Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

No, I reject that entirely. We are dealing with an increase in activity from asylum seekers departing by boat from both Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Both of those movements are largely driven by the dislocation and the internal strife in both Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The largest refugee-producing country in the world at the moment is Afghanistan. Their people are seeking refuge all round the world. We are getting, I think, in the order of 1½ to two per cent of those seeking refuge.