Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia) - I move:

That the Senate

(a) Notes that

i) More than 240 Tamil asylum seekers continue to remain on their boat in increasingly squalid conditions in the Indonesian port of Merak, after more than three months;

ii) This boat was intercepted by Indonesia at Australia's request in October;

and

(b) Recognises

i) Of the 240 on board, 100 have been found to be genuine refugees by the UNHCR , yet they are afraid to leave the boat under the threat of removal to Indonesian detention centres;

ii) Australia's obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention

(c) Calls on the Government to immediately step in and end the standoff over the Tamil asylum-seekers who have been left in squalid conditions on a boat at Merak in Indonesia for 115 days.

Division: 6 Votes For 30 Votes Against

Motion Negatived