Refugee Council: Evidence contravenes Immigration Minister’s incoherent attack

Refugee Council Of Australia chief executive officer Paul Power said Mr Dutton’s claims that refugees were simultaneously ‘illiterate and innumerate’ was not only incoherent, they contravene the evidence substantiated by the contributions of hundreds of thousands refugees who have contributed to Australia.

“We are in just the second week of an eight-week election campaign and already we have a Cabinet Minister launching an attack on a politically defenceless section of Australian society,” Mr Power said

Mr Power said the fact that fact that this political attack is coming from the Minister responsible for Australia’s refugee program makes it even more offensive.

According to RCOA and the ABD available evidence suggests that employment rates are relatively low during the initial period of upskilling but in a relatively short time, refugees are very active in the workforce and in developing small businesses.

“Recent research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that, in the longer term, refugees are more likely than other groups of Australians to be developing small businesses, creating jobs and building economic opportunities for others,” Mr Power said.