Austria's centrist government promised tougher action on immigration after the far right's candidate very nearly won a presidential election two weeks ago. So even though the far right candidate did not win, his agenda may prevail.
“Whoever boards a boat and tries to enter Europe illegally has ruined his chances of gaining asylum in Europe and will be sent back” Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.
“There is a country we can learn from. Australia had a similar problem. But the country managed to decide itself who is allowed to come and didn't leave this decision to people-smugglers” he added.
Australia has been intercepting migrant and refugee boats offshore; afterwards, it has been either sending migrants/refugees back or keeping them in island camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru until their asylum claims have been processed. Also, it has attempted to resettle refugees in poorer countries such as Cambodia. However, there has been social unrest over this issue and human rights groups and courts have been very critical.
Mr. Kurz, the 29-year-old member of the conservative OVP party, said Australia had shown it was possible to rescue migrants at sea without automatically letting them into the country.
Hundreds of people are estimated to have drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean this week as a power vacuum in Libya continues to allow people-smugglers to operate with impunity, taking advantage of waves of desperate people fleeing war and poverty.
Within the European Union, Mr. Kurz said the principle of free movement meant EU citizens were migrating to countries with the most generous social welfare systems. He said Austria should follow Britain in seeking ways to treat foreigners, including European citizens, differently from its own citizens when it comes to benefit payments.