Starr
10-08-2007, 05:36 AM
Colleagues have leapt to the defence of embattled Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, while Labor admitted to agreeing with the new policy on Sudanese refugees.
Mr Andrews' decision to cut the number of Sudanese refugees coming to Australia was not racially based, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile says.
Mr Andrews has been accused of racism while defending the government's decision last week to cut the quota of Sudanese refugees.
Meanwhile, Labor has admitted to agreeing numbers of African refugees should be cut, but also denies its policy is race-based.
Mr Andrews said the decision had been made due to concerns that they were failing to integrate and were becoming involved in crime.
Mr Vaile said the government's intake of migrants was greater than any other Australian government and it had a choice of who to accept.
"This decision is absolutely not racially based," Mr Vaile told the Nine Network today.
"Every government in Australia's history has always had the opportunity to adjust the mix if you like in the immigration policies of the day to benefit the nation and to benefit the migrants coming in and particularly refugees," Mr Vaile said.
He said he respected the view of Victoria' federal member for Mallee John Forrest that there should be more Sudanese refugees accepted into Australia.
"He comes from an electorate where historically they've always been stretched in terms of getting a solid unskilled workforce if you like to work in their industries in the Sunraysia," Mr Vaile said.
However, Mr Andrews' decision took in the interests of the broader community, he said, despite Labor's insistence the decision was born of incompetence.
Mr Andrews drew accusations of racism earlier this week when he declared Australia had reduced its African refugee intake because some, particularly Sudanese people, were failing to integrate and were becoming more involved in crime.
His statements were totally at odds with his reasons in August for reducing the African intake - namely that Australia needed to accept more refugees from countries like Burma and Iraq and it had already filled its African quota to July 2008.
Labor agreed with the government's decision to cut back the African intake, but immigration spokesman Tony Burke today said he was mystified as to why Mr Andrews' had used this "new rhetoric".
"I don't understand it," Mr Burke told ABC television.
"I've got to say I think with Kevin Andrews you can't look past the possibility of incompetence.
"I don't think you can discount incompetence in him misrepresenting the reasons that have been given."
Asked if he thought the government was playing racist politics, Mr Burke said: "I hope not with something like this, I genuinely hope not.
"I hope they're not dealing with it in that way."
Mr Burke said police, who have disputed Mr Andrews' assertion that Sudanese people are over-represented in crime statistics, were a "more reputable source".
"(Mr Andrews) has provided anecdotal evidence but he hasn't been willing to put publicly or provide directly to the opposition all of that information, he's just put out snippets of information," Mr Burke said.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22545170-662,00.html
Mr Andrews' decision to cut the number of Sudanese refugees coming to Australia was not racially based, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile says.
Mr Andrews has been accused of racism while defending the government's decision last week to cut the quota of Sudanese refugees.
Meanwhile, Labor has admitted to agreeing numbers of African refugees should be cut, but also denies its policy is race-based.
Mr Andrews said the decision had been made due to concerns that they were failing to integrate and were becoming involved in crime.
Mr Vaile said the government's intake of migrants was greater than any other Australian government and it had a choice of who to accept.
"This decision is absolutely not racially based," Mr Vaile told the Nine Network today.
"Every government in Australia's history has always had the opportunity to adjust the mix if you like in the immigration policies of the day to benefit the nation and to benefit the migrants coming in and particularly refugees," Mr Vaile said.
He said he respected the view of Victoria' federal member for Mallee John Forrest that there should be more Sudanese refugees accepted into Australia.
"He comes from an electorate where historically they've always been stretched in terms of getting a solid unskilled workforce if you like to work in their industries in the Sunraysia," Mr Vaile said.
However, Mr Andrews' decision took in the interests of the broader community, he said, despite Labor's insistence the decision was born of incompetence.
Mr Andrews drew accusations of racism earlier this week when he declared Australia had reduced its African refugee intake because some, particularly Sudanese people, were failing to integrate and were becoming more involved in crime.
His statements were totally at odds with his reasons in August for reducing the African intake - namely that Australia needed to accept more refugees from countries like Burma and Iraq and it had already filled its African quota to July 2008.
Labor agreed with the government's decision to cut back the African intake, but immigration spokesman Tony Burke today said he was mystified as to why Mr Andrews' had used this "new rhetoric".
"I don't understand it," Mr Burke told ABC television.
"I've got to say I think with Kevin Andrews you can't look past the possibility of incompetence.
"I don't think you can discount incompetence in him misrepresenting the reasons that have been given."
Asked if he thought the government was playing racist politics, Mr Burke said: "I hope not with something like this, I genuinely hope not.
"I hope they're not dealing with it in that way."
Mr Burke said police, who have disputed Mr Andrews' assertion that Sudanese people are over-represented in crime statistics, were a "more reputable source".
"(Mr Andrews) has provided anecdotal evidence but he hasn't been willing to put publicly or provide directly to the opposition all of that information, he's just put out snippets of information," Mr Burke said.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22545170-662,00.html