Cabinet documents reveal Howard Government efforts to prevent asylum seekers from entering Australia

John Howard was prime minister when Australian troops were first deployed to Afghanistan.

جان هاورد در زمان اعزام نیروهای آسترالیایی به افغانستان نخست‌وزیر آسترالیا بود. Source: SBS / SBS News

Secret government documents from 2002 - until now - have revealed the extent to which the Howard government tried to prevent asylum seekers from reaching the Australian mainland, despite cost and human rights issues. The cabinet papers provide a rare insight into how national security issues shape immigration policy - many of which are still being applied today.


On 12 October 2002, the Bali Bombing rocked Australia.
Two days later, the then Prime Minister, John Howard talked about that in a parliamentary meeting.

A month later, cabinet documents revealed that Australia had been singled out as a target for Al Qaeda terrorists.

In 2002, Australian troops were already in Afghanistan... and Cabinet documents reveal that John Howard spoke to US President George W Bush, about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction... ahead of the US-led invasion in 2003.

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