澳大利亚表示将停止一项有争议的自动收押抵达澳大利亚的寻求庇护的人的政策。移民局长克里斯.埃文斯今天(星期二)告诉记者说，不对社会构成威胁的入境者可以在他们的签证状况解决之前保持自由。他补充说，儿童与他们的家人不会再被扣留在拘留中心。
埃文斯反驳上届政府有关拘留做法能够吓阻非法移民进入澳大利亚的说法。他说，绝望的人并不会由于受到拘留的威胁而被吓阻，因为他们通常都是为了逃离更加恶劣的环境。澳大利亚总理陆克文领导的中间偏左的劳工党政府去年11月赢得政权，取代了霍华德领导的保守政府。霍华德的政府制定了澳大利亚具有争议的庇护政策。
Australia says it will halt a controversial policy of automatically locking up asylum seekers when they arrive in the country. Immigration Minister Chris Evans told reporters today (Tuesday) that arrivals who pose no threat to the community will remain free while their visa status is resolved. He added that children and their families will no longer be held in detention centers.
Evens rejected the previous government’s claim that detention would deter illegal immigration to Australia. He said desperate people are not deterred by the threat of harsh detention, because they are often fleeing much worse circumstances. Prime Minster Kevin Rudd’s left of center Labor government won power last November from John Howard’s conservative administration, which authored Australia’s controversial asylum policies.