Senators to probe Australian election campaign

Opposition parties in Australia today said they are planning a Senate inquiry over claims that the government lied about and exploited asylum seekers to court public opinion and win last year’s general election.

Prime Minister John Howard’s conservative coalition won a third term at the November 10 poll, which was dominated by his hard-line stance against boat-borne asylum seekers.

During the campaign, Mr Howard and senior ministers hinted that terrorists were sneaking into the country as boat people and claimed one group intercepted by a navy ship had thrown children overboard to intimidate the government.

Then defence minister Peter Reith released photos of sailors allegedly rescuing children tossed overboard.

The navy later revealed that the pictures were of sailors helping transfer the children to the navy ship from the refugee boat, which was in danger of sinking.

Colin Campbell, senior adviser to Senator John Faulkner, the opposition Labour Party’s senate leader, said Labour wants the inquiry to focus on ‘‘how the government manipulated events for political gain’’, rather than on immigration policy.

‘‘We want to examine in particular the children overboard issue,’’ he said.

Asylum seekers became entwined in the election campaign when Mr Howard in late August denied entry to a Norwegian freighter that had rescued 430 refugees from a sinking boat and ordered 50 commandos to storm the ship.

Defying international pressure - but winning strong support at home - Mr Howard announced no more boat people would set foot on Australian soil.

Asylum seekers who ignore navy warnings to leave Australian waters are transferred to detention camps built on neighbouring Pacific islands dependent on aid from Canberra - the so-called ‘‘Pacific Solution’’.

The Australian Democrats Party wants a broader Senate probe that covers the policy, ‘‘particularly in terms of costs to the taxpayer and also which process was being used to send people off to various islands’’, said Senator Andrew Bartlett, immigration spokesman for the Democrats.

Mr Campbell said Senator Faulkner will also speak to Green Party senators, who with Labour and the Democrats control the upper house balance of power.

In the past year, more than 5,000 asylum seekers, most fleeing human catastrophes in the Middle East and Afghanistan, have braved the risky ocean crossing from Indonesia to Australia with the help of smugglers.