MEDIA RELEASE: 25 years since Tampa: Australia must finally turn the page on politics of fear

Media Release, Wednesday 26 August 2026

Today marks 25 years since Tampa, a defining moment that changed Australia’s treatment of refugees and our politics for a generation.
On 26 August 2001, the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa rescued 433 people, predominantly refugees from Afghanistan, from a fishing boat north of Christmas Island.

Instead of offering safe passage and protection, the Howard Government refused to let them land in Australia.
What followed was the Pacific Solution and the beginning of 25 years of offshore processing, punishment and deterrence aimed at people seeking safety by sea.

Tampa did more than change refugee policy, it changed our politics, establishing a playbook that has endured for 25 years: demonise people seeking safety, manufacture fear about borders and migration, then compete over who can be toughest on people with the least political power.

Governments have changed. Policies have been abolished, revived and rebadged. The politics of fear and punishment have endured.
Twenty-five years later, Australia is again consumed by a distorted debate about migration, where refugees, migrants and people seeking asylum are reduced to numbers, threats and problems, rather than people with lives, families and futures.

Quotes attributable to ASRC CEO and Founder Kon Karapanagiotidis:

“Politics poisons policy, and there is no greater example than Australia’s treatment of people seeking asylum. Twenty-five years ago, Tampa presented Australia with a choice: meet people rescued at sea with humanity and protection, or choose fear. Our political leaders chose fear, and we have been living with the consequences ever since.”

“Tampa didn’t just change refugee policy. It changed Australian politics. Politicians discovered there were easy votes in turning people seeking safety into a threat. For 25 years, instead of showing leadership, both major parties have kept reaching for the same cruel playbook.”
“The human cost has been catastrophic. Years stolen in detention. Families torn apart. People stranded offshore. Lives left in limbo. All because cruelty was repackaged and sold to Australians as deterrence and the great mirage that we need to punish people to protect our borders.”

“And 25 years later, we still hear the same drumbeat of fear. Inflammatory headlines. Migration reduced to numbers. People seeking asylum turned into political problems. We deserve better than another generation of this politics.”

“Twenty-five years is enough. We can choose humanity over cruelty and courage over fear. Australia can be a country that protects people seeking safety, instead of punishing them for how they arrived.”

The ASRC was founded in 2001, the same year as Tampa, from a small community-funded food bank in Footscray. Twenty-five years later, it has grown into Australia’s largest independent human rights organisation supporting people seeking asylum.

ENDS

For media enquiries or interviews, contact:

Natasha Blucher on 0412 034 821 or media@asrc.org.au