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Concept
Tampa affair
Summary
In late August 2001, the Howard government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 433 rescued refugees (predominantly Hazaras of Afghanistan from a distressed fishing vessel in international waters) and 5 crew, to enter Australian waters. This triggered an Australian political controversy in the lead-up to the 2001 federal election, and a diplomatic dispute between Australia and Norway.
When Tampa entered Australian waters, the Prime Minister ordered the ship be boarded by Australian special forces. This brought censure from the government of Norway, which said the Australian government failed to meet its obligations to distressed mariners under international law at the United Nations. Within a few days, the government introduced the Border Protection Bill into the House of Representatives, saying it would confirm Australian sovereignty to "determine who will enter and reside in Australia". The government introduced the "Pacific Solution", whereby the asylum seekers were taken to Nauru where their refugee status was considered, rather than in Australia.
In the years leading up to 2001, increasing numbers of people attempted to travel to Australia by boat to seek asylum as refugees. Many of these arrived off Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, some 2000 km off the north-west coast of Australia and 500 km south of Jakarta, Indonesia. Hundreds of people arrived on tightly packed, unseaworthy vessels, and many paid large amounts of money to people smugglers for their passage to Australia.
At dawn on 24 August 2001, a 20-metre wooden fishing boat, the Palapa 1, with 438 (369 men, 26 women and 43 children) mainly Hazara, became stranded in international waters about 140 km north of Christmas Island.
On 26 August, Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) Australia, which had been aware of the vessel's distress, possibly through Coastwatch surveillance, requested all ships in the area to respond. Of the ships that acknowledged the request, Tampa was closest to the site and began to proceed towards the distressed Palapa 1.
Official source
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