The New " Boat People " !

It took the drastic measure of permanently transferring asylum seekers arriving on our shores in rickety boats to what some describe as Australian " concentration camps " in other countries to stem the flow of people risking death at sea in a desperate bid to gain a new home in this country.

That measure has been very successful.  A refugee boat arriving in our waters is now rare, but it comes with a great many people trapped in these offshore gulags for years because they will only find a home if another country accepts them.  The legislation asserts they will never be assimilated into Australia and it is that promise that has forced the people smugglers who were bringing them here out of business.

That law only applies to people arriving by boat and we are now facing a new inflow who arrive by plane and apply for a protection visa the moment they set foot on our soil.  Australia is a major tourist destination and it is obvious that some amongst those gaining an entry visa as a tourist see this as a new way to avoid the law that stops boat people.

An average of seventy-seven people a day claimed protection visas after landing at an Australian airport in November and this represents an inflow of more than 100,000 since the coalition gained power five years ago.  The nationality figures are illuminating.  Twenty-seven percent came from Malaysia, seventeen percent from China,  fourteen percent from India , five percent from Thailand and four percent from Vietnam.

All of these countries are heavily represented in the legitimate flow of tourists into Australia and most generally leave without incident.  Tourism is an important part of the Australian economy and simply placing obstacles in the way of granting tourist visas to these countries would harm the industries that employ many Australians.

One of the problems is that once a protection visa is issued that person  has the same workplace rights as Australian citizens while they await a decision.  Evidence is emerging that some are being exploited because of their lack of knowledge of Australian law and may be subjected to what is virtual slavery in relation to the pay earned.

Fortunately, the lodging of protection visa applications is a declining trend.   The number of people claiming refugee status declined to 24,520 this year from 27,884 in the previous year and only 0.23 percent of the temporary visas issued  over the previous five years led to protection visa status.

It is quite evident that there is a gap in our immigrant selection process.  Our defensive measures successfully stopped boat arrivals but that same law does not apply to people arriving by plane. Letting the law take its course involves both the time to reach a decision and the inevitable appeals that will follow allowing the intended migrant to settle into the way of life of this country.

The obvious answer is a speedy resolution of status and a prompt removal to follow rejection. Like boat arrivals, this new trend will clearly fade away once the tactic is seen to be unsuccessful.