QUEENSLAND will face a new wave of asylum seekers trying to escape
Papua New Guinea under Kevin Rudd's new policy, Premier Campbell Newman
says.
In an dramatic warning about the flow-on effects of Mr Rudd's plan
to tackle people smuggling, said PNG will become a ''launching pad'' for
asylum seekers to island hop across the Torres Strait to Queensland.
''What
Kevin Rudd is doing is creating a launching pad for a wave of
additional ongoing immigration from PNG into Queensland, either legal or
illegal,'' Mr Newman said.
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Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman at the Liberal National Party
conference at the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston
Source: News Limited
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The Premier demanded Mr Rudd spend more on beefing up border protection measures in the Torres Strait.
''The Torres Strait is a porous border right now,'' Mr Newman said.
''It's only 4km from PNG on to the soil of Queensland.''
''You can go from PNG into Queensland across the Strait in a row boat.''
Mr Newman said PNG was not prepared to cope with the influx of
refugees who would be resettled there under Mr Rudd's new border
protection policy.
Federal Immigration Minister Tony Burke accused Mr Newman of a hysterical response to the new policy.
''It's hard to imagine anything more hysterical than this one,'' Mr Burke said.
''Campbell Newman appears to be objecting to the geographic location of Papua New Guinea. It's been there for a long time.''
The
Premier's attack came as the federal Opposition delivered conflicting
messages about Mr Rudd's deal to resettle all asylum seekers who arrive
by boat and are found to be refugees in PNG.
Queensland Local Government Minister David Crisafulli was scathing about the impact of the new asylum policy on the state.
He
said it was unbelievable that asylum seekers who had risked their lives
travelling to Australia from Sri Lanka or Afghanistan would not try to
do so again from PNG.
''The Federal Government has tried to end a political headache and in the process thrown Queensland to the wolves,'' he said.
''It's a half-baked, harebrained scheme out of Canberra.''
Opposition
Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the Coalition would keep the
deal with PNG if it won the election but left open the prospect of
changing it.
But Opposition Leader Tony Abbott attacked Mr Rudd's
plan as an ''election fix'' that won't work and vowed to never use
another country to solve Australia's domestic problems.
''The only solution to Australian problems is found here in Australia,'' Mr Abbott said.
''I will never subcontract out to other countries the solution of problems in this country.''
The
Opposition Leader said Mr Rudd's PNG plan should be considered a
failure unless every new asylum seeker arrival was sent to Manus Island
and the rate of boat arrivals stopped ''from today''.
In an
address to the Liberal National Party convention in Brisbane, Mr Abbott
told his supporters the election would be difficult to win.
''I've
got to say, I am grateful to Mr Rudd because if there's one thing he's
done, he has destroyed any complacency on our side,'' Mr Abbott said.
''Let's be under no illusions that we have a fight on our hand.''
The Opposition Leader used much of his speech to attack Mr Rudd as he rallied his supporters ahead of the election.
''Mr
Rudd is hoping to surf back to government on a wave of amnesia and
relief at the demise of an unpopular prime minister,'' he said.
Mr Abbott mocked the Prime Minister's claims that he had changed and he would reform the Labor Party.
He
lashed the Government's fringe benefit tax hit on company cars to the
mining tax, saying it would raise no money and destroy the car industry.
He
said Mr Rudd had tweeted the message ''your business model has just
ended'' in a reference to his crackdown on people smugglers.
But
he urged car companies, cattle farmers and insulation installers who
have been hurt by the Government's policies to retweet the message in a
show of anger.
