Austrian official says Australian model on asylum issue still appropriate

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday reiterated his support for the "Australian model" in tackling the asylum seeker issue.

In an interview with the Austria Press Agency, Kurz said he still agrees with the Australian stance despite the announcement on the same day of the closure of the latter's controversial immigration processing center on Manus Island.

The minister said in his view the asylum deal that the EU had negotiated with Turkey is "not morally superior."

In addition, he said he had never suggested the EU should copy the Australian model exactly, but rather that the basic principle behind the Australian stance counts, and that is that asylum seekers travelling illegally cannot choose which country they wish to apply for asylum in. Endit