Will we be a colony of the third world? 6/5/06

Letter to the Editor - The Northern Daily Leader
8 May 2006

Dear Sir/Madam

Your reader Iris O'Reilly (Will we be a colony of the third world? 6/5/06) has confused the facts because under no circumstances has the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, as she puts it, contracted out to private enterprise decision-making on 'who comes to Australia'.

Decisions regarding the make-up of Australia's refugee intake are not made by a private company - nor has this ever been the case. The Australian Government resettles people in vulnerable situations from around the world, based on priority regions identified with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

People who arrive under Australia's humanitarian programme have fled their homes and familiar surroundings in search of safety and stability and it is our responsibility to help them rebuild their lives in Australia. To do this the Australian Government has engaged contractors - and this is where Ms O'Reilly may be confused - across Australia to provide settlement services for our refugees, offering the support they need for a smooth transition into the Australian way of life.

All people wishing to settle in Australia must undergo health screening as part of the visa process. This includes refugees. Health screening includes a medical examination, x-ray and blood tests, including HIV testing. Australia's health screening process is regarded as the most stringent in the world, and because of this approach, we have one of the lowest records of tuberculosis of any country.

As an added measure, in August last year, the Australian Government introduced a pilot programme providing additional pre-departure medical screening for refugee and humanitarian visa holders coming from East and West Africa. It is a voluntary programme which enables these visa holders to undergo a medical examination about three days before they are due to travel to Australia to test for communicable diseases, general health status and fitness to travel.

Recent data for February this year shows the majority of refugees from East and West Africa underwent this additional screening. Pre-departure medical screening is currently being implemented in key refugee and humanitarian regions globally.

With this in mind, we hope Ms O'Reilly better understands how we manage our refugees and humanitarian settlement programme.

Sandi Logan
National Communications Manager
Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs