Sixteen years ago Australia was dealing with the same question - how to help refugees from a war-torn nation.
It was 1999 and hundreds of thousands of Albanians were fleeing Kosovo which was being torn apart by conflict.
The then Howard government created 'safe haven' visas for about 4000 refugees.
Groups of between 50 and 450 arrived in Australia from May that year.
By July all had been settled temporarily at centres across the country, after undergoing health checks at a reception facility in Sydney.
More than 60 were younger than one year-old, with 40 per cent aged between one and 15.
After the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees declared Kosovo safe many chose to go home.
But to entice others to return to a European winter, the federal government offered a 'Winter Reconstruction Allowance' in late August.
Adults were given $3000 and children $500.
Nearly all of the temporary refugees had returned home by April 2000.
The 12-month policy came at a cost of $100 million.
Liberal frontbencher Josh Frydenberg on Monday suggested the government adopt a similar approach to the crisis in Syria.
"He did provide a humanitarian response and shelter for people," he told Sky News.
When asked what he thought of the idea, Prime Minister Tony Abbott insisted "that is exactly what we are doing".
"We are prepared to respond and we will take from camps family groups of persecuted minorities," he told reporters in Canberra.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop thinks the Kosovo policy is something the government should consider.
"That's something that I will be raising with other foreign ministers, whether that's an international response that would work in these circumstances," she said.
Australia's refugee intake is due to rise from 13,750 places a year to more than 18,000 by 2018-19.
WHAT AUSTRALIA OFFERED IN 1999:
* 4000 refugees from Kosovo were accepted in 1999 by the Howard government under 'safe haven' visas.
* 62 were aged less than one year-old.
* 1342 were between one and 15 years of age.
* 45 were older than 65.
* Nearly all returned after the UNHCR declared Kosovo safe.
* To entice others, the federal government gave them a 'Winter Reconstruction Allowance' - $3000 for adults and $500 for children.
* The policy cost the federal government $100 million over 12 months.
(Source: Parliamentary Library, Department of Health)
Share
