Whatever one might think of the morality of the Abbott government's policy on asylum-seekers, the incrementalism behind its efforts to turn boats away has been adroit. With each revelation – be it refugees "vanishing" for weeks after being picked up by an Australian customs vessels or asylum-seekers being shoehorned into lifeboats and towed back to Indonesia – a deplorable policy has been massaged, stage managed and turned into the political equivalent of ugly wallpaper, for which criticism is futile and reproach a waste of time. Reactions to the allegation that people smugglers were paid thousands of dollars by the crew of an Australian ship to take a boat-load of asylum seekers back to Indonesia have evidenced some of this numb resignation. Other than refugee advocates and academics who have questioned the legality of the payments, outrage and disapproval has been mostly muted.
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The egregious nature of this latest episode will not be readily dismissed by the government as another facet of Operation Sovereign Borders, try as Prime Minister Tony Abbott might. When quizzed about whether bribes had been offered, Mr Abbott offered only that "there's really only one thing to say here, and that is that we have stopped the boats. That's good for Australia, it's good for Indonesia". His refusal to directly contradict the bribery allegation was in stark contrast with the earlier denials offered up by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop – and suggests very few in Cabinet were aware of such an initiative, should it have occurred. That would puncture Mr Abbott's proclamation, made after his "near-death experience" in February, that he would run a more consultative and collegial government.
If there was any saving grace to the Coalition's stop-the-boats policy, it was that it reduced drownings at sea, in part by minimising the ability of people smugglers to ply their trade in Indonesia. To that end, bilateral deals were concluded to ensure the cooperation of Indonesian authorities in cracking down on the trade. If it's the case that people smugglers or their intermediaries – those same people whose business models the Coalition had vowed to dismantle – were bribed, then it could be tantamount to creating the conditions for a resumption of voyages. The Coalition has never hesitated to defend the indefensible in the past, but to deny this particular corollary is to stretch credulity.
Also difficult to rebut will be suspicions that the episode will further sour relations with Indonesia. Indeed, Ms Bishop made official Indonesian displeasure all but certain with her observation at the weekend that any concerns Jakarta might have about Operation Sovereign Borders would be best resolved by enforcing sovereignty over its borders. Such high-handedness is an invitation for payback at some future point, whether diplomatic or in the turning of a blind eye to people-smuggling.
Trashing Australia's reputation as a responsible global citizen, as Mr Abbott has done with his incrementalist approach to asylum-seekers, is deeply regrettable. Undermining relations with our most important neighbour, while embarking on clandestine escapades intended solely for domestic political gain, is particularly foolish.
