Australia’s system for responding to asylum seekers is cruel, dangerous and inefficient. It costs the country over $4 billion per year and takes an untold toll on the psychological and physical health of a group of people most in need of safety and support.

The Australian Sex Party advocates for a humane, efficient and socially beneficial system for responding to asylum seekers. Such a system would require:

• the Manus Island and Nauru detention centres be closed down as soon as is practicable;
• asylum seekers to be brought safely to Australia for time-limited, pre-settlement security screening;
• screened asylum seekers to be settled, temporarily, in regional communities while their applications are being processed; and
• all community-dwelling asylum seekers to be allowed to work, study and access social services.