Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison made his first visit to Nauru, where he inspected the detention processing facility. Under Operation Sovereign Borders, pregnant women seeking asylum will give birth on the island. Mr. Morrison claimed that crime rates associated with asylum seekers in the community are rising, a factor that has led to ten people being stripped of bridging visas since the federal election.
Reports suggest people smuggling operations have reduced in activity due to the Coalition’s hardline immigration policy, which Mr. Morrison states will not change amid speculation after Tony Abbott’s visit to Indonesia. In Jakarta, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak affirmed his commitment to assist Australia to tackle asylum seeker issues.
The European Commission has called for the support of a proposed Mediterranean-wide patrol operation in a bid to prevent refugee deaths at sea.
Liberal Democrats Senator-elect David Leyonhjelm predicts that Prime Minister Abbott’s immigration policy will fail and has recommended an approach that would see asylum seekers charged $50,000 for permanent residency in Australia.
Former Howard government immigration minister Amanda Vanstone claims asylum seekers are targeting the media to gain sympathy, and hence, entry into Australia.