West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has hit out at the federal government's decision to grant residency visas for 42 Afghan men who were aboard a boat that exploded near Ashmore Reef in April.
Asylum-seekers 'to be granted residency'
'Asylum processing compromised'
Timeline: Asylum seekers
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The immigration department has revealed the men from the boat that was set alight on April 16 will be released into the community this week, ahead of a coronial inquest into the cause of the blaze that killed five of their fellow passengers.
Police believe fire was deliberately lit
Police believe the fire was deliberately lit by one or more of the men on the boat, but do not have enough evidence to lay any charges.
Mr Barnett said any decision on residency should have been left until the inquest is held in January.
"At the time I made the comment that fuel had been spread on the boat, I was roundly criticised by the federal government and others," Mr Barnett told Fairfax Radio in Perth.
"That's now proved to be the case ... in fact further information has come forward that it appears they deliberately ignited that fuel. "Now that's a criminal act ... people died ... it could be seen as murder.
"I think that a full inquiry should be completed and certainly anyone who was implicated in that should not be given the right to stay in Australia." He said that eventually "it's pretty clear the story will come out".
"Bear in mind there were Australian naval personnel on that boat - four of whom were injured ... who would have seen what happened".
Visa cancelled in case of conviction
Immigration Minister Chris Evans said today the visas could be cancelled if any of the asylum seekers were convicted.
"(Northern Territory) police have been consulted on this and they're very comfortable about them being granted their protection visas," Senator Evans told ABC Radio.
"What would occur if any of them were charged with a criminal offence and convicted (is that) following their sentence we could assess them against the (immigration) character test.
"That is, if they were convicted of a serious crime we could then cancel their visas if we saw it as appropriate."
Sri Lanka conflict 'responsible for arrivals'
Senator Evans again defended the federal government's policies on asylum seekers, saying the high number of people fleeing Sri Lanka was chiefly responsible for the "reasonably large" number of unauthorised arrivals in Australian waters this year.
He said the government was prepared to utilise facilities for 400 people in Darwin if the Christmas Island detention centre became overcrowded.
So far this year, more than 1500 unauthorised arrivals in Australian waters have been escorted to Christmas Island.
When the Afghan men are granted their permanent protection visas this week, the total number of asylum seekers to be granted protection visas will reach 687 since a run of boats that began last September
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UP to 20 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers were last night preparing to leave the Oceanic Viking as early as tomorrow, in the first signs of an end to the standoff that began almost four weeks ago.
While Australian authorities remained hopeful of persuading all 78 of the Tamils to leave the Customs ship tomorrow, when the Oceanic Viking's permission to remain in Indonesian waters ends, there were reports last night that up to 20 of them would submit to health and identity checks today before being taken ashore to the Tanjung Pinang detention centre.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry official Sujatmiko said tonight that, by today, "hopefully some of them are ready to be verified".
The break in the impasse came as Kevin Rudd insisted no protests or threats by protesters would divert him from his policy on border security, even as Australian authorities confirmed they had offered to give the 78 Sri Lankans preferential treatment if they left the Oceanic Viking.
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OFFER: 'Get off boat and you'll go to Australia'
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Speaking in New Delhi, Mr Rudd said he had not been briefed on the offer to the asylum-seekers but expected "normal resettlement processes consistent with the UNHCR" would apply.
A written offer guaranteeing resettlement was presented to the 78 boatpeople earlier this week.
Published under Department of Immigration letterhead and signed by Australian diplomat Jim O'Callaghan, it promised those already declared refugees would be resettled within four to six weeks.
Those whose claims were subsequently successful would be resettled within 12 weeks.
The letter does not promise a particular country but sources close to the negotiations said the bulk - if not all - would end up in Australia.
Immigration Minister Chris Evans acknowledged Australia would take a "sizeable amount of the load".
He denied that the offer - which would see declared refugees processed well within the 90 days that those on Christmas Island must wait - amounted to special treatment.
But he did acknowledge that other refugees detained in Indonesia often had to wait much longer for resettlement.