PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has been accused of inciting people smugglers and encouraging them to send refugees to Australia illegally.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton yesterday slammed Ms Palaszczuk for sending a message to smugglers in Indonesia that Australia’s tough policy would soon be changed.
The comments came as authorities prepared to move asylum-seeker baby “Asha” from a Brisbane hospital to community detention.
“We are going to have a consistency of approach here because I can tell you that intelligence out of Indonesia recently was that people smugglers were reporting the comments of Premiers, including Palaszczuk … to say that there was going to be a change in the policy,” Mr Dutton said.
“People had prepaid deposits and all sorts of things to get on boats. We know there are about 14,000 people in Indonesia today who would get on boats tomorrow.”
Ms Palaszczuk wrote to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull two weeks ago, saying she stood ready to accept asylum seekers into the state. Yesterday, she reiterated her stance.
“The fact it took a hospitalised baby girl, hundreds of people from across our community taking a principled stand in front of the hospital and expressions of disappointment from thousands more to finally move Immigration Minister Peter Dutton speaks volumes about his lack of character and compassion,” she said.
Mr Dutton yesterday said the Federal Government would not deviate in its policies, saying placing Asha and her family in community detention was not a long-term solution.
“ I’m not going to allow a situation where we have people harmed to come to our country to receive medical assistance and then they think there’s a formula for them to be released into the community. That is not going to happen,” Mr Dutton said.
In response to advocacy groups claiming victory after it was announced Asha would be moved by the end of Monday to community detention, Mr Dutton said community detention first was what “we’ve proposed all along”, before the family’s case is considered and a decision is made on whether they be returned to Nauru.
As reported by The Courier-Mail last Wednesday, doctors at Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital agreed with immigration officers the 13-month-old could be moved into community detention, possibly at Pinkenba.
Medical staff had refused to discharge her if she was to be sent back to the island detention centre on Nauru.
Authorities had planned to move Asha yesterday but the decision was delayed, with Queensland Police stepping up their role in the operation.
Officers from the Public Safety Response Team and police negotiators descended on the hospital.
Mr Dutton did not rule out the family being sent back to Nauru or to their home country if they were found to not have a legitimate asylum claim.
The child has been at the hospital since January 26, after burning herself with boiling water at the detention centre in Nauru.
Mr Dutton said a bed shortage also played into doctors’ decision to agree to community detention.
“I understand there are some pressures at the hospital in terms of bed space and the rest of it but that is an issue for the Queensland Government.”
Darwin Asylum Seeker and Support Advocacy Network co-ordinator Natasha Blucher had been in contact with Asha’s parents and said they were pleased with the decision to be moved to community detention.
Asha’s father was relocated to the Pinkenba site when his family was taken to the hospital.
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