Australia must review decision to accept 12,000 Syrian refugees, says 3AW’s Neil Mitchell

Australia must review its decision to accept 12,000 Syrian refugees in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, says Neil Mitchell.

The 3AW Mornings host said the attacks had ‘polluted’ the refugee population, with reports two of those responsible for the attacks may have entered France as Syrian refugees.

‘Australia’s about to take 12,000 refugees from Syria – we have to review that,’ Neil Mitchell said on 3AW.

‘We have to upgrade whatever screening is planned and, as much as possible, make sure we are not importing terrorists ourselves.

‘And if we can’t be sure of that, we’ve probably got to suspend our intake.’

He said Australia was a ‘generous country’ that ‘wants to help genuine refugees’, but not at the expense of its own interests.

‘Despite our inherent generosity, our first responsibility must be Australian lives,’ he said.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told Tom Elliott the government remains committed to the intake.

Click PLAY below to hear Neil Mitchell’s FULL editorial

Nationals MP Andrew Fraser went one step further, calling for an immediate freeze on Australian immigration.

‘My view is we close the borders until we’ve got filters in place that can give us guarantees terrorists don’t come in under the guise of being a refugee,’ he said.

He also said he ‘hadn’t seen’ any condemnation of the Paris attacks from Australia’s Muslim leaders, which led to a feisty response from Neil Mitchell.

‘Well, have a look, because it is out there,’ Neil said.

Click PLAY below to hear Andrew Fraser’s chat with Neil Mitchell.

France responded to the attacks by sending 10 fighter jets to drop bombs on Islamic State strongholds in Syria.

Neil Mitchell said there was no doubt the world was now at war.

‘And it’s ramping up,’ he said.

‘Even the Pope says this is World War 3.

‘The world has entered a new era of terrorism, a new wave that will continue until we address it – we can’t dodge that.

‘It’s time to get more serious in the fight with Islamic State.

‘We’ve got here a bunch of barbarians, increasingly sophisticated, holding the world by the throat.

‘Yes, they’ve got resources, expertise and are becoming more sophisticated but compared to the strength of the rest of the world ? they’re nothing.

‘They have declared war on the world.

‘So what does the world do?’