The Abbott Government’s pledge to resettle 12,000 refugees from war-torn Iraq and Syria in Australia was met with more public appreciation than roughly 98% of anything else they ever managed to announce, but actually delivering on last September’s promise has been slow-going.
It’s been revealed that only 124 of that number have been successfully brought to our shores; at that rate, we can expect all 12,000 to be resettled within 48 years.
Federal Social Services Minister Christian Porter addressed the lagging progress today, saying his department won’t make any apologies:
“The level of rigour that we undertake in respect to security checks, health checks, background checks … is a slow process but it is a particularly awkward process on the ground given the conditions, the real world conditions that we’re experiencing”.
Speaking with @mikebairdMP and the Kaky family, newly arrived in NSW under the 12,000 special humanitarian intake pic.twitter.com/YrrCcF1XHb
— Christian Porter (@cporterwa) March 21, 2016
FWIW, Australia’s selection process was criticised for its apparent bent towards refugees from targeted minorities; while that sounds well and good, many feared Australia would focus on minority Christians to the detriment of other persecuted groups in the region. The government did eventually state Muslims would be included in that number.
The budget for the program was previously set at $900 million. Who knows if that sum would pay off a possible half-century of resettlement.
Source: News.Com.Au.
