Mr McClelland (Barton) asked the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, in writing, on 7 February 2007:
(1)
Has his department made any decision in respect of the position of non-Muslim religious minorities in Iraq; in particular whether members of Iraqi non-Muslim religious minorities who are facing persecution should be permitted to enter Australia on a temporary or permanent basis.
Answer
Mr Andrews (Menzies—Minister for Immigration and Citizenship)—The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows:
(1)
Consistent with Australia’s global, non-discriminatory Humanitarian Programme, all applications for a humanitarian visa, including those from non-Muslim religious minorities in Iraq, are considered on a case by case basis. Iraqis have featured prominently in the Humanitarian Programme, ranking second overall since 2001, with more than 10 000 Iraqis having arrived in Australia on humanitarian visas since 2001. Applications from Iraqi non-Muslim religious minorities are among those accepted for resettlement in Australia.