The Wire

Around 120 refugees were rescued this weekend when their boat broke down on their way to Australia. The tanker that rescued the asylum seekers took them to the port of Merak in Indonesia. After initially refusing to go ashore because they wanted their claims processed in Australia, the asylum seekers have now left the vessel. Experts say even if Australia doesn’t have a legal obligation to asylum seekers who don’t reach our territory, the government does have a moral obligation to develop a regional solution that would help refugees in situations like this one.