Children to be sent from Christmas Island to Malaysia

Last Updated: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 07:17:00 +1000

Nineteen children are among a group of 55 asylum seekers who have arrived on Christmas Island, Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has confirmed.

The group will become the first of 800 asylum seekers to be sent to Malaysia in exchange for 4,000 certified refugees.

Dozens of Australian Federal Police surrounded the jetty as the asylum seekers arrived on shore, ferried from an Australian customs ship to Flying Fish Cove.

Mr Bowen says three of the children are with parents, 14 are unaccompanied, and two are travelling with an older relative.

"The process now begins to transfer these people to Malaysia in terms of that agreement. This is an important step," Mr Bowen said.

"It is very important that we send the message very clearly that there is no benefit in getting on a boat and taking the dangerous boat journey to Australia."

The asylum seekers, believed to be mainly from Afghanistan, were smiling and appeared relaxed as they boarded buses to the Phosphate Hill Detention Centre.

Mr Bowen says counsellors at the centre told the group they were being sent to Malaysia, but he would not reveal their reaction to the news.

"I wouldn't provide feedback on that," he said.

He stood by the government's decision to include children in the Malaysian deal, even those unaccompanied.

"There's no blanket exemptions. We can expect people smugglers to try it on and we can expect people smugglers to lie," he said.

The asylum seekers will have basic health and security checks to ensure they are fit to fly and access to a phone to call home.

The Immigration Department is planning to transfer the group to Malaysia by Sunday.

A delegation of Malaysian police was also on Christmas Island to observe the Australian side of the transfer.

Call for sympathy

The United Nations children's agency is appealing for the Immigration Minister Chris Bowen to act carefully as he prepares to send 14 unaccompanied child asylum seekers to Malaysia.

The Chief Executive of UNICEF Australia, Norman Gillespie, says Mr Bowen must act with sympathy and care when deciding whether the children should be sent to Malaysia.

"We really rely upon the Minister to reserve his rights of course but to really take each case of an unaccompanied minor as a very serious instance," he said.

Unclear conditions

The head of the Refugee Council of Australia says it is still not clear what type of accommodation the asylum seekers who are being transferred from Australia to Malaysia will be provided with.

The Refugee Council's Paul Power has told Connect Asia the full details of the arrangement are yet to be revealed.

"It is going to be very much an interesting exercise just to see what happens over the coming days - how quickly people are moved from Christmas Island to Malaysia and exactly under what conditions," he said.

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