Government defends plan to take 12,000 Syrian refugees

Australian government said on Monday that it was sticking to its plan to take 12,000 Syrian refugees, despite pressure not to.

"Taking 12,000 people from Syria was the right thing to do several months ago and it's still the right thing to do today.

"We are doing everything we can to give an appropriate and proper risk assessment and make sure that nobody who is coming in would be of a security concern to our country,’’ Keenan said.