First Asylum Seeker Boat Lands On Coalition Watch: All Eyes On Abbott

Only a day after Tony Abbott became the Prime Minister Elect on Saturday night, some trusty folk decided to welcome the arrival of a new government in the form of a suspected Asylum seeker boat carrying 88 passengers and crew. Was the boat filled with Labor carnage from the election day, in an elaborate troll on the soon-to-be PM, shouting at him to ask What Would Tony Do? Probably. No: hopefully.

In all seriousness, however, the first arrival an asylum-seeker vessel is an interesting development to come so soon in Tony Abbott‘s not yet officially appointed prime ministerial duties. You’d be forgiven for not remembering what the Coalition’s policy of Stop The Boats essentially is (burn them with fire? Assassination? Drowning? something like that), because their policy is equally as cringey as the former government’s plan to ship off asylum seekers to Manus Island in PNG. But as Tony Abbott proudly announced at the leadership debate against Kevin Rudd, the Coalition will simply be turning those pesky old boats around. A relatively simple concept that will be inevitably complex to execute.

The boat was spotted Northwest of Darwin on Sunday, and according to The Australian, the boat was assisted by Customs, with all passengers and crew then being transferred to Christmas Island for processing and assessment. Tony Abbott previously announced: “We will make a difference from day one. I believe we can stop the boats in a term of government,” and if my calculations are correct, it’s actually Day Two so the government best act fast. The reality, however, is that Tony Abbott won’t be sworn in as PM until later this week, which means the first day of parliament won’t be held until October at the earliest. While the nation does collective *shifty eyes* at Tony Abbott today, we just have to hang tight.

Via The Australian.
 

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