For the decade since 2013, when Kabul fell to the Taliban, Canberra has given almost 13,000 “Offshore Refugee and Humanitarian visas” to Afghans. There are 230,000 on the waiting list. The Australian community is 72,000 strong and goes back to 19th-century camel drivers.
Internationally, we’re bit players. By mid-2024, Iran was the world’s largest refugee host, sheltering 3.8 million people with 99 per cent from Afghanistan, according to the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute.
Our border protection is no well-resourced ring of steel but relies on community spotters.
Mid-2024 media reports claimed the Australian Border Force (ABF), an agency of Home Affairs, paid fishermen with fuel for using their own dinghies to catch five unlawful arrivals believed to be from Senegal.