Australia to Ban Refugees Who Arrive by Boat From Ever Settling
- Legislation to be introduced to parliament this week: Turnbull
- Move aimed at sending message to people smugglers, PM says
Refugee supporters hold placards as they gather in Sydney on October 5, 2016 to mark the milestone of 200 days of continuous protests in the detention camp on the Pacific island of Nauru. According to refugee support groups, asylum seekers and refugees have held a daily protest since March 20, 2016, against their incarceration on Nauru, but despite criticism of its offshore policy, Australia's conservative government has strongly defended it, saying it has halted the spate of boat arrivals, and drownings, of earlier years. / AFP / PETER PARKS (Photo credit should read PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)
Photographer: PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty ImagesAustralia has shut the door to asylum seekers arriving in the country by boat, banning them for life from settling in the country.
In a move to stop people smugglers, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton announced Sunday that new legislation will be introduced to parliament this week to prevent “irregular maritime arrivals” taken to a regional processing country from making valid applications for an Australian visa. The bill will also apply to asylum seekers in detention centers on Nauru and on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island since July 19, 2013.