Coalition proposes new system for asylum-seekers

TONY Abbott proposes a new "fair dinkum" refugee determination process for Australia to identify fraudulent claims

TONY Abbott proposes a new "fair dinkum" refugee determination process for Australia to identify fraudulent claims and attack abuses that result in about 90 per cent of boatpeople staying in Australia.

The reform package, devised by his immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, will be unveiled today after the "Captain Emad" fiasco, in which an alleged leading people-smuggler was given refugee status, mocking the integrity of our refugee determination processes.

"Our system is highly vulnerable and Captain Emad is a case in point," Mr Morrison told The Weekend Australian.

"Assessors are making a balance-of-probabilities judgment, which is a best guess. There is now a strong temptation for a 'tick and flick' mentality to get people out of the system.

"The assessment of asylum-seekers arriving by boat is wide open to abuse, with 90 per cent of arrivals having no documentation whatsoever despite the vast majority having arrived in the region by air, which would have needed documents.

"Australians need to be assured that the integrity of the assessment process is being maintained."

Mr Abbott and Mr Morrison will unveil three changes.

First, a Coalition immigration minister would have the power to issue a directive that where an applicant had "deliberately discarded" identity documents then decision-makers would draw "an unfavourable inference about the applicant's identity, nationality or citizenship".

This would deny the applicant the benefit of the doubt. It would prevent decisions until identification was satisfactorily made.

Second, the Coalition would appoint an Integrity Commissioner for Refugee Status Assessment of asylum applicants to make six-monthly audit reports to the minister.

The audit would compare acceptance rates for various ethnic and religious groups across comparable jurisdictions, the aim being to ensure decision-makers could substantiate their decisions. Mr Morrison calls this new office a night watchman "to ensure the process is fair".

The Coalition is worried at the huge variation between first-stage refugee determination, where acceptance runs at only about 50 per cent, and final outcomes after the full review process, where acceptance is in the 80-90 per cent range.

This is far higher than asylum-seekers arriving by plane with documents or for overseas acceptance rates, notably in Britain.

Third, Mr Morrison wants to ensure that "yes" decisions are reviewed as well as "no" decisions. In practice, it is only rejections of asylum-seeker claims that trigger a review. He intends to appeal acceptance of refugee status determinations if he is not confident they are justified.

These reforms are sure to trigger a contentious debate. The truth, however, is that concerns about the reliability and generosity of Australia's acceptance rates are widespread, including within the Immigration Department.

Mr Abbott and Mr Morrison are worried over what they brand as "the subjective nature" of deciding refugee status.

"It is an insult, we're being played for mugs," Mr Morrison said last week of the Captain Emad affair. This refers to Iraqi Ali al-Abassi, who was exposed on the ABC's Four Corners last week as head of a people-smuggling syndicate and who came to Australia and secured refugee status.