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Nov 9, 2009
'Be tougher on boat people' <!--10 min-->
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The stream of boats arriving in Australia this year has reignited a divisive political debate over illegal immigration and forced Mr Rudd to defend his border-security policy. --PHOTO: AP
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CANBERRA - NEW opinion polls added pressure on Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday to take a tougher stand against asylum-seekers and end a standoff involving 78 boat-people picked up by an Australian ship off Indonesia. The stream of boats arriving in Australia this year has reignited a divisive political debate over illegal immigration and forced Mr Rudd to defend his border-security policy, which critics say has been softened and is attracting more arrivals. A poll published in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald dailies found the issue had hurt Mr Rudd, with his disapproval rating rising five percentage points in the space of a month to 28 per cent.
However, government support dropped only 1 percent in the month to 56 per cent on a two-party basis compared to 44 per cent for the opposition, meaning Mr Rudd remains well ahead. A separate Newspoll in the Australian newspaper on Monday also found the asylum-seeker issue had damaged Mr Rudd's standing, with 53 per cent of respondents saying he was doing a bad job on the policy and 46 per cent saying his approach was too soft.
The polls come as Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith talks to his Sri Lankan counterpart to stop the flow of boats to Australia after the end of Sri Lanka's long-running civil war. -- REUTERS
Nov 9, 2009
'Be tougher on boat people' <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
</td> <td width="10">
The stream of boats arriving in Australia this year has reignited a divisive political debate over illegal immigration and forced Mr Rudd to defend his border-security policy. --PHOTO: AP
</td></tr> </tbody></table>
CANBERRA - NEW opinion polls added pressure on Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday to take a tougher stand against asylum-seekers and end a standoff involving 78 boat-people picked up by an Australian ship off Indonesia. The stream of boats arriving in Australia this year has reignited a divisive political debate over illegal immigration and forced Mr Rudd to defend his border-security policy, which critics say has been softened and is attracting more arrivals. A poll published in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald dailies found the issue had hurt Mr Rudd, with his disapproval rating rising five percentage points in the space of a month to 28 per cent.
However, government support dropped only 1 percent in the month to 56 per cent on a two-party basis compared to 44 per cent for the opposition, meaning Mr Rudd remains well ahead. A separate Newspoll in the Australian newspaper on Monday also found the asylum-seeker issue had damaged Mr Rudd's standing, with 53 per cent of respondents saying he was doing a bad job on the policy and 46 per cent saying his approach was too soft.
The polls come as Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith talks to his Sri Lankan counterpart to stop the flow of boats to Australia after the end of Sri Lanka's long-running civil war. -- REUTERS
