The Australian government will no longer detain illegal foreign fishermen on board their boats. Canberra has confirmed plans to refurbish an unused detention centre in the northern city of Darwin to house fishermen who face charges or who are to be sent home. There will also be a new detention centre on Horn Island in the Torres Strait. The Federal Fisheries Minister, Ian McDonald, says the government will also build new boat-burning facilities in Darwin and Gove, also in the North Territory. Boat burning facilities are also planned for Broome in Western Australia.
The OZ (Howard) government takes border security very seriously and it is consistently a very popular policy despite the Left's seething over the issue. |