REX - Regional Express

currentaffair Typically, there is a high level of social and community engagement among humanitarian entrants. "Early on in resettlement, there is a pattern of engagement with settlers' communities," Hugo explains. "With longer time in Australia, interaction with the broader community increases." Despite the fact that often, refugees experience greater difficulty adjusting to life in Australia than do people from other migrant groups, the social contributions of humanitarian entrants are substantial. "They have considerable civic engagement," notes Hugo. In regional Australia, humanitarian refugees have become important in filling certain employment niches, such as those for abattoir workers. "Their ability to become engaged in local social activities in country towns is quite significant." A 'new area' of strategy regarding asylum seekers is to find solutions whereby both source and destination countries benefit from the movement of refugees, Hugo contends. A skilled-refugee 'brain drain' often cripples source countries precisely when they need to be bolstered, while these new arrivals in developed destinations are often under-utilised because of language barriers. "We're looking at the potential to have policies that enable people to have involvement in their home country as well as Australia," he says, citing the example of a newly arrived doctor who could, potentially, be enabled to work equal time in Australia and his or her home country. "At the moment, our migration system is one where you either come or you don't." The Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers (Houston Report), released late last year, made 22 recommendations to government on policy options to prevent asylum seekers risking their lives making their way across the world to live among us. "We recommend a policy approach that is hard-headed but not hard-hearted," said retired air chief marshal Angus Houston, "and that is driven by a sense of humanity as well as fairness." Among the recommendations was "the application of a 'no advantage' principle to ensure that no benefit is gained through circumventing regular migration arrangements". Australia's humanitarian program should be immediately increased to 20,000 places per year, the panel recommended, with 12,000 places – double the current limit – for the refugee component. It suggested that the nation's humanitarian program be increased to about 27,000 places within five years. Since late 2001, it's estimated that more than 1,000 asylum seekers and crew have been lost at sea en route to Australia. In a world with millions of lives suspended between hopeless situations and distant expectations, only a slow movement away from conflict will deliver the equilibrium of settlement, a notion of global calm. If such a thing is ever possible. Fast Fact In 2011–2012, the number of asylum seekers to reach Australia by boat was 7,983. In comparison, according the UNHCR, 103,000 Somalian asylum seekers arrived in Yemen by sea in 2011. 31

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