Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was appalled at the latest demonstration of the “evil trade” of people-smuggling, adding that he fully supported the turning back of vessels.
“The most compassionate thing we can do to end the deaths is to stop the boats,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“Frankly, the only way to stop the boats is to be prepared to turn them around. It has to be done where it is safe. You have always got to treat people with decency and humanity but if we don’t stop the boats, we can’t stop the deaths.”
Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, a minority who face daily prejudice and a raft of restrictions in western Myanmar, have long fled in barely sea-worthy boats across the Bay of Bengal.
In recent years they have been joined by growing numbers of economic migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh looking to escape grinding poverty.
Canberra introduced a controversial policy in 2013 to turn back boats to prevent thousands of people risking their lives by making the long sea journey to Australia, a route that had cost hundreds of lives.
It has proved to be successful with only one boat arriving in the past 18 months.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
