CBA Asylum Seekers
Cost and Benefit Analysis
September 11
2012
Table of Contents
Introduction:
Recently the Labor Government introduced a Bill and Australia’s Parliament passed a law that would allow asylum seekers to be sent to Papua New Guinea and Nauru to undergo offshore processing. This decision has caused a lot of commotion, since other people think that onshore processing is the more correct way of dealing with asylum seekers.
Asylum seekers have always existed, ever since there have been disputes and wars, but now there are many interchanging issues coming from the influx of them invading into many western countries, including Australia. The accepting of asylum seekers is a struggle to help control the balance between the security of our nation’s boarders, and then having to support and help thousands of emigrant people.
There is actually a difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee. An asylum seeker is someone who is looking for international protection, but their claim to be labelled as a refugee has not yet been determined. While a refugee is a person who has been recognized under the 1951 Convention relating to the status of a refugee. The Convention states that a “refugee” is any person who: owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.1
Over the years the Australian Government has been noticing the upward trend in the numbers of people seeking refuge in Australia and other countries. Knowing that Australia is a large country, with a fairly low population compared to that of the other
September 11
2012
Table of Contents
Introduction:
Recently the Labor Government introduced a Bill and Australia’s Parliament passed a law that would allow asylum seekers to be sent to Papua New Guinea and Nauru to undergo offshore processing. This decision has caused a lot of commotion, since other people think that onshore processing is the more correct way of dealing with asylum seekers.
Asylum seekers have always existed, ever since there have been disputes and wars, but now there are many interchanging issues coming from the influx of them invading into many western countries, including Australia. The accepting of asylum seekers is a struggle to help control the balance between the security of our nation’s boarders, and then having to support and help thousands of emigrant people.
There is actually a difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee. An asylum seeker is someone who is looking for international protection, but their claim to be labelled as a refugee has not yet been determined. While a refugee is a person who has been recognized under the 1951 Convention relating to the status of a refugee. The Convention states that a “refugee” is any person who: owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.1
Over the years the Australian Government has been noticing the upward trend in the numbers of people seeking refuge in Australia and other countries. Knowing that Australia is a large country, with a fairly low population compared to that of the other