From: Phil Payne 

> Well, yes - that's an embarassment too. For the record, our PM would point
> out that there are no known cases where Australia has actually not rescued
> people from a sinking ship.

He'd be lying:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jul1999/imm-j22.shtml

"Fourteen refugees from Sri Lanka are missing, believed drowned, in
the Indian Ocean about 80 kilometres from the Australian territory of
Christmas Island, after their vessel, an overcrowded Indonesian fishing
boat, sank on Monday. The boat had been drifting since last Thursday when
its engine broke down."

I think being allowed to drift with a broken engine within 80 miles of
Australian territory equates pretty well with not being rescued.

--
  Phil Payne
  http://www.isham-research.com
  +44 7785 302 803
  +49 173 6242039

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