Our country must share the burden

Syrian refugees. Photo / Getty Images

The calls are growing to increase our refugee quota.

A parliamentary Select Committee says we need to increase the quota - and soon. There is some urgency on this given the scale of need around the world right now.

Our quota sits at 750 at the moment, and it hasn't changed since 1987. We seldom fill that quota.

Is now the right time to increase it? Yes, it is.

We are on the UN Security Council. It is hypocritical of us to talk about the need to restart peace talks in the Middle East and to find a resolution to ease the humanitarian crisis that's gripping Iraq and Syria right now. If we shut the door here and say 'not in our back yard'.

Amnesty International points out that on a per capita basis, New Zealand takes a fifth of what Australia does. Australia - a country with what I think is a flawed and xenophobic approach to refugees - takes more refugees than we do. No surprises the criticism of New Zealand's stance is growing.

I remember speaking with the UN in Afghanistan in 2008 - it was an off-the-record conversation so i can't name the person - but he was a significant player at the time, and he was very critical of our refugee quota. That was seven years ago. There are 13.5 million people in need of life-sustaining aid in the Middle East alone right now, and our quota still sits at 750.

We need to lift our game.

Our geographical location, the fact we are an island nation. It allows us to ignore the situation if we chose. We can do an ostrich. We can bury our heads in the sand. But the world we live in now is a very different world to what we lived in in 1987 - and increasing our refugee quota would send a message that we are prepared to share the burden.

I was in Lebanon in February - a country a fifth the size of New Zealand - and some of the humanitarians there asked me about our quota. I had to shamefully admit that we take up to 750 people. Lebanon is currently trying to support 1.5 million refugees.

Those seeking refugee status go through a long and robust process. They seek shelter, food and safety, and the opportunity to work and support their families. And that is all.

I've said this before but i will say it again - there is nothing frightening about a refugee.