Just over a year since Australia announced it would offer 12,000 places to refugees displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq, the country’s prime minister pledged new support in New York at U.S. President Barack Obama’s Leaders’ Summit on Refugees on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised an additional $130 million Australian dollars ($98 million) over three years to assist refugees in countries first asylum such as Lebanon and Pakistan. The government will also permanently increase its annual refugee intake from 13,750 to 18,750. This is in addition to the 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugee commitment.
By Sept. 9, 2016, one year since the Syria and Iraq program was first announced, official statistics show that 4,086 refugees had arrived in Australia. An additional 2,772 visas had been granted with more than 5,000 visas still to be decided.
About the author
Lisa Cornish@lisa_cornish
Lisa Cornish is a freelance data journalist based in Canberra, Australia. Lisa formerly worked with News Corp Australia as a data journalist for the national network and was published throughout Australia in major metropolitan and regional newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph in Melbourne, Herald Sun in Melbourne, Courier-Mail in Brisbane and online through news.com.au. Lisa has recently been awarded the 2014 Journalist of the Year by the New South Wales Institute of Surveyors.
