Refugees
Letter to the Editor - Herald Sun
8 June 2005
Dear Sir/Madam
Trung Doan’s article (A long, hard road for refugees, 7/6/05) misrepresents the true situation.
Australia has a world-class refugee determination process and refugee approval rates compare favourably with those in other countries in Europe and North America.
Each asylum case is considered on its merits and approval rates depend on the strength of the claims and the situation in the person's home country.
The Department approved refugee protection in a matter of weeks for 80 percent of the 9000 unauthorised boat arrivals, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran, who came to Australia between 1999 and 2001. This is because they were refugees.
Contrary to Mr Doan's assertions, the reason why the group of Vietnamese boat arrivals in 2003 were not approved by the Department was that they were not refugees. The recent decision by the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) finding that some of these people are now owed protection does not mean the Department was wrong in its earlier decisions.
The RRT's recent decisions make it clear that at the time of arrival these people were not in need of refugee protection.
The changed outcomes now are attributable to the activities of these individuals and groups after the boat arrived in Australia which have created a risk when none had previously existed.
The fact that the RRT had earlier refused the cases it has now recently approved shows that there is no hidden agenda here. The aim of the Department and the RRT is to find and protect refugees, irrespective of who they are or how their protection need has come about.
Kym Charlton
Acting Director
Public Affairs
DIMIA