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August 6, 2015

Australia Reveals It Turned Away over 600 Asylum Seekers at Sea 
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Meanwhile, Australian officials have announced they have turned away
more than 600 asylum seekers at sea under harsh border controls enacted
under Prime Minister Tony Abbott. In addition to turning away boats,
Australia has also sent migrants who do reach Australian shores to
long-term detention camps on the islands of Papua New Guinea and Nauru.
The United Nations has criticized the harsh border controls for
potentially breaking international law. On Thursday, Immigration
Minister Peter Dutton hailed the results of the measures.

Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton: "The fact that today we
celebrate that we have not had a successful people-smuggling venture in
a year, and that over the course of the last 18 months or so we've
turned back 20 boats and stopped 633 people from arriving in our
country, is a significant achievement of the Abbott government."

 

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