An Australian border protection patrol intercepted a boat with 60 suspected asylum-seekers on board about 420 km north of the Australian city of Broome, Western Australia late Tuesday 15 September. It was the fourth such interception in two weeks. The asylum-seekers will be sent to a detention centre on Christmas Island. Their nationality was not immediately known.

Immigration policy under the previous Australian government of John Howard was widely criticized for letting illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers, including children, languish in camps on the islands of Nauru and Manus. The current Rudd government has continued the robust interdiction of people-smuggling, but detainees who pose no threat to the community must be processed within six months.

The government blames the continued flow of people on conflicts in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. BBC, Sydney Morning Herald

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