3 September 2024
At least 749 Palestinian Authority passport holders have arrived by plane and claimed asylum since the Albanese Labor Government began granting tourist visas to Palestinians in October, according to the latest data.
And more than 47,224 asylum seekers have arrived by plane since the Albanese Labor Government was elected — the equivalent of 271 fully loaded Boeing 737s — with 2,236 asylum seekers arriving in July.
The monthly government report on asylum claims did not record Palestine as a top 20 source country until January, and since then Palestinian asylum claims have numbered: 33 in January; 88 in February; 110 in March; 66 in April; 119 in May; 157 in June and 176 in July.
In July, only China (261 claims) produced more asylum seekers than the Palestinian Authority.
There are now 84,235 failed asylum seekers in the country awaiting deportation. Labor deported just 17 failed asylum seekers in July, and just 318 since being elected. For every failed asylum seeker that leaves the country under Labor, 148 new asylum seekers lodge a claim.
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Dan Tehan said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese couldn’t be trusted on immigration, and he couldn’t be trusted on national security.
“Any competent government should have anticipated that people fleeing a terrorist-controlled war zone would seek asylum in Australia,” Mr Tehan said.
“The asylum seeker process can take up to ten years to reach its legal conclusion, so what assurances can Labor provide to the Australian people that all Palestinians who arrived on tourist visas and claim asylum have been through the proper security checks?
“In typical fashion, Labor has made a bad situation worse. In October, then Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil announced Labor’s plan to tackle asylum seekers arriving by plane, since then the average monthly number of asylum seekers has actually increased with 2,112 asylum seekers arriving since November compared to 1617 a month in the prior 16 months under Labor.
“The sad reality is we have a weak Prime Minister who is weak when it comes to national security and protecting our borders.”
ENDS
