ABSTRACT

Introduction ‘Stopping the boats’ has defined significant elements of the relationship between Indonesia and Australia. The Australian Labor Governments between 2007 and 2013 saw over 44,000 asylum seekers arrive in Australia by boat (Uhlmann 2015). Opposition Leader Tony Abbott campaigned in the 2013 election on a platform of ‘stopping the boats’. From December 2013, then-Prime Minister Abbott oversaw a virtual cessation of the arrival of asylum seekers by boat in Australia. This was achieved by turning boats back to Indonesia, which is an established transit location for asylum seekers and refugees. It is estimated that some 10,000 are registered in Indonesia with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) (Hugo, Tan and Napitupulu 2014). In domestic Australian politics this policy, and support for it, has significant electoral resonance (ANU 2015).