Reasons why policy on asylum seekers been such a divisive issue in Australian politics and foreign policy
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Why has policy on asylum seekers been such a divisive issue in Australian politics and foreign policy?
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Introduction
The dramatic influx of the number of illegal boats entering Australia has recently starred up issues on asylum seekers. In a recent press announcement made by the Prime Minister of Australia, it was determined that the government was forced to develop decisive hardline approaches to the smuggling of people with the aim of strengthening the integrity of the Australian Immigration functions. A recent survey based on the Australian current immigration systems revealed that close to half of the Australian population believe that the seekers of asylum in this country mainly arrive by sea and should be extradited back to their original countries in order to apply for the typical refugee transfer systems (Beeson,p. 226.2002).
However, it is essential to mention that the government is currently facing challenges and criticisms from a section of the society in regards to the manner in which this problem is handled. Beeson (2002) states that this issue is therefore considered controversial since many people have different views considering that different people from diverse walks of life have varied attitudes towards the problem of asylum seeking (p. 226). This is primarily attributed to the difficulties the government faces that accrue from overpopulation, the rapid growth that affects the financial strength of the nation and so on. This paper, therefore, seeks to determine the reasons why the policies on asylum seeking are becoming a controversial and divisive issue in Australian foreign policies and politics.
Background Information
In giving a typical definition of an asylum seeker it is imperative to determine that these are people who flee from their homelands of origin for the fear of persecution and who apply for physical and legal protection in another country for various reasons such as their religion, race, political affiliation or nationality. Australia being one of the signatories of the Refugee Convention to the United Nations has the sole obligation of ensuring that the human rights of the seekers of asylum in their territories are protected irrespective of the rationale behind their arrival, their places of origin and whether they arrive with or without proper documentation such as visas (Leaver, & Sach, pp. 621-636. 2006). This apparently determines the fact that whether the arrivals are validated or unauthorized, the Australian government is held accountable for giving such individuals the chance to prove their eligibility in becoming refugees before removing them from their land.
According to sources, the applications of asylum seekers protection should be assessed by the decision makers who work within the Department of Immigration and Citizenship who are trained in policies, procedures and law on refugee conventions and protection. The applicants are therefore required to undergo an interview that provides information of their citizenship in their own countries and the situations at stake in order to be granted a protection visa (Leaver, & Sach, pp. 621-636. 2006). Additionally, the applicants are taken through health examinations, security checks before signing the Australian Values Statement in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. It is also essential to state that the applicant who are successfully approved under the consideration of their claims as refugees and do not meet the lawful reasons for staying in Australia are always removed from the Australian soil.
Histories of Asylum Seekers in Australia
It is essential to mention that the system that the Australian government is using in processing the visa applications of the asylum seekers was developed during the 1980s and 1990s as a result of the influx of the number of asylums who sort refuge in this country. According to sources, most of the asylum seekers originated from China as a result of the Tiananmen Square incident that occurred in June 1989 that saw the protection visa application rise to 16,249. From this period to the year 1995, the government changed its systems to include several members of a family in a single application(Pietsch, pp. 143-155.2013). However, the system was again reviewed to ensure that each individual within a request makes a single application.
Current Government Policy
Currently, the government of Australia has initiated an offshore program that holds in detention unauthorized boat arrivals in Christmas Island until the asylums seekers are either granted a protection Visa or removed from the Australian soil. This approach is known as the offshore program that ensures that the people who fail to meet the UN standards and definitions of an asylum seeker resettled(Pietsch, pp. 143-155.2013). At times, some boat arrivals usually take longer periods than other as they await the outcomes of their visa applications. In the event that their applications do not meet the required standards, they are forced to wait for their removal from Australia.
Assistance from the Government
In order to ensure efficiency during these processes, the government of Australia usually provides some assistance schemes for the asylum seekers during the application for protection process. The supports offered by the government include a temporal eligibility for Medicare and welfare services such as support and professional help in the preparation of their protection visas and income support(Pietsch, pp. 143-155.2013). It is essential to determine the fact that not all the applicants are eligible to receive these assistances since they must prove that they are in a financial hardship. Their eligibility for receiving these assistances is then reviewed by the government on a regular basis to ensure there are no changes to their situations.
