Families of asylum seekers killed in a shipwreck off Australia’s Christmas Island in 2010 are suing the Australian government, arguing it breached its duty of care in a move Canberra yesterday blasted as “shameful.”
Fifty people died when a rickety fishing boat crowded with nearly 100 Iraqi, Kurdish and Iranian asylum seekers was dashed against jagged rocks in dangerous seas at the remote Indian Ocean outpost.
Human rights lawyer George Newhouse has launched legal action in the New South Wales state Supreme Court on behalf of eight families, claiming the government failed to maintain a proper lookout.
“We believe that the evidence will show that the Commonwealth knew, or should have known, that there were vulnerable men, women and children that were on the high seas in a storm and took insufficient steps to look out for them,” he said in a statement.
He also claimed that when authorities found out the boat was foundering, the systems in place and operational life-saving vessels to rescue them were not adequate.
At the time authorities said they were not aware the boat was approaching Christmas Island due to the predawn darkness and “extreme” weather conditions.
Woken by the screams of victims, locals gathered life jackets and rushed to the sheer limestone cliffs to offer help, but strong winds blew the flotation devices back onshore.
The terrified group on board drifted for about an hour after losing engine power and only one man managed to leap to safety before the surging waves smashed the vessel apart on the rocks.
Fifty people died and 42 were rescued by the Australian Navy, and customs and border protection officials.
Australian Minister of Immigration Scott Morrison defended the actions of the government at the time, which was a Labor administration. The conservatives are now in power.
“Frankly, I think this is a shameful and offensive claim to be making,” he told reporters. “Sure, people have the right to bring cases to court — we are a free country — but they have to be accountable for the claims.”
“This is like someone who has been saved from a fire suing the firemen,” he added.
The Refugee Action Coalition said Morrison did not know what he was talking about.
“It seems that the minister is not actually familiar with the legal case. The families are not suing the navy or their rescuers,” spokesman Ian Rintoul said.
“What the legal case is highlighting is the negligence of the Commonwealth and the complete lack of preparation or adequate rescue facilities or equipment on Christmas Island that could have avoided the tragedy. If the minister was really concerned with safety of life at sea he would welcome the court case,” he added.
After an eight-month hearing coroner Alastair Hope laid the blame for the tragedy firmly on the people smugglers who organized the trip.
However, he also criticized Australian authorities for the lack of adequate rescue vessels on the island.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese