Following the September 11 attacks in the US in 2001 , anti-Muslim rhetoric increased in Australia , as Muslims were the primary asylum seekers at the time . Following the Tampa Affair , the Commonwealth Migration Act ( 1958 ) was amended by the Howard Government in September 2001 . The amendments , which became known as the Pacific Solution , excised Christmas Island and Ashmore Reef from the Australian migration zone . The Christmas Island Detention Centre , designed as a temporary holding centre , was set up , and asylum seekers were directed from there to nearby island nations Papua New Guinea , to be housed in the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre and Nauru , to the Nauru Regional Processing Centre . There , asylum seekers had to undergo a lengthy process before they could immigrate to Australia . The Pacific Solution was intended to remove the incentive for refugees to come to Australia . While detained offshore , asylum-seekers under the Pacific Solution were denied access to Australian lawyers and to protection under Australian law . The combination of the boat arrivals and the September 11 were said to have turned the November 2001 election in John Howard 's favour
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Asylum in Australia