Adverse Impacts of Asylum Seekers and the Australian Action
As a result of the tight regulations enforced by the Australian government of asylum seeking, the government of Australia has now embarked on an approach that relatively receives fewer refugees as compared to other nations, a factor that has received a lot of controversial thoughts. Considering the fact that Australia is the sixth largest country, it only accepts 0.6% of asylum seekers in the world. According to credible sources, the proportion of refugees who arrive in Australia does not reach 8% of the country’s total population of immigrants (McDonald, pp. 605-617.2013). Some of the challenges the government of Australia faces in its receipt of asylum seekers that have brought a rise of the divisive issues on its policies include;
Rapid Growth of Australian Population;
It is essential to determine the fact that migrants have the ability to affect the population of a country immensely. Currently, statistics shows that nearly one in every four Australians is born overseas, a factor that translates to more than 20 million people (Department and immigration and citizenship, 2009). This, therefore, saw the Rudd Government advocate against the idea of a big Australia, to mean that the population of this country would possibly rise to 36.9 million by the year 2050. This idea therefore brought an upsurge considering the intense growth of the population of this country that would infringe on some of the countries amenities.
As a result of this, the Australian government has attributed this overpopulation to immigration. The Labor party therefore took a drastic measure in developing policies that would control the population growth since the increase in the country’s population would result in overpopulation that would directly cause an impact on the countries employment capacity, economy, welfare programs, and the governments funding (McDonald, pp. 605-617.2013).
Financial Tension for the Government
It is also essential to note that one of the common responses of the government of Australia in regards to asylum seekers that arrive by boat is in the country’s ability to provide support and assistance to this people. As determined by some sources, many of these asylum seekers move from poor and undeveloped countries to a wealthier nation (McKenzie, & Hasmath, pp. 417-430.2013). As a result of this, they are in a position of creating new tensions between the Australian governments from the huge financial assistances required to initiate their wellbeing in their soils. Sources from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship state that between 2008 and 2009, the country assisted close to 2792 asylum seekers at a tune of 7.05 million dollars, a factor that shows how the countries resources are infringed.
Overpopulation in Detention Centers
The detention centers especial those in the Christmas Island have reported incidences of overpopulation that results from the government’s aversive attitude towards the boat arrivals and the delays in announcing the eligible asylum seekers (McKenzie, & Hasmath, pp. 417-430.2013). The government initiated an approach that resulted in the crowding of the asylum seekers in the detention centers by delaying the immigration process for up to six months.
It is essential to consider the fact that the Detention Centre at the Christmas Island is only able to handle a capacity of 800 immigrants, but is now has a capacity of over 2000 people waiting for their applications approval (Flitton, p. 37. 2003). The authorities there therefore use every facility to shelter the asylums in the centers, a factor that goes against these people human rights.
Local Residential Safety Concerns
Security issues remain one of the controversial issues that have also risen from this subject since many of the Australian population fear that the acceptance of the asylum seekers in Australia may result in terroristic attacks (Lock, Quenault, & Tomlinson, p. 35. 2002). It is imperative to ascertain that most of the boat arrivals lack the required identification materials to disclose the reasons why their government is trying to persecute them, a factor that makes it harder for them to travel through the required conventional channels. It is therefore feared that the immigrants may harbor terrorists that try to escape from one country to the other, a fact that may raise security concerns in a nation.
Approaches the Government Can Take in Solving the Problem
It is essential for the government of Australia to develop more regional asylum centers. This approach would therefore enable the asylums that arrive by boat to get their tickets from a regional processing center, a fact that would not only solve the issues of overcrowding but would mitigate the chances of people being smuggled in the country (Lock, et.al). The government of Australia should also consider the rights of the population seeking asylum in their country and treat them with dignity instead of taking tough stances that frustrate such people.
