CANBERRA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The number of people on Australia’s refugee waitlist has doubled in two years, according to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).
Data released by the UNHCR on Wednesday revealed that 60,000 people had refugee applications pending with the Australian government as of the end of 2018 compared to nearly 30,000 at the end of 2016.
It means that Australia is subject to 1.7 percent of the world’s refugee applications but home to only 0.1 percent of refugees.
The surge is the result of an increased number of “plane people” arriving in Australia on legitimate tourist visas and later claiming asylum.
There have been 81,000 “plane people” arrive in Australia in the last four years and apply for asylum. Approximately, 90 percent of the applications are denied but in the years it takes to process the claims applicants are granted bridging visas that allow them to work in Australia.
The number of people living in Australia on bridging visas has increased from 107,000 to 230,000 between 2014 and 2019, according to the UNHCR.
Kristina Keneally, the opposition Australian Labor Party’s home affairs spokesperson, told Fairfax Media that the data indicated that the people-smuggling trade has evolved.
"The UNHCR report confirms a massive increase in the number of people who are in Australia seeking asylum has occurred under (Home Affairs Minister) Peter Dutton's watch," she said.
"In the face of this surge, Mr. Dutton has presided over 300 million Australian dollars in budget cuts to weaken our border security.”
Immigration Minister David Coleman said that the increased number of refugee applications would not translate to more refugees.
"The government has capped the refugee intake at the current levels, unlike Labor which is proposing to increase the annual permanent refugee intake by 71 percent,” he said.
