Asylum-seeker plane arrivals surge under Labor

Almost 22,000 asylum-seekers have arrived in Australia by plane since Labor came to power last year, with only 12 out of a record 75,000 failed asylum-seekers being deported last month.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles says ‘under the former Liberal government, over 140,000 people arrived in Australia and claimed asylum onshore’. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

Almost 22,000 asylum-seekers have arrived in Australia by plane since Labor came to power last year, with new data revealing that only 12 out of a record 75,000 failed asylum-seekers in the country were deported last month.

Home Affairs Department figures show almost 2000 asylum-seekers applied for protection visas onshore last month – the highest monthly tally since the federal election in May last year – with plane arrival numbers being fuelled by a surge in asylum claims by travellers from India.

The Australian can reveal that since June last year about 153 asylum-seekers were deported after having their protection visas ­rejected, with all but 22 leaving of their own accord.

Following the election, Labor inherited a total cohort of 67,855 asylum-seekers who were not granted final protection visas and 26,405 people who were awaiting refugee status determinations.

The total population of asylum-seekers has increased to 103,779, including 28,762 still waiting determinations and 75,017 who had their applications rejected.

Asylum-seeker plane arrivals, weaponised in opposition by former Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally who claimed the Coalition lost control of the borders, is linked with foreigners coming into the country on temporary tourist, student and work permits and applying for protection visas.

Previous governments have also struggled with the asylum-seeker caseload, with applications typically taking years to process.

In its submission to the ­migration review, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal said “the protection visa application process can take many years to be ­finally determined”.

The submission said Covid-­induced delays had swelled the average time for a protection visa application determination out to more than 1000 days.

The Department of Home ­Affairs said the average processing time for an applicant who has lodged a permanent protection visa to receive an initial (grant or refusal) decision increased to 913 days in April.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan accused the Albanese government of failing to implement recommendations made in a scathing Labor-commissioned review led by former Victoria police commissioner Christine Nixon.

“In March, the government was handed a report … that contained recommendations to stem the growing problem of asylum seekers arriving by plane. That report is gathering dust,” he said.

“Since Labor was handed the Nixon report, an additional 7073 asylum seekers have arrived.

“Labor would rather do nothing than try something. Labor has put the Nixon report and the problem of fake asylum-seekers in the too-hard basket, alongside ­addressing the housing crisis and cost of living pressures.”

Former Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally attacked the Coalition over asylum-seeker plane arrivals, accusing them of losing control of the borders. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Before the pandemic shut borders in 2020, Ms Keneally attacked the Coalition for failing to “notice that the people-smugglers have changed their business model from boats to planes”.

“If a government is serious about stopping a flow of people coming to Australia, then it would be doing something about airplane arrivals,” she said in 2019.

In 2020, she said 100,000 ­people had claimed asylum after arriving in Australia by plane over six years, pointing out it was “more than double the number of boat arrivals that came under the previous Labor government”.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said “under the former Liberal government, over 140,000 people arrived in Australia and claimed asylum onshore”.

“In the first year Peter Dutton was home affairs minister, a ­record 27,000 people applied for asylum. The former Liberal government caused problems throughout the migration system, and left a department unable to deal with the issues,” Mr Giles’ spokesman said.

“There were backlogs in visa processing, record high asylum claims, citizenship backlogs, and cuts to departmental funding. The Albanese government is focused on resolving these issues.

“We’ve reduced the visa and citizenship backlogs, restored integrity to the visa system, and ­invested over $50m to support visa processing – we are repairing the damage left by the former Liberal government.”

Mr Giles’ spokesman said the government would respond to the Nixon review later this year.

Mr Tehan accused Labor ministers of being too busy campaigning for the voice to “do their day jobs”.

“Anthony Albanese and Andrew Giles would rather fly around the country promoting the voice than roll up their sleeves and deal with the problems hurting Australians,” he said.