Syrian refugee screening critical

NOVEMBER 24, 2015: We need watertight security screening of Syrian refugees to protect Australians from terrorism attacks.I put a Question on Notice to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton, today requesting the exact procedures, questions, and checks that would be made when screening the 12,000 Syrian refugees the government has committed to accept.I have also asked who will conduct the screening and what assurances they can provide to the Australian people that the screening process will be effective.ISIS has stated their intention to sneak terrorists into Western countries disguised as refugees and we have seen from experience those attempts have been successful.We would be foolish to think for one minute that no potential terrorist would attempt to enter Australia as part of the 12,000 Syrian refugee intake.It only takes one terrorist out of the 12,000 coming from Syria to commit atrocities such as we have seen in Paris on Australian shores.I have also asked how determinations will be made when a refugee’s background is unknown or uncertain.When Labor trashed our border security and was running a water taxi service for people smugglers, we had reports of alleged asylum seekers calling for rescue and then destroying their phones and identity documents.One has to ask why they would do that if they had nothing to hide.We now have reports of alleged refugees entering Europe with fake Syrian documents, so there's even more reason for tight security screening on every single person that comes into this country claiming to be a refugee.I have asked the Minister if the Australian Government is aware of falsified Syrian background papers being purchased from Syrian officials and what measure will be part of the screening process to counter fake Syrian documents.We cannot afford to let our guard down for an instant because we know there are people out there who hate us and our way of life and wish to do us harm.“Ignoring or denying that fact would only lead to lax security and increased likelihood of an attack on Australian soil.