Over 500 asylum seekers arrive in Australia in past two weeks: official

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CANBERRA, Sept. 23 -- More than 500 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia in the past two weeks, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said during his first weekly media briefing on asylum boat arrivals on Monday.

According to him, half of those have already left Australia's shores for processing on either Papua New Guinea's Manus Island or Nauru.

He confirmed that the Abbott government won't let the media know if asylum seeker boats have been turned back to Indonesia.

Morrison said the government would be transparent about boat arrivals and the number of people transferred to regional processing countries but "tactical" issues would not be discussed with the media.

He said the government was committed to an open briefing process but there were limitations on what could be discussed "for the protection and safety of the people who are doing our service for our nation".

Morrison also said the government would aim to send all asylum seekers to Nauru or Manus Island within 48 hours. "If people are fit to get on a boat, they'll be quickly deemed fit to fly," he said.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott formally launched his new military- led approach, appointing Deputy Chief of Army Angus Campbell to lead the Operation Sovereign Borders. And the commander will report directly to Minister Morrison and coordinate the 16 departments and agencies that deal with the boats under the Operation Sovereign Borders.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has also been changed to Department of Immigration and Border Protection to usher in the new era. Along with this, the Abbott government will stop granting permanent protection visas to undocumented boat arrivals and will reintroduce the processing of temporary protection visas which will deny permanent residency in Australia.

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