Tampa affair
On 26 August 2001, the Norwegian container ship MV Tampa answered an Australian Search and Rescue call and took on board 433 Afghan asylum seekers from the Palapa, a 20-metre Indonesian fishing boat in distress about 140 km north of Christmas Island. The Senate committee records that the Tampa had a crew of 27 and was licensed to carry no more than 50 people. Captain Arne Rinnan first headed for Indonesia, but changed course for Christmas Island after some of the rescued people objected.
Australian authorities told the captain to keep out of Australian territorial waters. Prime Minister John Howard said: "I believe that it is in Australia's national interest that we draw a line on what is increasingly becoming an uncontrollable number of illegal arrivals in this country". On 29 August, after repeated calls for medical help, the Tampa entered Australian waters, and forty-five SAS members boarded it shortly after 12.35pm. The same day the government tabled the Border Protection Bill 2001, which the Senate rejected early on 30 August.
On 1 September, the Prime Minister announced agreements with New Zealand and Nauru to take and assess the people rescued, who were moved on the troopship HMAS Manoora. New Zealand accepted 131 people. The Senate committee described the crisis as "the catalyst for a new so-called 'border protection' regime in Australia", a regime that included excising islands from the migration zone and the "Pacific Solution" offshore processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
More sources:
