Australia is attracting record numbers of asylum seekers – and that’s the one city they’re all heading to

The number of asylum seekers arriving by air has doubled since Anthony Albanese came to power, with most new arrivals flocking to Sydney.

In the four months from August to November, more than 2,000 asylum applications were submitted each month, which is a new record – and most of them did not come from war-torn countries.

When Albanese replaced Scott Morrison as Prime Minister after the May 2022 federal election, there were about 1,000 applications per month.

Coalition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan has taken aim at Labor for the upturn, accusing the party of being ‘asleep at the wheel’.

The new data also revealed that Sydney Airport is where the largest number of asylum seekers arrive and make their claims for protection (stock image)

The new data also shows that Sydney airport is where the largest number of asylum seekers arrive and claim protection.

The claimants arrive by plane on other visas, such as tourist or business visas, and then apply for asylum once they arrive at an Australian airport.

The majority of those arriving at Australia’s international airports seeking asylum are not from countries currently experiencing conflict.

In November, 444 people from Vietnam applied for asylum in Australia – by far the largest number from any one country.

In second place was China with 230 applications, Vanuatu with 129 and India with 121. The largest age and gender category was men aged 25 to 44.

But less than 5 percent of asylum applications from Vietnam are approved, and only 9 percent of Indian asylum seekers succeed.

Any candidate from Myanmar, which was in the midst of a civil war, was accepted.

Coalition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said Labor was “asleep at the wheel” on the issue.

“For the fourth month in a row, more than 2,000 people have applied for asylum under the Albanian Labor government,” Tehan told Daily Mail Australia.

“These huge numbers of non-genuine asylum seekers under Labor mean Australians are being denied access to the courts and government services and genuine refugees are being left in limbo.”

Mr Tehan added: “Cracking down on criminals and dodgy asylum seekers is hard work and Labor appears incapable of doing what needs to be done to keep Australians safe.”

When Anthony Albanese (pictured) replaced Scott Morrison as Prime Minister after the May 2022 federal election, there were half as many monthly asylum seeker applications as there are now.

But Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said long processing times under the previous coalition government were to blame.

“During nearly a decade of neglect, underinvestment and mismanagement by the former government, delays and backlogs have arisen in the processing of visa applications for onshore protection,” he told the Daily telegram.

“In October, the Albanian Labor Government announced a $160 million reform package to restore the integrity of Australia’s refugee protection system.”

An investigation into Australia’s visa system, conducted by former Victorian police commissioner Christine Nixon, was handed to the government last March.

It found that delays in processing applications encouraged people to make false asylum claims to try to stay in the country.

“The processing and assessment times for visa applications for onshore protection are particularly high,” the review found.

Coalition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan (pictured) said Labor is ‘asleep at the wheel’ on the issue

“This motivates bad actors to take advantage by submitting more and more inauthentic applications for protection.”

In November, the High Court ruled that Australia’s indefinite detention system was unlawful, freeing 84 asylum seekers while hundreds of others were still pending decisions.

Those freed include a pedophile who raped a 10-year-old boy in Sydney’s west and a hitman who blew up a pregnant woman in Malaysia.

These criminals served prison sentences for their crimes, but could not be deported for various reasons beyond the government’s control.