Refugee crisis: NSW premier suggests housing of 10,000 refugees in Australia
As Prime Minister Tony Abbott refuses to increase the refugee intake quota, New South Wales Premier Mike Baird suggested that the country could house more than 10,000 Syrian refugees at the moment.
The suggestion came just a day after Mr Abbott declared to house more Syrian refugees but overall increase in the numbers of refugee intake would remain same for the year. In a statement released by the prime minister’s office, he said that an increase in the refugee intake from 13,750 to 18,750 per annum would be implemented by 2018/19.
"Because we've stopped the boats we are in a position to increase the overall intake of refugees and humanitarian entrants," Mr Abbott quoted by ABC as saying.
Baird, who praised the federal government’s commitment to the growing number of refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria and Iraq, has been pushing the government to assist the crisis in every other way possible. He spoke to ABC's "Q&A" on Monday about the overwhelming support towards the refugees for doing more.
At the same time, Labor has been pushing the prime minister to increase the quota by 10,000 immediately. During one of its national conferences, Labor has vouched to double the refugee intake quota within a decade if they won the election.
"How do you know it is just 10,000? How do you know it shouldn't be more?" Baird said. "It is very simple to put a number up but what can we actually do and can we do more than that? Who is to say we can't do more?"
Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who is in Geneva to get significant insights from the UNHCR to help mitigate the crisis, is due to brief the prime minister on Tuesday with the discussions about Syrian refugees. "There's more to be done and the Australian Government's very keen to have discussions with the UNHCR, with our partners otherwise to look at what more we can do," he said.
The Greens has also called upon the government to build extra places for refugees from Syria. It has also asked the government to consider an emergency intake of 20,000 extra refugees and AU$150 million for the UNHCR. Since 2011, Australia has provided about $156 million on assistance to the region.
Abbott is increasingly pressured to adopt a special humanitarian way to increase the Syrian refugee intake in the face of Europe’s escalating refugee crisis. Many among the liberals have argued for increasing the refugee intake quota.
Liberal Backbencher such as Craig Laundy said he would continuously push the government to lift the quota and Backbencher Ewen Jones insisted on housing as many as 50,000 refugees.
Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen argued that an increase in the quota would assure Syrian refugees with asylums who otherwise would miss out, while Mark Butler criticised cuts to Australia's funding for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Also, Shadow Defence Minister Stephen Conroy believes it's time Coalition realises to do more for those refugees to alleviate tragedy.
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