Additionally, the government should also work out on modalities of hastening the visa application and approval processes to ensure that the delays witnessed in this centers are reduced (Cameron, pp. 241-259.2013). Those who fail to meet the minimum threshold of being considered and offered asylum in the country should be repatriated in a proper manner. It is also essential to ensure that women and children who arrive in this country as asylum seekers are also given fare treatments (Freedman, pp. 175-198. 2010).
Conclusion
It is therefore essential to determine the fact that the settlement of the asylum seekers in Australia remains one of the hard debates the government of this country is currently facing. The Gillard government has therefore made its stand on this issue by developing tight policies on the people seeking asylum in this country(Lock, Quenault, & Tomlinson, p. 35. 2002). Many of the Australian people are mainly concerned about the issues of overpopulation that has been witnessed in the detention centers since this aspect has a direct impact on the country’s economy including the quality of life and morals of this country.
According to sources, the rates of unemployment in Australia sprung up to 5.8% in the nation’s population, a factor that sees the government argue that an increase in its population would eventually increase the rates of unemployment in this country(Bleiker, Campbell, Hutchison, & Nicholson, pp. 398-416. 2013). As a result of the rising unemployment issue, the country’s economy is affected since much of the tax payers money is channeled into the benefits of the unemployed population.
The boat arrivals as compared to the air arriving asylums are known to destroy their identification details, a fact that makes it hard for the concerned authorities to process their visas due to the lack of credible information. Due to this fact, the asylums are forced to wait longer in the detention centers, a factor that has spanned the population in the detention facilities(Johnson, pp. 195-209.2007). Due to this, the nation fears that it may suffer attacks from either terrorists or diseases due to overpopulation. It is consequently crucial for the Australian government to ensure its boarders are protected and to ensure that decisive approaches of handling the asylum seekers are properly initiated.
References
Beeson, M 2002, ‘Issues in Australian Foreign Policy’, Australian Journal Of Politics & History, 48, 2, p. 226, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
Bleiker, R, Campbell, D, Hutchison, E, & Nicholson, X 2013, ‘The visual dehumanization of refugees’, Australian Journal Of Political Science, 48, 4, pp. 398-416, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
Cameron, M 2013, ‘From ‘Queue Jumpers’ to ‘Absolute Scum of the Earth’: Refugee and Organized Criminal Deviance in Australian Asylum Policy’, Australian Journal Of Politics & History, 59, 2, pp. 241-259, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
Flitton, D 2003, ‘Perspectives on Australian foreign policy, 2002’, Australian Journal Of International Affairs, 57, 1, p. 37, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
Freedman, J 2010, ‘Protecting Women Asylum Seekers and Refugees: From International Norms to National Protection?’, International Migration, 48, 1, pp. 175-198, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
Johnson, C 2007, ‘John Howard’s ‘Values’ and Australian Identity’, Australian Journal Of Political Science, 42, 2, pp. 195-209, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
Leaver, R, & Sach, R 2006, ‘Issues in Australian Foreign Policy’, Australian Journal of Politics & History, 52, 4, pp. 621-636, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
Lock, J, Quenault, M, & Tomlinson, J 2002, ‘Australia Should Abolish the Detention of Asylum Seekers’, Social Alternatives, 21, 3, p. 35, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
McDonald, M 2013, ‘Issues in Australian Foreign Policy: January to June 2013’, Australian Journal Of Politics & History, 59, 4, pp. 605-617, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
McKenzie, J, & Hasmath, R 2013, ‘Deterring the ‘boat people’: Explaining the Australian government’s People Swap response to asylum seekers’, Australian Journal Of Political Science, 48, 4, pp. 417-430, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
Pietsch, J 2013, ‘Immigration and Refugees: Punctuations in the Commonwealth Policy Agenda’, Australian Journal Of Public Administration, 72, 2, pp. 143-155, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 22 September 2015.
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