Oh Canada! Our next refugee dumping ground
Canada could be the next option for Australia to resettle its asylum seekers.
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese told the ABC’s Q&A program on Monday that Canada was among a “range of countries” suitable for asylum-seeker resettlement.
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Mr Albanese made the revelation when answering a question from an audience member on the issue on mandatory resettlement of asylum seekers, saying Canada was an “obvious” option for Australia.
Mr Albanese also hinted that New Zealand could again be used for resettlement. “It might be,” Mr Albanese told host Tony Jones.
Mr Albanese also said he underestimated the pull factor from Labor’s relaxation of the previous Howard government’s tough stance on asylum seekers, which resulted in an influx of some 50,000 arrivals and 1000 people drowned at sea.