Jew World Order

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The UNHCR has found Australia is bucking a global trend, with a 9 per cent drop in the number of asylum seekers claims last year. Its regional representative says that’s partly because of the negative, hostile and toxic debate in Australia.

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MARK COLVIN: “Negative”, “hostile” and “toxic”.

That’s how the United Nations High Commission for Refugees sees the asylum seeker debate in Australia.

And the UNHCR’s regional representative says it’s part of the reason for a drop in claims.

A United Nations report into asylum seeker trends across the world shows a 20 per cent upward spike in applications to industrialised countries last year.

Australia’s spike was downward.

There was a 9 per cent drop in claims here, the first fall in six years…and that’s mainly due to fewer boat arrivals.

From Canberra, Samantha Hawley reports.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: The UNHCR’s yearly report on asylum seekers shows Australia is bucking the global trend.

Asylum seeker numbers soared by 20 per cent worldwide last year to more than 440,000.

Only a very small fraction of those sought asylum in Australia. There were 11,500 claims last year, a 9 per cent drop on 2010.

The fall of just over a thousand people, the report says is “due to fewer asylum seekers arriving by boat”.

ROCHARD TOWLE: Overall, people contemplating moving for whatever reason, saw Australia as a less hospitable place to come and claim international refugee protection.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Richard Towle is the regional representative of the UNHCR.

ROCHARD TOWLE: There are many reasons why they would have reached that conclusion – not least the dangers of the voyage, the costs, and what are perceptions of a pretty negative and sometimes hostile public debate on those issues.

I think the message that we would like to share with the Australian public is that asylum seekers of the order of 11,500 coming by air and see is not a very significant issue and certainly is manageable, it can be looked after given the rich resources that Australia has to deal with these kinds of issues.

And we don’t think that that level of number warrants the kind of public and sometimes toxic debate that occurred in Australia last year.

SCOTT MORRISON: Australia has been batting above its average in terms of asylum seekers coming to Australia now for the last three years.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: The Opposition’s immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison.

SCOTT MORRISON: Last year, in 2010, the figures which recorded the peak I think demonstrated that. So I mean if the Government somehow thinks they’ve addressed this crisis then they really are delusional.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: It accounts for the number of asylum seekers though coming to Australia accounts for 3 per cent. So can that really be classed as a “crisis”?

SCOTT MORRISON: Over the summer, since the Government announced their community release mainstream policy and bridging visas we had the biggest summer of boat arrivals on record – over 2,100 people turned up over the summer – that was the biggest surge in arrivals over summer that we have ever seen.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: You’re asking the Government to stop the boats; this report shows that there’s been a reduction in the number of people coming to Australia by boat, so you must be able to give the Government credit there.

SCOTT MORRISON: No, not at all. I mean when the Coalition implemented our policies we went from 43 boats in 2001 to no boats in 2002 – that’s an effective policy.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: The report finds it’s the first decrease is the first in six years. The Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has welcomed the UNHCR’s findings.

CHRIS BOWEN: They show that ours was the only region in the UNHCR report to record a decrease in asylum applications.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Some people would see that as a negative – that Australia isn’t taking on its load, that there are more asylum seekers across the world and we’re the only jurisdiction that has noted a decrease; isn’t that a bad thing rather than a good one?

CHRIS BOWEN: No and that would be a valid argument if we didn’t go out and take people out of refugee camps around the world. Australia remains the largest resettlement country in the world per capita.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Well is it a good thing that there’s been a boost or an increase in the number of Afghan asylum seekers across the world but a significant decrease in Australia? In your view is that a good thing?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well look I think it’s a good thing if less people are making a dangerous boat journey to Australia – I certainly think that’s a good thing.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: All right well there was a drop in boat arrivals in 2011, last year; do you take credit for that?

CHRIS BOWEN: I don’t claim, for the Government full credit for this; I think there’s a range of circumstances not least of which is the improving situation in Sri Lanka and the changing circumstance in other countries.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: The Opposition says the 9 per cent drop is meaningless given there’s been a 180 per cent increase since your government came to power.

CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah well they would say that. I mean

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Well that’s the truth though isn’t it? They would say it because it’s true, there has been an increase.

CHRIS BOWEN: But they would find – I mean here we have an example of a reduction in asylum claims to Australia which you’d think the Opposition would welcome and yet they find an opportunity to be negative about it. Now yes of course there’s been increases over a period of years but you would think that they would actually say that a reduction is welcome instead of being consistently negative.

MARK COLVIN: Immigration Minister Chris Bowen ending Samantha Hawley’s report.