Title: Promises and pitfalls: the SIEV 221 incident and its aftermath

Authors: Andreas Schloenhardt; James Johnston

Addresses: School of Law, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia; Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Vienna, Schenkenstrasse 4, 1010 Vienna, Austria ' The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia

Abstract: On 15 December 2010, 50 asylum seekers drowned when the wooden fishing vessel used to take them from Indonesia to Australia, referred to as SIEV 221 by Australian authorities, crashed against the cliffs of Christmas Island and sank. This incident, which unfolded before the eyes of many locals and was broadcast around the world, shocked the Australian public and led to calls for a radical change of Australia's response to irregular maritime arrivals and migrant smuggling. This research note documents and examines the background and events of the SIEV 221 tragedy and its aftermath, including relevant official reviews, inquests, criminal and civil proceedings. The paper explores the pitfalls that led to this incident and assesses the response to the tragedy against the promises made by the Australian Government at that time.

Keywords: migrant smuggling; Australia; refugees; border control; coastal surveillance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMBS.2017.086922

International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, 2017 Vol.3 No.4, pp.281 - 307

Received: 24 Apr 2015
Accepted: 11 Aug 2015

Published online: 03 Oct 2017 *

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