The issue of asylum seekers arriving in Australia polarises public opinion. Here are some facts and statistics to help you make up your mind.
Concerns in Australia over unauthorised boat arrivals have occupied successive governments since the first wave of boats arrived carrying people seeking asylum from the aftermath of the Vietnam War in 1976.
A Parliamentary Library document called 'Background Note: Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976' lists the numbers of boat arrivals over the last 35 years.
BOAT ARRIVALS BY CALENDAR YEAR
|
Year |
Number of Boats |
Number of people |
|
1976 |
111 |
|
|
1977 |
868 |
|
|
1978 |
746 |
|
|
1979 |
304 |
|
|
1980 |
0 |
|
|
1981 |
30 |
|
|
1982–88 |
0 |
|
|
Year |
Number of Boats |
Number of people (excludes crew) |
|
1989 |
1 |
26 |
|
1990 |
2 |
198 |
|
1991 |
6 |
214 |
|
1992 |
6 |
216 |
|
1993 |
3 |
81 |
|
1994 |
18 |
953 |
|
1995 |
7 |
237 |
|
1996 |
19 |
660 |
|
1997 |
11 |
339 |
|
1998 |
17 |
200 |
|
1999 |
86 |
3721 |
|
2000 |
51 |
2939 |
|
2001 |
43 |
5516 |
|
2002 |
1 |
1 |
|
2003 |
1 |
53 |
|
2004 |
1 |
15 |
|
2005 |
4 |
11 |
|
2006 |
6 |
60 |
|
2007 |
5 |
148 |
|
2008 |
7 |
161 |
|
Year |
Number of Boats |
Number of people (includes crew) |
|
2009 |
61 |
2849* |
|
2010 |
134 |
6879** |
GLOBAL ASYLUM CLAIMS
As shown in UNHCR's report 'Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialised Countries 2010', a total of 358,000 applications for asylum were lodged in industrialised countries in 2010.
Australia received 8,250 applications in 2010 -- a 33 per cent increase compared to 2009, but down more than a third from 2001. The nations receiving the most applications in 2010 were:
1. United States: 55,530 applicants (or 5.6 PPP* between 2006-11)
2. France: 47,800 applicants (5.4 PPP* between 2006-11)
3. Germany: 41, 330 applicants (3.7 PPP* between 2006-11)
4. Sweden: 31,800 applicants (3.8 PPP* between 2006-11)
5. Canada: 23, 200 applicants (3.7 PPP* between 2006-11)
6. United Kingdom: 22,100 applicants (3.9 PPP* between 2006-11)
7. Belgium: 19,900 applicants
8. Switzerland: 13,500 applicants
9. Netherlands: 13,300 applicants
10. Austria: 11,000 applicants
11. Greece: 10,300 applicants
12. Norway: 10,060 applicants
13. Turkey: 9,230 applicants (3.5 PPP* between 2006-11)
14. Italy: 8,300 applicants (2.7 PPP* between 2006-11)
15. Australia: 8,250 applicants
[*PPP Purchasing Power Parity - applicants per $US1 GDP per capita]
WHERE DO AUSTRALIA'S ASYLUM SEEKERS COME FROM?
According to UNHCR's report 'Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialised Countries 2010', people claiming asylum in Australia and New Zealand in 2010 came from: Afghanistan (1,266), China (1,202), Fiji (610) Sri Lanka (608), Iran (501), Pakistan (440), India (409), Iraq (389), Egypt (333), Zimbabwe (302), Malaysia (254), Lebanon, (201), Indonesia (187), Nepal (167), Turkey (119), Bangladesh (103), Burma (80), Vietnam (79), Korea (74).
REFUGEE NUMBERS IN AUSTRALIA
In 2010-2011, Australia granted 14,553 permanent visas through its humanitarian program, which includes visas granted to people who applied from overseas (under the offshore scheme) and people who applied from Australia, once they got here by plane or boat (onshore claims).
The overall number of permanent visas issued in 2010-2011 was 122,644, according to the Department of Immigration, so visas granted under the humanitarian program made up more than a tenth of visas granted that year.
According to the Department of Immigration's Annual Report 2009-10, a total of 13,770 visas were granted under the humanitarian program that year, (9,236 to asylum seekers applying from overseas and 4,534 to asylum seekers applying once in Australia).
BOAT VERSUS PLANE ARRIVALS
According to 'Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976, Background note, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2010', from 1976 until 2008 boat arrivals only made up a small proportion of asylum applicants.
Until 2008, between 96 and 99 per cent of asylum applicants arrived by air, the document says. Since then, the proportion of arrivals by boat increased, but they still make up less than half of Australia's onshore asylum seekers.
In 2008-2009, 16 per cent of asylum seekers arrived by boat and 84 per cent by plane.
In 2010-11, 44 per cent of asylum applicants arrived by boat and 56 per cent by plane, and in 2009-2010, 47 per cent arrived by boat and 47 per cent by plane.
BOAT PEOPLE 'MORE LIKELY TO BE GENUINE REFUGEES'
A report by the Lowy Institute says boat people are more likely to be recognised as refugees than asylum seekers who arrive by air. It says: "Arguably Australia is worrying about the wrong asylum seekers. Whereas the majority of those arriving by boat are refugees, the majority of those arriving by air are not".
Past figures show that between 70 and 97 per cent of asylum seekers arriving by boat at different times were found to be genuine refugees, and were granted protection either in Australia or in another country.
According to figures by the Refugee Council of Australia, in 1998-99 approximately 97 per cent of Iraqi and 92 per cent of Afghan applicants - the majority of which arrived by boat - were granted refugee status and given permanent visas.
More recent figures show that of the 1,254 claims assessed on Christmas Island between July 2009 and January 2010, only 110 people were found not to be genuine refugees.
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