Asylum seekers will trade people smugglers for refuge
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Three of the asylum seekers have been taken to hospital as their hunger strike continues. (Reuters: Dadang Tri)
A group of 255 Sri Lankans staging a hunger strike on a boat in Western Java say they will reveal the identities of people smugglers if Australia accepts them as refugees.
The Tamil asylum seekers say they have given up drinking fluids as well as eating food. Three of them have been taken to hospital as their stand-off with Indonesian authorities continues.
Local immigration chief Dr Harry Purwanto says the group is becoming divided, with some wanting to get off the boat and move into accommodation opposite the port and in the nearest town.
But the translator who calls himself Alex says the group remains united and defiant.
"There is not a majority who wants to come ashore," he said.
"There is actually not one person who wants to come ashore just yet. If you would like to come on board ... I will guarantee you they will all say no."
He says the group has remained in constant contact with people smugglers since being on the boat and is willing to give up the smugglers' identities if the Australian Government grants them asylum.
"We have made that agreement. We will help you apprehend anybody that is involved because there is a huge network out there and we will actually go as far as we can to stop this," he said.
"We will hand over all agents who are involved in this if the Australian Government accepts us."
'Bogus asylum seekers'
Alex has also hit back at accusations by the Sri Lankan high commissioner to Australia that the asylum seekers are not actually Sri Lankan residents.
Senaka Walgampaya said he had no sympathy for the "bogus" asylum seekers and that the world was being duped by their claims of persecution.
"These two people who have spoken to the media, this person called Alex and the young girl, from their accent it's quite obvious that they are not from Sri Lanka," he said.
"They may be of Sri Lankan origin but they have been living probably in the west for a long time because Alex's accent is quite a distinct American accent. It is not the accent of a Sri Lankan Tamil."
He says it is possible they have been living outside Sri Lanka for 10 to 15 years, and that they would face no persecution in Sri Lanka.
But Alex says he was educated in Jaffna at the American Mission College in English and worked at an American call centre in Chennai for three years where he was taught to speak with an American accent.
'Tough, hardline approach'
So far there is not much sympathy from Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
"I believe that it's a right for the Government to have a tough, hardline but humane approach," he said.
"The UNHCR processes I believe are fair. They've been around for a long time.
"These individual cases should be processed on their merits and that's what we have professional UNHCR staff to do, and it is irresponsible for any Prime Minister of Australia to send out a message of positive encouragement to people smugglers in the region."
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says none of this would have happened if Labor had not changed the nation's immigration policies.
"Mr Rudd unpicked the fabric of a border protection policy that had worked, that had proved its effectiveness by substantially eliminating this vile trade of people smuggling," he said.
"Mr Rudd can talk about hardline and tough and making no apologies as often as he likes but the apology he should make is to the Australian people."
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State of the Parties
76 seats required for victory
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90.2% counted.
Updated Fri Sep 3 02:41AM
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| Party | % Vote | Swing | Won | Predict | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | 38.1 | -5.3 | 72 | |||
| Coalition | 43.7 | +1.6 | 73 | |||
| Greens | 11.6 | +3.8 | 1 | |||
| Others | 6.6 | -0.1 | 4 | |||
Changing Seats
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90.2% counted.
Last updated Fri Sep 3 02:41AM
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| Time | Count % | Electorate | Held By | Margin | 2PP % | Swing | Predict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:37 | 93.5 | La Trobe | L/NP | 0.5 | 50.9 | 1.4% to ALP | ALP GAIN |
| 10:06 | 86.5 | McEwen | L/NP | 0.0 | 55.4 | 5.4% to ALP | ALP GAIN |
| 16:37 | 88.5 | Solomon | ALP | 0.2 | 51.9 | 2.0% to CLP | CLP GAIN |
| 14:37 | 81.2 | Melbourne | ALP | 4.7 | 55.6 | 10.3% to GRN | GRN GAIN |
| 16:38 | 93.8 | Denison | ALP | 15.3 | 51.2 | 16.5% from ALP | IND GAIN |
| 17:07 | 90.3 | Bennelong | ALP | 1.4 | 53.6 | 5.0% to LIB | LIB GAIN |
| 19:08 | 91.5 | Gilmore * | ALP | 0.4 | 55.2 | 5.6% to LIB | LIB WIN |
| 11:23 | 92.7 | Hasluck | ALP | 0.8 | 50.6 | 1.4% to LIB | LIB GAIN |
| 16:37 | 92.0 | Macarthur * | ALP | 0.5 | 53.0 | 3.5% to LIB | LIB WIN |
| 11:23 | 92.5 | Macquarie | ALP | 0.3 | 51.2 | 1.5% to LIB | LIB GAIN |
| 18:54 | 90.3 | Swan * | ALP | 0.3 | 52.6 | 2.8% to LIB | LIB WIN |
| 16:53 | 91.5 | Bonner | ALP | 4.5 | 52.6 | 7.1% to LNP | LNP GAIN |
| 19:24 | 88.4 | Brisbane | ALP | 4.6 | 51.1 | 5.7% to LNP | LNP GAIN |
| 16:52 | 92.1 | Dawson | ALP | 2.6 | 52.4 | 5.0% to LNP | LNP GAIN |
| 12:51 | 93.7 | Dickson * | ALP | 0.8 | 55.2 | 5.9% to LNP | LNP WIN |
| 15:37 | 89.6 | Flynn | ALP | 2.2 | 53.2 | 5.4% to LNP | LNP GAIN |
| 11:21 | 90.6 | Forde | ALP | 3.4 | 51.6 | 4.9% to LNP | LNP GAIN |
| 15:22 | 92.2 | Herbert * | ALP | 0.0 | 52.1 | 2.1% to LNP | LNP WIN |
| 17:23 | 90.2 | Leichhardt | ALP | 4.1 | 54.5 | 8.6% to LNP | LNP GAIN |
| 16:37 | 92.0 | Longman | ALP | 1.9 | 51.9 | 3.8% to LNP | LNP GAIN |
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