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WITH 5000 refugees in Indonesia biding their time before catching a fishing boat to Australia, and another 4000 in Malaysia waiting to enter Indonesia, people-traffickers were testing Canberra's resolve in the aftermath of the Tampa incident, Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said yesterday.
Mr Ruddock made the comment yesterday while launching a consultation process giving Australians the chance to have their say on the 2002-03 migration and humanitarian program by sending their views to his website.
People-traffickers frequently changed their modus operandi, which was why the Government was acting quickly to exclude Christmas Island and Ashmore Reef from the migration zone, Mr Ruddock said.
"We are determined to ensure that as from...