Australian officials in the Middle East are preparing to process about 500 Syrian refugees a week for resettlement, as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull praised troops in the region risking their lives to “stop the spread of a violent ideology”.
World Vision chief executive Tim Costello on Tuesday said he hoped Mr Turnbull’s philanthropic, humanitarian bent would prompt an increase in Australia’s foreign aid budget and permanent refugee intake, as the Syrian crisis shows no signs of abating.
Australian officials are flying to the Middle East over the next fortnight to help process Syrian refugees in camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, after the government last week announced an emergency intake of 12,000 refugees.
About 40,000 new refugees flow into the camps each week.
It is understood Australia expects to process about 500 Syrian refugees a week. About 200 refugees have already been “triaged”, or identified for urgent resettlement.
The refugees will be assessed in the camps or via video conference, and all will be interviewed by an Australian immigration official.
They will undergo health, character, identity and national security checks, and will be asked to provide biometric data, such as a facial recognition scan.
In his first question time as prime minister on Tuesday, Mr. Turnbull said the government’s successful border regime, which has stemmed the flow of asylum seekers arriving by boat, meant Australia could play its part in accepting refugees.
The government last week announced an expansion of RAAF air strikes into Syria.
Mr. Turnbull said Australia was no longer “a country far away from the problems of the world”.
“As I speak today, members of the ADF are in the Middle East putting themselves in harm’s way to stop the spread of a violent ideology,” he said.
“The defense of Australia and its people is the single most important duty of this government and we remain focused on that mission now as we have always been.”
He said Australia’s pledge of $44 million in humanitarian assistance for people displaced by fighting in Iraq and Syria would support more than 240,000 people.
The Abbott government drew fire internationally after cutting more than $11 billion in foreign aid spending, despite coming to office promising to increase such spending in line with inflation.
Refugee advocates have vehemently opposed the government’s policies of asylum-seeker boat turnbacks and offshore processing.
Mr. Costello said on the questions of refugee policy and foreign aid, he was “much more hopeful about Malcolm Turnbull”.
“Obviously he has made certain promises to keep conservatives in the party on board, and the most sacred touchstone for them is the [boat] turnbacks,” Mr. Costello said.
“[But] I think [Mr Turnbull] has a clear commitment to social compassion. He is philanthropic, he’s humanitarian, I think that resonates with him.”
Mr. Costello did not expect changes to detention centers at Manus Island and Nauru, or boat turnbacks.
Sydney Morning Herald
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