Australia's immigration laws have been tightened progressively with the help of a media beat ups about a second wave of boat people (this time from the middle east). Recently a few boats from Indonesia landed in Aus. full of mostly Afghani and Iraqi asylum seekers. The government reacted by turning the old Woomera missile base in the middle of the South Australian desert into a detention centre. Basically the law requires that all asylum seekers (who by the way aren't even referred to as that in the Aus. media - they're just called "illegal immigrants") be held in detention until their claims are processed.
In the '90s some Cambodian boat people were held in the detention centre for up to 4 years - whole families behind bars. The recent riot in Woomera was an act of desperation by the remaining inmates who fear that they are going to be forcibly returned and who are fed up with the appalling overcrowing etc.
Some inmates have been quoted in the press saying that they would actually prefer to be returned rather than to continue under these conditions. The reaction of Ruddock, the Liberal (Tory) immigration minister (who makes Straw look like a fuzzy liberal - almost) was to say that this just proves that they're not genuine refugees!!!!!