According to the statistics provided by the Australian Ministry of Immigration, the number of refugees who have safely set foot on Australian soil in 2011 reached 6,765 compared to 6,555 in 2010. If considering those who have been denied refugee status or have not made it to Australia due to ship wreck and other accidents, the number is undeniably higher. The increase in the number of refugees was largely attributed to the decision made by the Australian Federal Court of Justice. In August 2010, it ruled that any screening of refugees outside the Australian mainland is unconstitutional, sentencing detention camps for refugees in islands near the main island as unlawful. As a result of the ruling, refugees were to be evaluated on the main island, increasing their chance of acquiring a refugee status. The ruling was later repealed by the Lower House. Anyhow, for a short time, this led to the soaring influx of refugees into the Australian island.

According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), refugees are those who flee their own country and cross the border in order to escape from any forms of religious persecution, political conflicts, or economic predicaments. Refugees who visit Australia come from diverse nations for various reasons. Since the late 1970s, the accumulated number of refugees granted refugee status by the Australian government reached 500,000 in 2010. There have been three major waves of refugee influx in the recent history. The first wave took place between 1976 and 1981, where 2,000 Vietnamese fled to Australia in order to escape from the Vietnam War. The second major influx of refugees into Australia involved about 3,100 Cambodians, Southern Chinese, and Vietnamese, who left their home countries during 1989 to 1998. The last great incoming of refugees to Australia occurred between 1999 to 2001, during which 12,200 people from Afghanistan and Iraq evacuated their homes in an attempt to evade religious persecution and war. As of 2010, the country that had the highest number of refugees into Australia was Burma, with 1,959 applicants for a refugee status. As years are proceeding, the country of origin of refugees is diversifying.

Australia has not always been as tolerant towards refugees as it is now. Despite the fact that the nation was started by refugees and those who fled their country, it had often been portrayed as overly conservative on the issue of allowing foreign refugees. However, as the Labor Party seized power in the Australian Upper House and the Lower House in the late 1990s, everything changed. The party commenced programs that would greatly help refugees to resettle in Australia. Among its various campaigns, the most helpful program for the refugees was the Bridging Visa Program. The program involves a simple set of application procedures, in which almost every refugee is given a chance to apply. The process is said to be simpler than any other country’s refugee program. Once an applicant fills out the form, and is granted a Bridging Visa, he meets no further restrictions or legal challenges during his time in Australia. In other words, he is treated like any other Australians. The Australian government also offers basic monetary aids for refugees, contrary to the Korean government, which provides almost no food or shelter during the refugee screening process that often takes more than a year.

Even though many experts point out Australia as the nation with the most advanced refugee program, it also possesses various blind spots at governmental and public level. The first problem endangering the lives of refugees is the recent advent of refugee smugglers. These villains take advantage of refugee’s desperate situation to their own money making. Providing wrecked ships, taking refugees as hostages, and asking for an exorbitant amount of money are only few of their evil deeds.

The second hardship encountering the current refugee program is great opposition from the joint opposing party consisting of the Liberal Party and the National Party. According to the joint opposing party, the current governmental refugee campaign has two major problems. The first problem is dilution of national color. In this case, the opposing parties define Australian national identity as a nation in which White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP) are its main components, who constitute approximately 90 percent of Australian population. The next problem, according to the opposing party, is budget deficit. It says that Australia suffers from problems of its own, and should first focus on fixing these problems before lending a hand to refugees. In 2010, the Australian government spent 1.058 billion dollars on refugee programs, out of 914.482 billion dollars of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011.

The last issue troubling refugees coming into Australia is negative perspective towards these despaired asylum seekers. According to a survey provided by the Australian Ministry of Immigration, 42 percent of participants answered yes when asked if refugees are negative components of Australia. The result of the survey shows that some Australians are still reluctant to consider refugees as any other Australian.

 

Korea became a member of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (CRSR) in the early 1990s, having a relatively short history. Despite the membership, it has started accepting refugees starting 2000. Furthermore, the number of refugees granted refugee status by the Korean government is considerably low, with the accumulated number being only 290, compared to ten thousands in Canada and the U.S. “There need to be more examiners at a government level,” says Kim Sung In, the head of Center for Refugee Rights, “only then, the screening process would take shorter amount of time with more refugees given a chance to start anew in Korea.” Also, Cho Jung-Hyun (Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification) comments, “Having a refugee acceptance rate less than 10 percent is something definitely worth paying heed to. Treatment of refugees should also be bettered.”

Countries with relatively advanced refugee system include Canada and the U.S. In contrast to Korea, the aforementioned nations boast a long history of immigration. Consequently, many of its citizens are tolerant to refugees and asylum seekers, for they are aware of the fact that most of their ancestors shared the same fate. On top of that, government revenue allotted to government agencies dealing with refugees in these countries is exceedingly high, making it possible for local and central government to promote businesses that help asylum seekers to safely and soundly adjust to society.

Though not yet passed, the enactment of detention camps in nearby islands seems highly likely in Australia. This means the return to the laws argued by the Prime Minister John Howard of the Liberal Party between 2001 to 2008, in which refugees were kept in nearby islands. The passing of the law is strongly supported by the current Prime Minister Julia Gillard of the Labor Party, who comments, “Australians are fed up with the refugee problems. It is high time we did something.” Her move exactly reflects what Tony Abott of the joint opposing party is arguing, with some people dubs it as “Labor Party’s political retreat.” Her recent comments and actions are largely attributed to the complaints of WASP voters, whose taxation would become more burdensome as more refugees are introduced in Australian soil.