No refugees for Mackay
I have restated his position that there be no intake of any Syrian refugees in Mackay, following suggestions that other towns like Nebo and Middlemount should be considered for refugee resettlement.I firmly believe that Mackay is not in a position to take on the resettlement of any refugees, and my objections are not religious or cultural; they are purely economic.We have a severe unemployment issue in the region right now, and the facts are that refugees need considerable support for a number of years.
Syrian refugee screening critical
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.
Labor’s take on refugee crisis is hypocritical
LABOR’S plan to bring in tens of thousands of refugees smacks of hypocrisy.Labor opposes the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement on the totally fictional basis that it’s a threat to Australian jobs but they propose to take in more than 20,000 extra refugees who will be able to take Australian jobs without labour market testing.