The Opinion piece (Desperate refugees and deadly diseases, 10/03/06) gets the facts wrong.
Letter to the Editor - Daily Telegraph
10 March 2006
Dear Sir/Madam
The Opinion piece (Desperate refugees and deadly diseases, 10/03/06) gets the facts wrong.
Australia has some of the most stringent health screening requirements in the world. All refugees to Australia aged 11 and older are screened for TB before they can be granted a visa.
A person with active TB is not able to enter Australia. People whose x-rays reveal evidence of TB changes must be tested and evaluated fully before they are allowed to enter Australia.
They then can do so only with a health undertaking that requires them to attend follow-up checks on arrival in Australia. In addition, refugees are screened again for communicable diseases not more than 72 hours before their departure for Australia.
Unlike many other countries, Australia has not experienced an increase in TB rates resulting from migration. It is the screening measures in place over many, many years which have ensured we have one of the lowest TB incidence rates in the world - and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, to the extent of its involvement in screening people (including refugees) coming to settle in Australia, intends to keep it this way.
We are justifiably proud of the role we have played in the resettlement for refugees from around the world. More than 100,000 people in the last 10 years have been able to rebuild their lives with dignity and safety in Australia because of this policy.
Sandi Logan
National Communications Manager
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs