An Australian Government attempt to grant "refugee status" to five members of the Chinese Olympic sailing team has caused an outcry amongst civil libertarians and led to an official complaint by the Chinese Ambassador to the Prime Minister.

A Newcastle fish and chip shop owner reported an 18 foot skiff "behaving suspiciously" in local waters last Sunday.

"It was going one way for a bit, then it would change direction and head off at an angle for a bit, and then change direction again. Some of them were hanging off the edge of the boat, leaning right out... it was obviously jam packed with refugees."

After Mr Tankard's tipoff to authorities, a Navy patrol boat was called in to pursue the yacht, which according to a Navy spokesman was travelling "at a considerable rate of knots".

The five men on board, Chinese sailors training for the Sydney Olympics, were immediately taken into custody and arrived seventeen hours later at a detention centre somewhere near Broome, Western Australia.

The Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock said in Canberra today that although the Chinese boat might have in many ways resembled an Olympic racing yacht, he was not yet convinced that the five sailors were "legitimate Olympians".

"Our intelligence indicates that as many as 10,000 elite Olympic sportsman are actually refugees. Why should we reward people who pay smugglers and have the courage to board super-fast yachts? We must set an example by handling this case through the appropriate channels."

As Australia's normal procedures generally determine, after a lengthy period of incarceration in a remote location, that refugees cannot stay in Australia, Mr Ruddock said "I am quite confident that these individuals have a very good chance of being released from custody in time to compete in Athens in 2004."

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