TNAG-0889-FCO40-1099-Refugees-from-Vietnam-in-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-boat-people-1979 — Page 109

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14.

There are some other people who leave Vietnam mainly

to improve their standards of work and life in situations where

it is debatable whether they have a well-founded fear of

persecution based on one of the grounds set down in the Convention.

The difficulty is that such people may have left without a well-

founded fear of persecution but, once outside Vietnam, may have

real fears of being-persecuted if they returned.

We have to be honest and frank about the dilemma we

face in looking at these various streams and categories of boat

people. Where people are definitely refugees Australia has

certain obligations, if the people seek refuge in Australia,

arising from the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status

of Refugees. We are not compelled to grant permanent residence

but we must grant refugee status and abide by the requirements

of those international instruments.

In regard to refugees in places overseas who express

an interest in coming to Australia, Australia would be remiss

if it did not relax its normal entry criteria to admit people

up to numbers designated by the Government as being within

Australia's absorptive capacity and give priority to people

for family reunion and to those with close association with

Australia.

We also have to be realistic in regard to those who

are determined as not being refugees. If people who are not

refugees arrive in Australia without prior authority, the

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