EXCLUSIVE: Rudd’s Secret Deal With Indonesia To Cost Billions, Add Thousands To Intake Rudd’s secret deal with SBY will cost Billions and hide illegal immigrant intake numbers Sources have revealed that PM Kevin Rudd signed a deal with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that will see taxpayers forking the bill for Indonesian efforts to stop boats, and fly “refugees” in Indonesian camps directly to Australia. The scope of the deal, according to sources, is that: Immigrants who arrived in Indonesia prior to July 15 will be automatically accepted into Australia for processing. Arrivals after this date will remain within Indonesia. Australia will fund the cost of the transport and maintenance of refugees both directed to Australia and remaining in Indonesia. To hide the blow-out costs in the Budget, Rudd intends to mask the expenditure as part of a Beef Export Deal with the Indonesians advertised as a “face saving” effort following the Live Export Ban by the Gillard government The deal is apparently already well known by smuggling operators and facilitators in Indonesia, explaining the very sudden spike in boat departures from southern Indonesia since Rudd’s visit there. It’s like a fire-sale for people smugglers. The actual cost of the deal we were not informed, but based upon the cost of covering the efforts in two nations, I would expect it to be several billion dollars. Possibly $5-10 Billion over the next 5 years. The straight up deal will deliver about 7,000 illegal aliens currently in Indonesia to Australian shores. This explains the desire to significantly expand the capacity at Manus Island, with similar upgrades to be announced soon for Australian mainland centres. Unlike the failed Gillard Malaysian Deal this will not require an Act of Parliament, as the intake and the expenditure will be managed through DFAT and Treasury, with the increase in numbers and transport flights factored into the current Immigration Department budget. Polliter’s assessment of this deal is that this is a smoke-screen, allowing for direct flight-based transportation of aliens in Indonesian processing centres, with the sole intent of eliminating irregular boat arrivals. Unlike boats, scheduled plane arrivals would no longer be classified as “irregular”, therefore avoiding publication of figures. If anything, this will increase the number of arrivals, and increase dramatically the costs associated with economic refugee processing, as Australia will be funding refugee camps and detention programs both here and in Indonesia. The PMO Press Office refused to offer comment when questioned about the deal.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 11:21:20 +0000
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