There are now over 100,000 asylum seekers in Australia, the vast majority of whom will wind up living in the shadows of society. It’s a staggering number, but how did this happen?

Last week, it was reported that “a record number of asylum seekers are arriving in Australia by plane, with more than 2000 new arrivals every month”. Opposition immigration spokesperson Dan Tehan said the Albanese government had been asleep at the wheel, while deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley demanded a “crackdown”.

Peter Dutton is a former minister for immigration. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to cut the migrant intake.Credit:

But significantly, there was no explanation of what this would entail or why the Coalition government hadn’t “cracked down” on asylum seekers arriving by plane when it had been in power.

Nor was it explained how application numbers had blown out so much on the Coalition’s watch.

Asylum seekers arriving by plane fit into three broad groups. First, there are asylum seekers with a strong case for protection: 1762 asylum seekers arriving by plane were granted a permanent protection visa in 2021-22, up from 1389 in 2020-21. In 2023, asylum seekers granted permanent protection were mainly from Myanmar, Iran, Pakistan and countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The second group are people who have been trafficked to Australia to work mainly on farms, construction sites and sometimes in sex shops. They often have their asylum application lodged on their behalf by organisers/agents. They have little understanding of the complex asylum claims they........

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