Asylum issue in perspective (Bendigo Advertiser)

Saturday, 17 July 2010

AUSTRALIA has a long history of immigration that as benefited this country economically and culturally.
But the number of people arriving under various humanitarian programs has always been a small proportion of the total people choosing to make their home here.
Since 1945, some seven million people have come to Australia as new settlers, of which only 700,000, or one in 10, have been displaced persons.
Immediately following the end of World War II, most migrants were from the United Kingdom and war-torn Europe.
Although today's migrants come from over 200 countries, most are still from New Zealand and the UK.
Of 158,021 permanent settlers arriving in Australia between July 2008 and June 2009, 16.2 per cent were born in New Zealand and 13.6 per cent in the UK.
The increasing globalisation of business in recent decades has led to major flows of people internationally. The majority of new settlers in Australia come here under our skilled migration program to satisfy the demand from Australian businesses for skilled workers.
And these global flows mean that people are also leaving Australia in large numbers.
In 2008-09, some 81,000 people left the country permanently, meaning that net permanent migration was just 77,000. In 2007-08, 149,400 people arrived and 77,000 left and in 2006-07, the last full year of the Howard Government, 140,100 arrived and 72,100 left.
The number of displaced people seeking asylum in Australia Is small compared to those doing so in the United States, Canada and Europe. In 2009, the largest number of asylum claims received in a developed country was 49,000 In the USA. France received 42,000 claims and Canada 33,300.
In comparison, only 6,170 claims were lodged in Australia, which was just 1.6 per cent of the total claims received by 44 developed countries.
The vast majority of people seeking asylum in Australia arrive by air with a valid visa and then pursue asylum claims when they are here.
We are not being overrun by “boat people”.
Only a very small proportion of asylum seekers make the hazardous journey to Australia by boat, although these are many of the most worthy cases.
Almost all of those arriving by boat are recognised as refugees after comprehensive security and health checks have been made.
If they are accepted into Australia they are entitled to, as they should be, exactly the same social security benefits as all other permanent residents.
Refugees do not receive special refugee payments or special rates of payment. Dealing with people seeking asylum, and in particular people arriving from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka by boat, is a difficult and complex issue.
There is no easy answer, as Tony Abbott would have us believe.
People seeking asylum are fleeing their own countries because of war or because they are being persecuted over their race, religion. nationality or political views.
The situation in these countries is chaotic.
There is no "queue" of asylum seekers that Is being jumped by those arriving in Australia by boat. In 2008, less than one in 10 asylum applications were made through the United Nations. In several countries even applying for a visa can put the lives of asylum seekers and their families at risk.
As a voluntary signatory to the United Nations conventions, Australia has a humanitarian responsibility to deal with all asylum seekers in a compassionate and humane manner while continuing to strengthen and secure our borders.
That, I believe, is the Australian way.
Tony Abbott's policy of turning the boats around is designed to demonise some of the world's most unfortunate and desperate people for the sake of a few votes.
With his extremist views, Mr Abbott is just spreading fear and racial prejudice in the lead-up to an election - one of the most obnoxious lessons he has learned from his mentor, John Howard.
The federal Labor government is continuing to maintain strong border protection in the face of far more serious threats from drug smugglers and illegal fishing.
For example, we have drastically reduced the number of boats caught illegally fishing in Australian waters.
Illegal fishing poses a major threat to this nation as these people often temporally land on our soil to store caches of equipment and stores for future use.
They carry animals for a variety of reasons, bringing the risk of foot and mouth, rabies and other exotic diseases that couId potentially wreak havoc with our livestock and native wildlife.
In 2008-09, 27 boats were apprehended and this fell even further to 23 in 2009-10.
This compares favourably with the record of the Howard government. In its last year in office, 2006-07, 216 boats were apprehended and in the previous year there were 367 apprehensions.
Whichever way you look at It, the continuing arrival of small numbers of asylum seekers by boat Is far from being one of the major challenges facing Australia today.

 
Steve Gibbons is the Federal Labor Member for Bendigo. 
 

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