Tony Abbott announced that Australia would permanently resettle 12,000 refugees from Iraq and Syria. The government will also provide $44m in aid for refugee agencies. Opposition leader Bill Shorten (who had called for an extra 10,000 refugees to be accepted) and NSW Premier Mike Baird welcomed the decision.
The announcement comes shortly after the government pledged to respond to the current crisis by prioritising refugees from Iraq and Syria from the overall annual intake.
The European Union is in the process of negotiating with member states on fixed intake quotas. UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farrage supported Prime Minister David Cameron’s refusal to sign up to the quota. In Germany, locals greeted refugees and migrants fleeing the conflict in the Middle East with ‘welcome’ signs.
In Cambodia, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton met with Prime Minister Hun Sen to discuss a 2014 agreement to provide $40 million in exchange for the provision of resettlement services.
Read the Kaldor Centre’s Weekly News Roundup.