By Charis Palmer, The Conversation
The expert panel on asylum seekers has made 22 recommendations, including the establishment of a capacity for processing asylum seekers in both Nauru and Papua New Guinea, in a report expected to define the government's future policy on asylum seekers.
The report, which the panel described as “hard-headed but not hard-hearted” and “realistic, but not idealistic”, also recommends the government continue to build on the current arrangement with Malaysia.
Panel leader Angus Houston said there were no quick and easy solutions to the problem, but that the panel's recommendations were driven by a sense of humanity as well as fairness.
“Like all Australians we are deeply concerned about this tragic loss of life at sea … to do nothing is unacceptable,” Mr Houston said.
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Other recommendations put forward by the panel include increasing the current humanitarian program from 13,000 to 20,000 immediately, and expanding it to 27,000 within five years.
The panel also weighed in on the approach of turning back boat arrivals, saying it could be operationally achieved and would act as a disincentive to people smugglers.
However Mr Houston said it would only be an option if a range of safety of life, diplomatic and legal conditions are met.
“Currently the panel doesn't believe those conditions exist though they could in the future,” Mr Houston said.
The panel also recommended an increase of 4,000 places in the family migration program, with measures designed to incentivise asylum seekers to use “regular pathways' for migration to Australia, as opposed to more dangerous maritime routes.
“We believe current family reunion concessions for immediate family applicants where they are sponsored by a person who arrived by irregular maritime means should be removed,” Mr Houston said.
The recommendations, should they be adopted, will come at a cost to the government of A$1 billion a year; however Mr Houston said the cost needs to be offset against expenditures currently incurred as a result of managing the increasing number of unauthorised arrivals.
Today The Conversation will bring you the reactions of experts to the Houston panel's recommendations.
Helen Ware, Professor, International Agency Leadership at University of New England
I think their tag line 'hard headed not hard hearted' is a reasonable summary of what they've achieved.
It is a step forward, but subject to whether the Opposition goes with it, because I don't think the Greens will.
The addition to the humanitarian program is an excellent start and they're talking about 27,000 by the end of five years. They couldn't go much more than that in terms of what Australia can cope with.
They had to say Nauru because the Opposition has pushed it very hard, therefore if it doesn't work they will say 'We did that and it still hasn't worked'.
The theory is you will save money because you're going to save money on people coming in via irregular routes. But it means a lot of empty processing centres here which is quite bizarre.
More to come
At the beginning of the month The Conversation's asylum seeker expert panel drafted a position tailored to the Houston panel's Terms of Reference.
The panel recommended Australia take a leadership position in the Asia Pacific, working in partnership with its neighbours to implement fair and just measures in responding to asylum seekers in the region.
As part of a regional approach it recommended Australia prioritise asylum seekers in the Asia Pacific, and that it encourage regional nations to become parties to the Refugee Convention and Protocol.
In the short term it argued Australia should at minimum double its annual refugee and humanitarian resettlement program and seriously consider a larger intake.
For the medium and longer term the panel recommended Australia should negotiate with regional governments for the establishment of asylum claim processing centres in countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia and that Australia should negotiate with OECD and middle-income countries to increase their refugee intake.
