the people who peddle in this evil trade''.

Mr Clare said that while the boat had been spotted at 4pm (Melbourne time) on Sunday afternoon, it had not appeared to be in distress before it was intercepted, about 40 minutes after daylight on Monday, and boarded.

Border protection commander Rear Admiral David Johnston said his officers had followed established protocols in waiting for first light in the absence of signals of distress to board the boat, a converted Indonesian fishing vessel.

He said conditions at the time were ''certainly within our ability to manage safely'' before the two large waves rocked the boat.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the protocols should be reviewed with a view to boarding vessels earlier – a call supported by George Newhouse, a lawyer representing survivors of the 2010 tragedy off Christmas Island.

Senator Hanson-Young said it was clear that the ''punitive'' measures adopted on August 13 last year, including sending asylum seekers to Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, were not deterring arrivals.

Rear Admiral Johnston said the nationalities of those on board was unknown, however, it appeared they were from Afghanistan and  Middle Eastern countries. Three Indonesians have also been identified.

Mr Clare said that, with the monsoon season to continue until end of April, there was ''potential for conditions to get much more dangerous in weeks ahead''.

Opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison said news of the tragedy sadly came as no surprise. ''Every vessel that seeks to come to Australia in this way puts everyone's life at risk, including those called upon to conduct the rescue,'' he said.

''Another two souls have been lost at sea as the chaos, cost and tragedy continues on our borders. They join more than a thousand who are believed to have perished as a result of trying to make this dangerous journey.''

Former Hawke government minister Mr Hand predicted more tragedies until a regional agreement was reached. ''I hate to say it, but I've no doubt there will be more (deaths) as the boats intensify after the monsoon season,'' Mr Hand told Sky News. ''The only solution here is a regional approach and that has to be an objective.''

The Gillard government recently appointed Angus Houston as a special envoy to build support for a regional approach.

Mr Newhouse, the head of of the Shine Lawyers Social Justice team, said it was vital that appropriate care and counselling was provided to the survivors, insisting this was not the case in the 2010 tragedy, known as the SIEV 221 disaster, that claimed about 50 lives.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Mar 26^th, 2013 at 11:13am:


Greens and LIBs

Based on recent polls - LIBs have 50% primary and Greens have 12% primary

So blaming them both means 62% primary against Labor