Deal possible for Oceanic Viking passengers
Updated
Australia and Indonesia are believed to be close to finalising a deal which the Federal Government hopes will convince the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers onboard the Oceanic Viking to leave the customs ship and go ashore.
Sources have told the ABC the asylum seekers would have their refugee claims processed quickly, they would not be sent to an Indonesian detention centre and Australia would take a share of those Sri Lankans found to be refugees by the United Nations. The standoff has dominated Australia's domestic political agenda, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd insisting his approach is "tough but humane".
Presenter: Alexandra Kirk
Speakers: Stephen Smith, Australian Foreign Minister; John Stirton, AC Nielsen
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ALEXANDRA KIRK: Three weeks after an Australian customs ship plucked 78 Sri Lankans from their stricken boat, the Federal Government hopes it will soon have a deal to persuade the asylum seekers to go ashore and be processed in Indonesia. So far they're refused to disembark.
But the ABC's been told a three-pronged offer is being finalised. It's understood asylum claims would be processed faster and resettlement fast-tracked. Those found to be refugees could go to Australia, New Zealand or Canada. Tamils already deemed refugees would be resettled first.
The ABC understands Australian officials are also negotiating for the Sri Lankans to be housed in community accommodation near where they'd disembark at Kijang Port, not in the Tanjung Pinang detention centre as originally planned. A sticking point appears to be to finding enough room for all 78. The agreement would then be put to the asylum seekers in a bid to end the Oceanic Viking standoff.
The Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, now on his way to Sri Lanka leading a high powered delegation to try and stem the flow of asylum seekers at its source has finally acknowledged their central concern - being left in Indonesia for years awaiting processing and resettlement.
STEPHEN SMITH: Some people on board the boat have previously been considered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and accorded refugee status. Some people on the boat have previously registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as intending to claim asylum.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: A Government source says Australia wants to finalise the deal within the next couple of days, before the Prime Minister flies to the APEC summit in Singapore and before Federal Parliament resumes in a week, heading off the political headache that was threatening to turn into a full blown migraine for him.
According to today's Nielsen poll, Australians are divided over Kevin Rudd's handling of the asylum seeker issue. Pollster John Stirton.
JOHN STIRTON: The big problem is he has got a divided electorate. He has got half the electorate approve of the way he is handling asylum seekers or about half, 45 per cent, and 47 per cent disapprove which is roughly, statistically equal, so that is his big problem and it is also a problem because on the right side you have got people see it as a border protection issue where they see the Government as too soft. On the left side, too harsh where it is a humanitarian issue and he has got to walk that tight rope in between. So far so good but it is not an issue that he is going to be enjoying.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: The Nielsen poll shows Mr Rudd's popularity has dipped but he and Labor still have a strong lead. That's in stark contrast to last week's Newspoll that found support for the Government had tumbled, to be neck and neck with the Opposition on the primary vote.
John Stirton thinks it was a "rogue" poll.
JOHN STIRTON: Yeah, I suspect so. That is the most likely explanation. A rogue poll or a outlier as they are sometimes called. A bit of an occupational hazard in polling. If you do 20-plus polls a year as Newspoll do, you would expect to get one outlier every year and perhaps last week was it.
TONY EASTLEY: Nielsen pollster John Stirton. Alexandra Kirk, the reporter.
There's no shortage of polls out this morning and they all touch on the Government's handling of the issue of asylum seekers.
The AC Nielsen poll in Fairfax papers and Newspoll, published in the Australian, show roughly half the population thinks the Government is doing a bad job of handling asylum seekers. The two polls show a slight difference in those who think the Government is doing a good job - in the Nielsen poll, it's about 45 per cent of respondents, while it was less than a third surveyed for Newspoll.
On the question of whether the Government's policies were harsh, the two polls were roughly in line with one another. Around half of respondents thought the Government's policies were too soft; about a third said they were about right.
