Stopping the boats to help Iraqis and Syrians

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Sunday, 17 August 2014

People affected by the humanitarian crises in Iraq and Syria will be primary beneficiaries of the success of the government's strong border protection policies, with 4 400 resettlement places set aside in the Australian Government's 2014-15 Refugee and Humanitarian Programme, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Scott Morrison, said today.

'The government's policies under Operation Sovereign Borders have not only saved lives at sea, but also allowed more places to be returned to our humanitarian programme for the world's most desperate and vulnerable people,' Minister Morrison said.

'The government will continue our commitment to use our Refugee and Special Humanitarian Programme to assist those affected by the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

'With the continued violence in Iraq and Syria, the Australian Government is dedicated to ensuring its humanitarian programme reaches those who need it most.

'In 2014-15 the government has committed a minimum of 2 200 places for Iraqis, including ethnic and religious minorities fleeing the violence in northern Iraq to neighbouring countries.

'The government has also committed a minimum of 2 200 places for Syrians, including those now living in desperate conditions in countries such as Lebanon. A further medium term commitment has been made to accept at least 4 500 Syrians over the next three years.

'These places are once again being provided predominantly out of the Special Humanitarian Programme (SHP) which seeks to settle people with established links and communities of support in Australia.

'The commitment to these groups highlights the humanitarian dividend from the government's successful border protection policies. This government has made it very clear that priority in the humanitarian programme should be for those waiting overseas and entering Australia under an orderly process.

'Combined with our refugee intake, we were last year able to respond to the terrible conflict in Syria by providing more than 1 000 places to Syrian nationals.

'In addition, more than 2 000 places were provided to Iraqis, with over 1 500 of these provided through the SHP which had been decimated under the previous government who provided just over 500 places for all nationalities in 2012-13.

'By taking the decision to deny permanent visas to those who came illegally by boat and achieving the success we were able to achieve in stopping the flow of boats, we freed up more than 4 000 places in our SHP in 2013-14 and more than 4 000 places in 2014-15.

'The SHP receives up to 40 000 applications every year. In 2013-14, more than 18 000 applications were received from Iraqis, Syrians and Burmese alone.

'It was extremely disappointing that up to 4 000 applicants waiting in the queue missed out on places in this programme, and that their places were being taken up by those who had arrived illegally by boat. This practice has ended under the Abbott Government, as promised.

Graph showing impact of illegal boat arrivals on Special Humanitarian Programme visa grants

'In 2013-14 the government also honoured our election commitments to quarantine more than 11 000 visas for those who applied offshore and, within this intake, ensure that 1 000 places were provided to women at risk.

'More than 1 050 Woman at Risk visas were granted in 2013-14, bringing the total number of visas granted to these most vulnerable of refugees over the last 25 years to 14 500. The majority of women at risk in 2013-14 were from Afghanistan.

'In addition to those affected by the Iraqi and Syrian conflicts, the government continued to resettle Burmese refugees with just over 1 800 provided places during the year, while 2 754 Afghans (including more than 500 Afghan LEE) who had applied offshore through the proper process, from places such as Pakistan and Iran, were also granted permanent visas in Australia.

'Earlier this year I had the opportunity to visit Myanmar and see the conditions on the ground and have taken the opportunity to discuss the issue of Burmese refugees with my counterparts throughout South East Asia during my various regional engagements.

'While the situation is improving in Myanmar, and we wish to encourage this process, the government will continue to support the resettlement of Burmese refugees in Australia, in particular those from the many Christian ethnic minorities currently living in Malaysia and Thailand, such as the Karen and Chin, who have strong networks of support in Australia. A total of 2 000 places, including 1 200 under the UNHCR mandated refugee programme, have been allocated in 2014-15.

'In 2014-15, the government is again ensuring that 11 000 of the 13 750 places in the humanitarian programme are for people overseas in need of resettlement. There will be 6 000 places for refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, including 1 000 places for women.

at risk and their dependants and 5 000 for people proposed by their close family in Australia under the SHP. The 5 000 places for the SHP represents a further increase of almost 500 places on 2013/14 and is the highest allocation for the programme since 2006/07.

'Everyone who is accepted under the formal refugee and humanitarian programme are subject to the appropriate checks. It is not simply a process of walking straight out of a camp and onto a plane. Issues, such as identity, health and security are all subject to assessment. The programme also endeavours to focus on those who have a network of support that can assist their resettlement, such as local church communities who have strong ethnic and cultural connections. This has proved particularly helpful for those being resettled from the Middle East and Burma.

'Australia will continue to work with countries in our region to seek to stabilise displaced populations and find appropriate solutions for their protection and safety,' Minister Morrison said.

See: Index of Media Releases

URL:http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/sm/2014/sm217128.htm
Last update: Monday, 18 August 2014 at 12:01 AEST