First Syrian refugees to land in Australia

Mr Fraser wrote on Facebook.

Under the policy, Australia has prioritized the most vulnerable of refugee cases, such as women, children and families.

A family of five from Syria who will be settled as part of Australia’s additional 12,000 intake of refugees are expected touch down in Perth earlier than had been expected.

Mr Dutton has been questioned about whether he is considering Mr Fraser’s call for that decision to be reversed.

“We’re getting them here as quickly as possibly but without sacrificing any of the security or health checks”, he told ABC radio. “The government’s number one priority is protecting Australians”, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has told News Corp.

And Porter said he expected no difficulty for the Syrian family, who would be met by officials at the airport.

Mr Dutton has acknowledged there is a level of concern about whether people are falsifying their details to gain entry to Western countries.

In contrast, two states in the USA say they will block or suspend a programme to resettle Syrian refugees within their borders, citing security concerns after the deadly assaults in Paris.

The Government is expecting the first refugees from the new intake to arrive before Christmas.

“The acts of terror committed over the weekend are a tragic reminder to the world that evil exists and takes the form of terrorists who seek to destroy the basic freedoms we will always fight to preserve”, the governor added.

Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan backed that position.

“Under no circumstances are we going to rush the process or com-promise the security of our country”, he said.

But he also said Australia faced a “very different situation” to European nations which had land borders.